will smith book review

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In Will Smith’s memoir, the superstar is self-deprecating but ultimately invincible

In 1996, days after “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” ended and shortly before “Independence Day” almost destroyed the Earth, Will Smith went to the opening of Planet Hollywood in Sydney to seek the advice of Arnold Schwarzenegger. What was the key to his pharaonic success? “Think of yourself as a politician running for Biggest Movie Star in the World,” replied Arnie.

Smith was an excellent student. “I was never promoting a movie,” he writes in his new memoir, “Will.” “I was using their $150,000,000 to promote me .” The result: astronomical success. In a Hollywood — and a music industry — that was even Whiter than it is today, Smith’s bankability was without precedent or rival. “Men in Black” and “Enemy of the State”; Oscar nominations for “Ali” and “The Pursuit of Happyness”; an unequaled golden run, from “Men in Black II” through “Hancock,” of eight consecutive movies grossing more than $100 million. A quarter-century after Planet Hollywood, it’s hard to imagine a shrewder move than publishing a memoir the same month you release your biggest Oscar contender in years ( the tennis drama “King Richard” ).

As most candidates know, a little vulnerability is also a vote-winner. And thus: “What you have come to understand as ‘Will Smith,’” he writes on Page 1, “the alien-annihilating MC, the bigger-than-life movie star, is largely a construction — a carefully crafted and honed character — designed to protect myself. To hide myself from the world. To hide the coward.” This is the story Smith wants to tell about his life: that of a fierce drive for success rooted in powerful feelings of inadequacy. Unfortunately, what feels like real anguish — and the seed of a worthwhile read — is repeatedly obscured by braggadocio and pat moralizing.

Apple and Will Smith move their new film ‘Emancipation’ about slavery out of Georgia to protest voting-rights law

Willard Carroll Smith Jr. was, like the song says, in West Philadelphia born and raised. His middle-class childhood was one “of constant tension and anxiety,” lived in fear of a violent alcoholic father. Young Will developed the emotional acuity that would serve him as an actor out of necessity; “a missed glance or misinterpreted word could quickly deteriorate into a belt on my ass or a fist in my mother’s face.” After one of Daddio’s assaults on his mother, when Smith was 13, he considered suicide.

After meeting DJ Jazzy Jeff he decided, against his mother’s wishes, to ditch plans for college (Smith was good at math and science) and try to be a hip-hop star. The duo’s first hit dropped before Will had even graduated and he never looked back. He became the first rapper to win a Grammy. “Fresh Prince” ran for six seasons. His film career is the stuff of legend.

The story behind Will Smith’s iconic ‘hug’ scene in ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’

There were errors, including a tax snafu that left him with huge debts to the IRS, and he’s candid about parenting and marital mistakes (if coy about his and Jada Pinkett Smith’s reported nonmonogamous dalliances). Yet despite the book’s self-deprecating setup, it’s Will the Invincible who shines. Writing about the inspiration that produced “Summertime”: “Skeptics call it self-delusion; I call it ‘another Grammy’ and ‘my first #1 record.’ ” On the period following “Independence Day”: “an absolute, unadulterated, unblemished rout of the entertainment industry.” Prideful statements like these pump out of Smith like an oil spill in a sea of good intentions.

The night Will Smith went to meet Jada Pinkett, he met his first wife instead. Here’s how they finally got together.

Perhaps this is just his way of demonstrating the “overcompensation and fake bravado” that, he says, “were really just another, more insidious, manifestation of the coward.” But such clunky teaching moments are overshadowed by the megalomaniacal ambition and greed on display. After “I Am Legend” broke box office records for a December release, he wondered what could have made it more successful. After Jim Carrey became the first actor to pocket $20 million a movie, “the conversation with me started at . . . twenty-one.” (Even when he plays his kids at Monopoly, it’s to win .)

Smith’s choice of writing partner, Mark Manson — author of the bestseller “ The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck ” — implies a desire to hold up his life as a model of sorts. Most chapters contain some hokey self-help boilerplate to signpost learning — “I’d conflated being successful with being loved and being happy,” etc. But these nuggets feel so precision-engineered to showcase Smith’s hard-earned self-awareness that they appear trite, even insincere, when juxtaposed with his riotous magniloquence. The result is half-baked: real epiphanies bypassed; lessons unlearned. The book ends with a charity heli bungee jump over the Grand Canyon for Smith’s 50th birthday — an act of philanthropic egoism that perfectly embodies the unresolved tension between his savior impulse and an insatiable need to be The Man.

