Interview Quotes

Early Career and Trailblazing Moments

"As the story goes, you start to have a little bit of musical success while you're still in high school. Overbrook High School, your last 30 days there or so, you had a song that was on the radio. Yeah, that's too much power for one man to have. What was that like?"

— Speedy • 00:01:16

"You know, it was like the first time that I experienced a sense of power. Right. And it was like something about going from just, you know, being Lil Will to having a record on the radio was like, oh, you know, and back then the song on the radio was gigantic. It was that first experience of what it meant to have energy in the world that was power to move things."

— Will Smith • 00:01:22

"Yes. Was it the first hip hop artist to ever win a Grammy?"

— Speedy • 00:01:40

"Yeah, it was the first year that the Grammys recognize rap. Yeah. So they had a rap category and we actually boycotted because they weren't televising it. But Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince ended up winning the first Grammy ever given to a rap artist."

— Will Smith • 00:01:42

"You know, I never, I don't draw those kind of lines in my mind from the idea of, oh, wow, rappers are on the stage at the Grammys today. And that's potentially connected to a sacrifice that we made. Like I don't, I don't draw those kind of lines. So it was interesting hearing, hearing Jay say that because they kind of was like, oh yeah, you know, maybe we did push the Grammys to like start to recognize, uh, rap music."

— Will Smith • 00:02:12

The Fresh Prince Audition and the Nature of Success

"Why is it important to always be ready when opportunity presents itself? To me, success is, you know, a big part preparation, right? So you, you, you certainly have to be prepared, but there's an X factor. You're waiting for lightning to strike, right? You're waiting for the universe to decide that the door is going to open for a brief moment. And it's like, it turns from a solid wall to a door in an instant. And then it closes back, right? So the idea of you have no idea when lightning is going to strike in your life."

— Will Smith • 00:03:59

"So then we'll, we'll do it in 30 days. And I was like, oh yeah, 30 days would be good. That'd be more than that. Yeah. Perfect. Yeah. And he's like, but then his right hand, Warren Littlefield, something's going to come up and he's not going to be able to be there. And they got to postpone again. And he said, but right now, everybody that needs to say yes to this show is sitting in my living room waiting for you to audition. And I was like, fuck it. Give me 10 minutes."

— Will Smith • 00:05:12

"It was such a valuable lesson. It's like, there's very few things more powerful than fucking, fucking just leaping. Just go. You know, it's like you have the dream, the opportunity's there. Just go, you know, and I was in his, uh, in his library and it was like a Oprah Winfrey colored purple poster and a Michael Jackson, 48 million sold."

— Will Smith • 00:05:30

"It's like a, it's like a blank spot in my memory. Like I have no recollection of what I said and what I did. It was just a standing ovation. Everybody stood up and clapped and Quincy pointed to the head of NBC. He said, did you like it? And he said, yeah, Quincy. He said, don't bullshit me. I'm asking you, did you like it? You know what I mean? And Quincy had everybody's lawyers come to the house that night. He said, I need to deal memo tonight. He, he understands magic, you know? And that's the, that's the thing about Quincy. It's like, he, he knows that you can only work to a certain degree."

— Will Smith • 00:06:25

Fame and its Perceptions

"The big difference between a television star and a movie star in terms of fans is, uh, TV has changed now. It's a very, it's a different thing. But back then, it was a destination television and you had to be there at Monday night, your Monday night at eight, or you might not see it for six months, you know? So a different thing got created with that. And what would happen with television is people watched it like in their house, in their underwear. Right? So they know you, you're their friend. Whereas when people would see a movie star, you know, it was a whole different thing on the, on the Fresh Prince of Bel Air. When I would see people, Hey, Will, Hey, Will, Hey, Will. And then as soon as Independence Day came out, it was the first time somebody called me Mr. Smith. Right? So it was a really, you know, movie stardom, that big screen and people watch and you're bigger than life. Whereas television, you get, you get downsized. 32 inches. Yeah. 32 feet to 32 inches. Exactly."

— Will Smith • 00:08:51

"I love being famous. Like, um, it makes me feel safe. Right? It's like somebody knows who I am anywhere I go on earth. Like any street I walk on, somebody knows who I am. And I believe in the basic goodness of humanity. So I always feel safe. Like I feel like somebody will help me."

— Will Smith • 00:09:32

"Do you remember what it feels like to not be famous?"

— Speedy • 00:09:42

"Um, no, it was like from the time I was, uh, you know, my first record was, you know, at 16, I started recording and, you know, by the time I was 18 years old, you know, I was nationally famous, you know? So it's like for, for over three decades, you know, especially like once Independence Day came out. So like Independence Day and then Men in Black, that was like everybody. That was like the whole earth everywhere, you know? And specifically those two back to back, um, is what, what made me recognizable. Um, and then also, you know, when you're black and you're 6'2, it's like you go somewhere in the world. You're, you know, you're a rapper or a basketball player, you know?"

— Will Smith • 00:09:46

The Addiction of Box Office Success and Public Life

"It is delicious poisoned honey. It's insatiable. It feels so good, except it's that Monday, you need to do it again. It is so addictive, you know? And, you know, I literally had to like detox myself from looking at box office mojo every day, waiting for them to reset the numbers."

— Will Smith • 00:10:53

"I actually did intend for them to be that way. I want my life to be helpful. And the, the only misjudgment I felt of that is that the world wouldn't be gentle. I want my life to be examined. And if I can learn something that will help you, if I can say something in this interview that when you leave, you'd be like, damn, that was great. Will got bitten, you know, down that road. Now, you know, Speedy don't have to go down that one."

