How did Steven Spielberg pitch 'Men in Black' to Will Smith? Actor reveals iconic director's remarkable efforts to convince him
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Will Smith recently disclosed that iconic Hollywood director Steven Spielberg went on to great heights to convince him to take on a lead role in 'Men in Black'. The 54-year-old actor made this shocking revelation on Kevin Hart’s 'Hart to Heart' show's latest episode on Peacock.
The 'King Richard' actor said that he initially didn't consider making 'Men in Black' because he didn’t want to make two alien movies “back to back” but apparently Spielberg was very convincing, as reported by People. He also added that he was close to turning down several roles throughout his career if it wasn’t for his former manager and longtime business partner, James Lassiter.
How did Steven Spielberg pitch the movie to Will Smith?
“Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me,” Smith recalled as Hart was left in utter disbelief. “I was in New York. [He sent it] to talk to me. It landed at his house, and he had me at hello.” “Yeah, you can’t say no after you get off the helicopter,” Hart chimed in. “[I] get off the helicopter at his house, and it was the first time I ever had lemonade with carbonated water,” Smith said before adding “You can’t say no to that.”
Will Smith and Steven Spielberg's conversation
The actor then provided an insight on his conversation with Spielberg who was producing the movie at that time. “He said the coldest s—,” Smith noted. “He said, ‘Tell me, tell me why you don’t want to make my movie… And he put the ellipsis at the end, it was the dot, dot, dot ‘Tell me why you don’t want to make my movie?’” “If he had continued, he would have said, ‘Joker, you know I made Jaws, right? You know I made ET'”, added Smith.
'The Pursuit of Happyness' actor eventually agreed and took on the role of Agent J in 'Men in Black' and its two following sequels 'Men in Black 2' (2002) and 'Men in Black 3' (2012) alongside Tommy Lee Jones.
Smith credited most of his success to his team behind him, saying, “You cannot build a career… And you probably can’t do much of anything in this life at a high level without a rock-solid team.” “I knew I had to be the tip of the spear in discipline. I knew I had to be the tip of the spear in terms of direction,” he said before adding, “But I always knew that I needed my squad."