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In 1993’s “Six Degrees of Separation,” Smith plays a con artist who woos a wealthy couple by pretending to be the son of Sidney Poitier. Even after the couple wises up, the attraction, at least for the wife, remains. Finally, something similar occurs in “Will.” You like him despite the evident calculation at play: His foundational insecurity is part of his appeal; even while consciously selling his own vulnerability, he inadvertently reveals its true depths. And so, despite “Will” feeling more like part of a corporate strategy than a work of real introspection (even the acknowledgments redirect you to Smith’s Instagram), you’d probably still vote for him.

Charles Arrowsmith  is based in New York and writes about books, films and music.

By Will Smith and Mark Manson

Penguin Press. 432 pp. $30

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Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

New York Times Bestseller

IndieBound Bestseller

by Will Smith with Mark Manson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 9, 2021

A refreshing celebrity memoir focused not strictly on the self but on a much larger horizon.

One of Hollywood’s biggest stars delivers a memoir of success won through endless, relentless work and self-reckoning.

“My imagination is my gift, and when it merges with my work ethic, I can make money rain from the heavens.” So writes Smith, whose imagination is indeed a thing of wonder—a means of coping with fear, an abusive father with the heart of a drill instructor, and all manner of inner yearnings. The author’s imagination took him from a job bagging ice in Philadelphia to initial success as a partner in the Grammy-winning rap act DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. Smith was propelled into stardom thanks to the ministrations of Quincy Jones, who arranged an audition in the middle of his own birthday party, bellowing “No paralysis through analysis!” when Smith begged for time to prepare. The mantra—which Jones intoned 50-odd times during the two hours it took for the Hollywood suits to draw up a contract for the hit comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air —is telling, for hidden within this memoir lies a powerful self-help book. For Smith, all of life is a challenge in which one’s feelings are largely immaterial. “I watched my father’s negative emotions seize control of his ample intellect and cause him over and over again to destroy beautiful parts of our family,” he writes, good reason for him to sublimate negativity in the drive to get what he wanted—money, at first, and lots of it, which got him in trouble with the IRS in the early 1990s. Smith, having developed a self-image that cast him as a coward, opines that one’s best life is lived by facing up to the things that hold us back. “I’ve been making a conscious effort to attack all the things that I’m scared of,” he writes, adding, “And this is scary.” It’s a good lesson for any aspiring creative to ponder—though it helps to have Smith’s abundant talent, too.

Pub Date: Nov. 9, 2021

ISBN: 978-1-984877-92-5

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Penguin Press

Review Posted Online: Nov. 9, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | SELF-HELP | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

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BOOK REVIEW

by Will Smith & illustrated by Kadir Nelson

More About This Book

by Stephanie Johnson & Brandon Stanton illustrated by Henry Sene Yee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 12, 2022

A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.

A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.

Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.

Pub Date: July 12, 2022

ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2

Page Count: 192

Publisher: St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022

BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR | ENTERTAINMENT, SPORTS & CELEBRITY | GENERAL BIOGRAPHY & MEMOIR

More by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton photographed by Brandon Stanton

by Brandon Stanton ; photographed by Brandon Stanton

LOVE, PAMELA

by Pamela Anderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2023

A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.

The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.

According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that ." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy , which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.

Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023

ISBN: 9780063226562

Page Count: 256

Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023

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Get Powerful Life Lessons Directly From One of the Most Successful Stars on the Planet

A number of years ago, Will Smith and his team contacted me telling me that he wanted help to write a book about his life. He wanted to not only share his stories but also impart some of his life’s lessons, recounting how he overcame struggles and setbacks, survived abuse, trauma and racism, and came out the other end one of the biggest icons on the planet. Helping him write this book has been one of the honors of my career and the result is nothing short of profound.

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Download a free chapter of will, will smith’s #1 bestselling memoir.

When Will Smith was eleven years old, his father decided he needed a new wall on the front of his shop. The laying of this wall, brick by brick, would come to define a large part of Will’s life. Learn how in this free chapter from the bestselling memoir.

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What People Are Saying

Praise for ‘will’.

Many people can live a really fantastic life. Many people can write a great book. There are few people I think who can translate a fantastic life into a fantastic book…. It’s raw… one of the most anticipated yet unexpected memoirs that has ever come out.

It shows every high, every low, and the sheer will it took you to become who you are… I love the book. It’s fantastic.

This book doesn’t waste any time… Like a lot of families, mine included, we talk about nothing. You took the carpet, you shook it, you beat it with a broom, you let it all out. … The book is so good.

