Will Smith learns to ‘quiet the warrior’ in new phase of life
Things started to come into focus for Will Smith when After Earth bombed.
Once the biggest movie star in the world, his $130 million sci-fi spectacle After Earth opened in June 2013 to a lousy $27.5 million and would only go on to make up less than half of its production budget, domestically, by the end of its run. For a man who once defined himself by his box-office star power, the blow was crushing.
“From the time I was in my early 20s, I had this goal that ‘I want to be the biggest movie star in the world,’ ” says Smith, lowering his voice to a faux-macho level when he utters the words “movie star”.
“And I set out for conquer,” he says. “Smash! Conquer!” he exclaims animatedly.
For a while it worked. Smith has had four movies that have grossed more than $200 million domestically, and 13 that have grossed more than $100 million, most with him headlining.
Then After Earth happened and everything toppled.
“After the failure of After Earth, a thing got broken in my mind,” he had explained at a news conference for his new film Focus earlier.
“I was like, ‘oh wow, I’m still alive. Oh wow. I actually still am me even though the movie didn’t open at No 1. Wait, I still can get hired on another movie?’ All of those things collapsed in my mind. Mr July! Big Willie weekend! No 1! Eight in a row! All of that collapsed and I realized I still was a good person.”
“It’s a huge emotional shift for me,” says Smith, who has since appeared in smaller roles in Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Winter’s Tale.
“(Daughter) Willow in particular has helped me make a shift from winning and conquering to loving and connecting as a primary purpose for everything. She just abso- lutely demands attention to her thoughts and feelings. It’s a huge lesson for me to quiet the warrior in me,” he says.
It’s fitting that Smith’s first outing in this new stage is actually called Focus, a sleek, intimate film from Crazy, Stupid, Love. directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa about a smooth, seasoned con man and his alluring and much younger protege, played by Australian actress Margot Robbie.
Smith and Robbie have a smoldering chemistry in the film and a playful, giggly way around each other off screen, often finishing each other’s sentences when they’re not making the other keel over in laughter.
Robbie and Smith aren’t done with each other yet, either. They’ll both be appearing in the comic book film Suicide Squad for Warner Bros., which is currently in preproduction.
When Robbie heard that Smith was considering taking on the project, she texted him and insisted on it.
“He was like, ‘ we’ ll see, candy cane,’ ” says Robbie. “He was my mentor on screen and off screen.” As far as what that advice is? “My standard answer for Margot is ‘uh, don’t do that,’ ” says Smith, laughing. “I’m like, you know what Margot? Take a nap.”