Page 63 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

Bad Boys and Alien Invaders
63
Much of the humor came out of the main characters’
personalities. These two police officers and partners are
polar opposites of one another. Lawrence, as Marcus
Burnett, is a conservative family man. Smith, as Mike
Lowrey, is a bachelor with a wild private life.
To prepare for the role of Mike Lowrey, Smith bulked
up by working out in a gym. He enjoyed his new image.
“Bad Boys was the first time in my life that I can remember
people looking at me as physically attractive,” he said. “I’ve
always been kinda goofy-looking. Thin and lanky and big
ears and all of that.”2
Smith was by now experienced enough to know that
making a movie was not easy work. However, shooting
Bad Boys was especially grueling because the movie is set
in Miami and part of the shooting had to be done in the
middle of the hot, sticky summer.
There are a lot of explosions in Bad Boys, with a garbage
truck, an airplane, and several cars being blown up. Movie
scenes tend to be reshot several times until the director is
satisfied. However, it would have cost far too much to redo
complicated scenes involving explosions. So there was a lot
of pressure on Smith, Lawrence, and the crew to get them
just right on the first take.
Bad Boys was a major step in Smith’s movie career,
but he still had a television show to make. The Fresh
Prince of Bel-Air began its fifth season in September
1994. Smith became the show’s coproducer, along with
Benny Medina.