Will is not just a gift for the reader but an absolutely entertaining treat as well… It’s filled with laugh out loud, nostalgic references alongside poignant, powerful, relatable life and career lessons. … While we often think of leaders as successful, powerful… and oftentimes rich, Smith reminds us that the best leaders are really vulnerable, relatable and teachable.

Will Smith isn’t holding back in his bravely inspiring new memoir… An ultimately heartwarming read, Will provides a humane glimpse of the man behind the actor, producer and musician, as he bares all his insecurities and trauma.

The real Smith, the one that yells, cries, experiences heartbreak, is much more interesting. Early on, his act gives way to images of unhealthy relationship patterns marked by people pleasing and insecurity. Elsewhere, Will rewards music fans with memories of hip-hop’s early days, when getting a song played on the radio was a crowning achievement and selling rap albums was almost inconceivable.

About the Book

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned.

Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had. Will Smith’s transformation from a fearful child in a tense West Philadelphia home to one of the biggest pop stars of his era and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, with a string of box office successes that will likely never be broken, is an epic tale of inner transformation and outer triumph, and Will tells it astonishingly well. But it’s only half the story.

Will Smith thought, with good reason, that he had won at life: not only was his own success unparalleled, his whole family was at the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Only they didn’t see it that way: they felt more like star performers in his circus, a seven-days-a-week job they hadn’t signed up for. It turned out Will Smith’s education wasn’t nearly over.

This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind. Written with the help of Mark Manson, author of the multi-million-copy bestseller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck , Will is the story of how one exceptional man mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same.

Few of us will know the pressure of performing on the world’s biggest stages for the highest of stakes, but we can all understand that the fuel that works for one stage of our journey might have to be changed if we want to make it all the way home. The combination of genuine wisdom of universal value and a life story that is preposterously entertaining, even astonishing, puts Will the book, like its author, in a category by itself.

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Download a free chapter of Will, Will Smith’s #1 bestselling memoir

Will by Will Smith: Extraordinary story of Hollywood’s Fresh Prince

Book review: actor’s self-help memoir could make napoleon feel unmotivated.

If the bookies are right, Will Smith is set to walk away with this year’s best actor Oscar for his performance King Richard. Photograph: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Will Smith is not the first person with that forename to propel an unaccompanied synonym for resolve onto the cover of his memoir. It is only two years since Will Self released his own Will, but, with respect to that loquacious author, the former Fresh Prince has the edge on fanatical determination.

“I would be the golden child,” he explains early on. “It was going to be the performance of a lifetime. And over the next forty years, I would never break character. Not Once.” The drive sustains him from childhood in middle-class Philadelphia to hip-hop success to a brief career slump and on to life as the biggest movie star on the planet. Twenty pages of this book could make Napoleon feel unmotivated.

I have some experience of that commitment. A decade and a half ago, I saw Smith boss a press conference as if it were a Fresh Prince gig. When a tape recorder gave out with an audible click, he picked it up and waved it at the hacks. “Who’s is this? Nobody? Man, you’re just embarrassed to claim it because it’s so old looking,” he bellowed.

Half an hour later, as I sat down for an interview, he immediately twigged I was from a snooty broadsheet, tweaked dials on the Will Console and delivered his answers in steady sentences that required no tidying up on their path to newsprint. If I had been from the New Scientist, I suspect he could have done half an hour on the then-incomplete Large Hadron Collider. Perhaps only Tom Cruise works harder at the ancillary requirements of stardom.

Few readers will be much surprised to hear that Will (the book) returns again and again to success and how it is achieved. What does set one back are the descriptions of a professional nosedive that struck in the late 1980s. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince, the sharp duo that rode hip-hop’s opening waves, were no longer selling records and Will, still in his early 20s, was casting money about with lunatic abandon.

One expensive recording session was so unproductive that his manager, with no warning, flew in Smith’s fearsome dad to shake some sense into him. The Internal Revenue Service turned up with a bill for close to $3 million and the “golden child” looked to be finished. It seems hardly possible that even a callow version of Smith could allow such anarchy to rule. Maybe he is – or was – human after all.

He was saved when Quincy Jones pointed him towards the pilot for a sitcom called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. It was a hit and the train never again left the tracks. “The universe had given me a second chance, and I swore to God that I would not need a third,” he writes in Will. The Almighty has, indeed, not been thus inconvenienced.

He talks movingly about the subtle discrimination he experienced at a largely white school and soberly about the more explicit racism he met elsewhere

Co-written with Mark Manson, the man behind “one of the largest personal-growth websites in the world”, the book reads as much like a self-help guide as a traditional celebrity memoir. To be fair, Smith’s extraordinary story does give him some permission to pontificate on how a chap might get ahead in life. He grew up in relative financial comfort, but his dad was a strict disciplinarian who handed on a drive for perfectionism to his kids. “After too many drinks, or if he snapped, he would burn everything to the ground,” Smith explains.