— Will Smith • 00:11:35

"And to me, an unexamined life is, uh, almost worthless, you know, so, um, you know, um, I'm going to do it, uh, more artfully this year. I'm certainly, I'm, uh, I'm certainly going to be a little more delicate with it. But to me, the, the process of evolving and elevating and learning how to love and learning how to share and learning how to interact, like, that's what we're all doing, you know? And, you know, even though a lot of my stuff may be, uh, public, it's like, ain't nobody doing better than me. It's like, just people just don't know your stuff. Right, right, right. You just have it magnified."

— Will Smith • 00:12:24

"Like, my, my goal is for my life and my experience to be firewood on the, the, everybody's dreams. Like, you know, use it to learn and grow and, and evolve. And I ain't, I'm not taking it with me anyway. So."

— Will Smith • 00:13:05

Money, Happiness, and the Meaning of Life

"No, this is the, uh, this is the downsize, uh, phase, uh, of my life. You know, I was, uh, you know, the first half of my life was gather, gather, gather, and the second half of my life is going to be, you know, give, give, give. I never understood, like, well, you know, you, you see people who will be rich and famous and, you know, they, they always have that moment somewhere around 50 where something changes."

— Will Smith • 00:13:54

"And then you realize, um, none of it can make you happy. And, you know, once you've bought everything you want and there's literally nothing on earth else that you want to buy, you, you, you know, I just wish that was a gift that everybody could have because there's, there's nothing that material can do to satisfy you. Mm. Right. It's like drinking salt water, right? Like you'll, you'll just, you'll never get enough. You're just going to make yourself more and more thirsty. Right. Right. So it's like that, you know, I'm in that, that phase of my life, um, that can actually be scary when you realize that no relationship that no money, that no kids know that like, there's literally nothing that can make you happy."

— Will Smith • 00:14:24

"That happy is an internal full frontal contact with your dark night of the soul. And you reconcile that you got to make happy in here. You got to make happy in here with none of that stuff. Oh, damn. You got to take happy to the people you love. You can't try to get it from them. Oh, you know? Yeah. And it's like, you got to take happy to work. You, you're not going to get happy from work. Right. And it's like, that is, you know, it's not for the faint of heart. Yeah."

— Will Smith • 00:15:03

"Well, that's a, that's a, that's a big one. Um, so even the concept of the meaning of life is your mind trying to fathom the unfathomable. Just sit here for 30 seconds. Right? Yeah. Look at me. Look at you while you're looking at me. Oh, Hey, you just did it. Oh, trying to, it's not easy though. You're right. That's where you will find the meaning of life. That's where you'll find it. So whatever that was, when you can make peace with that, that's the meaning of life."

— Will Smith • 00:15:47

The Bad Boys Reunion and Brotherhood

"Yeah. When, uh, Columbia first came to me, you know, with the script, my sister told me I should do it with Will Smith. Martin wanted to do it with Eddie."

— Martin Lawrence • 00:17:12

"But, uh, but Will, Will was, uh, my sister was the one that said, I think you should do with Will Smith. And it was the best, best choice in the world. Yeah. You feel like you made the right decision."

— Martin Lawrence • 00:17:33

"Most definitely because he's brilliant. I mean, his mind and the way he, uh, orchestrates and runs the, the set and everything. It's just, it's brilliant."

— Martin Lawrence • 00:17:40

"So we were, we, we had like a wrap party for the, the, the film and we were, all of the old movies were up on the screen. So I'm standing, I was just looking at the old movies and I like it, I realized when, you know, we were making bad boys one, when we were making bad boys two, like I had in my mind, I wanted to be the biggest movie star in the world. I wanted to do all of this. And I realized while you're planning your life and you, you think you're going somewhere, your life's actually happening. Your life's happening now. It's not happening when you think it's going to happen. And sitting and looking at those movies, I was like, yo, it was me and Martin. We was in Miami. It was like, young, young, young and free, wild and free. And it was like, our lives were, it was perfect. Yet my younger self couldn't see I was already where I wanted to be, you know, and it was really, it was, it was fun."

— Will Smith • 00:18:30

"And on, on this movie, um, you know, Martin was just really focused on paying attention to the fact that we are in a good life. Yeah. And it was like literally, we in a good place, you know, like the first day on set, you know, and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. He said, hey, you know what I'm saying? He said, I just want you to know I love you, brother. Oh man. Yeah. I love him. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was like, yeah, yeah. Love, love. He's like, no, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. Get here with it. You need to know this is real. This is, we ain't doing four for nothing. This is real."

— Will Smith • 00:19:16

"Khaled was doing full method acting for, he was like in character walking to set and all of that. And I was like, he'd be yelling out, yelling out his lines. He took it real serious. He took it real serious."

— Will Smith • 00:20:01

"You know, Martin is all heart and it's like, it ain't no pretend. And he's one of the most vulnerable, wide open, honest people that, uh, you know, ever worked with in that way. And the way his, his heart is wide open in that way. It just, I, I love to like protect him."

— Will Smith • 00:21:03

"He's just my brother. You know, he's my brother for life. You know, I love him, love him to pieces, you know, and, uh, you know, I just love his heart. Um, I love the way he treats people. Um, I love his respect. Um, um, and he's just, uh, he's just a man. Yeah. He's a man. The man in deep."

— Martin Lawrence • 00:21:28