Will Smith remembers when he set out to become the biggest movie star in the world.
It was 1991, and the rapper turned actor was in the midst of the second season of his sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. He had already achieved a degree of success, first in his hip-hop partnership with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and then with the TV show, about a West Philadelphia hipster sent to live with wealthy Southern California relatives.
Mr. Smith was visiting the palatial home of one Eddie Murphy when he was struck by one particular Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous feature.
Columbia Pictures
Will Smith and son Jaden Christopher Syre Smith star in
The Pursuit of Happyness.
"I walked into Eddie's living room and looked around, and he pushed a button and the ceiling opened," Mr. Smith recalls during a stop in Dallas to promote his new film, The Pursuit of Happyness, which opens Friday.
"The entire roof came off of his living room. I said, one day, the ceiling is going to come off my living room. I went out and called my manager and said, 'That's it, I want to be the biggest movie star in the world.' "
He got a list of the 10 highest-grossing movies of all time. Ten out of 10 were heavy on special effects. Nine of 10 featured effects and creatures. Eight of 10 had effects, creatures and a love story.
"So we made Independence Day, then we made Men in Black right behind it," he says. "Give me my special effects, give me my creatures, and give me my love story." And give him the mantle of Mr. Blockbuster, the guy whose appearance signals big bucks and the start of the summer movie season.
The story illustrates the kind of focus and resolve that also define Chris Gardner, the real-life character Mr. Smith plays in The Pursuit of Happyness. (The misspelled word is explained during the film.)
In 1981, Mr. Gardner was scraping by in San Francisco, selling high-density bone scanners (they look like high-tech pet carriers) to medical offices, when he hit a run of misfortune that would test anyone's will. Business was slow, money was tight. When his wife left, Mr. Gardner insisted on caring for their young son (played in the movie by Mr. Smith's 8-year-old son, Jaden).
Then came the ultimate challenge. With the IRS breathing down his neck, Mr. Gardner found himself without a roof over his head. He and his son slept in a shelter for a year. But there was a glimmer of hope: He landed a highly competitive brokerage internship at Dean Witter, showing the kind of moxie that would make Mr. Smith nod in recognition.
The catch: The internship was unpaid. And it's safe to say Mr. Gardner was the only homeless employee in his office.
This is where Mr. Smith sees a bit of himself in his new character. Growing up in Philadelphia, the actor never went hungry, or homeless. But he did develop "that ridiculous, naive, foolish belief that anything is possible," he says. "I so absolutely connect to the idea that I can do anything. I think it was Confucius who said he who says he can and he who says he can't are both usually right. That idea is the great human concept. It's what this country was designed on. I just had revelation after revelation working on this movie, the necessity of not having any question that it's possible."
Mr. Smith's approach to life comes as little surprise. He exudes charm and confidence, a kind of polite swagger that comes across on-screen and in person.
But The Pursuit of Happyness isn't a typical Smith project. It has no special effects or creatures, and the only romance is ruptured early in the film. Mr. Smith, known for his closely cropped hair and clean-cut looks, sports a gray-flecked Afro that makes him look a little like Jesse Jackson. He moves and talks without his usual action-movie mannerisms. And he's likely to land his second Oscar nomination (the first was for Ali).
Mr. Smith says it's all part of his grand plan. He's not necessarily turning his back on spectacle; he plays a vampire killer in the upcoming I Am Legend. But he says he's ready for another career transition that will yield more personal projects before, say, Bad Boys 3.
"There's the 'get old' action movie in everybody's pattern that I'm trying to avoid," he says. "It's the action movie you make when everybody realizes you're old. For me, this is a career move of growing intellectually and spiritually and emotionally, and allowing my characters to grow in that same way. There's a higher level of artistry that I want to be able to create and deliver."
And why not? He's had the creatures. He's had the girl. Maybe it's time to test that naive, foolish optimism and pursue the happyness that comes after the retractable ceiling.
E-mail cvognar@dallasnews.com
