Page 74 - Will Smith: A Biography of a Rapper Turned Movie Star

Will Smith
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Unlike some celebrities, Smith is not standoffish. He
appreciates his fans and tries not to ignore them. In an
online computer chat on December 23, 1997, one of
Smith’s fans asked which movie was more fun to make:
Independence Day or Men in Black. Smith’s reply offered a
peek behind the scenes: “They were both fun, but making
special effects movies, in general, isn’t something that
you’d consider fun. It’s hard work. There’s stunts, and
when you’re working with special effects, there’s a lot of
hours of just sitting around. The real fun is going to the
premiere and sitting with the audience and watching if
people like it.”8 When asked about roles he would like to
play in the future, Smith said, “The concept for me to play
[boxer] Muhammad Ali came up. I’d love to do that story
but I’d have to see a wonderful script.” 9
Sticking by Smith’s side through his journey to stardom
was his girlfriend Jada Pinkett. After being together for
more than two years, the two actors married on New
Year’s Eve, 1997. Smith told a reporter, “Outside of my
mother, Jada’s the first person with whom I can share what
I think and what I feel so freely.”10 Jada expressed a similar
feeling about Will. “There is nothing that I can’t share
with him,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that this is perfect,
but it’s the closest thing to perfect you can get.”11
During the wedding reception, a disc jockey spun records
for the guests, just as Jazzy Jeff had done for the Fresh Prince
many years ago in Philadelphia. Smith could not let go of the
rapper inside himself. At one point, he jumped onstage with