He talks movingly about the subtle discrimination he experienced at a largely white school and soberly about the more explicit racism he met elsewhere. “Every encounter I have had with overt racism was with people I estimated to be weak enemies at best,” Smith writes.

There is throughout a tension between his need to trumpet success and his unstoppable addiction to self-analysis. A chapter titled Perfection begins with a list of the box office totals for the films he made between 2002 and 2008. Smith writes: “What you’re looking at is arguably the greatest individual hot streak in the history of Hollywood. (Note: My editor forced me, against my will, to add ‘arguably’.)” The parenthetical addition suggest a half-step back from the brag.

One of the strangest anecdotes walks us through years of planning for his wife’s 40th birthday party. Sometime before Mary J Blige closed the show, the guests saw a video of the host’s surprise visit to descendants of the (apparently sporting) family who had owned Jada Pinkett Smith’s ancestors during slavery. Pardon? The yarn progresses in faintly triumphant fashion before closing with a furious rebuke from Jada. “That was the most disgusting display of ego I have ever seen in my life!” she yelled.

Will does seem to get it, and much of the remaining text is taken up with blather about personal healing and spiritual growth. Others may resist the rolling of eyes as, to the sound of “tribal chants and sacred melodies,” the Amazonian psychoactive brew Ayahuasca makes its way about his system, but this reviewer was unable to contain audible snorts.

Still, who are we to argue? Smith is not quite the draw he was when Independence Day and Men in Black were eating up the box office, but, if the bookies are right, he is set to walk away with this year’s best actor Oscar for his performance as Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s well-reviewed King Richard.

He knows things we don’t.

Donald Clarke is film correspondent for The Irish Time s

Donald Clarke

Donald Clarke, a contributor to The Irish Times, is Chief Film Correspondent and a regular columnist

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• 4.4 • 1.2K Ratings

Publisher Description

The instant #1 New York Times bestseller! “It's the best memoir I've ever read.” — Oprah Winfrey “Will Smith isn't holding back in his bravely inspiring new memoir . . . An ultimately heartwarming read, Will provides a humane glimpse of the man behind the actor, producer and musician, as he bares all his insecurities and trauma.” —USA Today Winner of the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Achievement One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had. Will Smith’s transformation from a West Philadelphia kid to one of the biggest rap stars of his era, and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, is an epic tale—but it’s only half the story.   Will Smith thought, with good reason, that he had won at life: not only was his own success unparalleled, his whole family was at the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Only they didn't see it that way: they felt more like star performers in his circus, a seven-days-a-week job they hadn't signed up for. It turned out Will Smith's education wasn't nearly over.    This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind. Written with the help of Mark Manson, author of the multi-million-copy bestseller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck , Will is the story of how one person mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same. Few of us will know the pressure of performing on the world's biggest stages for the highest of stakes, but we can all understand that the fuel that works for one stage of our journey might have to be changed if we want to make it all the way home. The combination of genuine wisdom of universal value and a life story that is preposterously entertaining, even astonishing, puts Will the book, like its author, in a category by itself.

APPLE BOOKS REVIEW

You don’t become a megastar like Will Smith without picking up a bit of wisdom—and some seriously amazing stories—along the way. Collaborating with self-help author Mark Manson, Smith chronicles his life and career and shares inspiring observations about the lessons he’s learned. (The quote “living is the journey from not knowing to knowing” really stuck with us.) Smith is just as charismatic on the page as he is on screen. Even when he’s discussing painful topics, like how much of his drive and ambition were shaped by his abusive, alcoholic dad, his raw honesty and charm shine through. We loved reading about his meteoric rise as a rapper and actor—from touring with Public Enemy to negotiating a movie contract for tens of millions, every stop on his journey had us enthralled. Will is a memoir with just as much star power as the celebrity behind it.

Customer Reviews

Oh my. Will did good with this one.

The Wall: Daddio

Daddio never gave a perspective to fear, he always kept the task of the matter doable. Despite the impossible why's and how's from any delusions...of what now can't I do - as done before - Will & Harry 🫶

New best friend and double fan‼️. Was already a fan and after this book I became a renewed fan

Beautiful. I loved it. I want to meet and hang out with will now. Somebody make it happen 💪🏾. I can come to him where ever he’s at. Just be in the same room talking smack. 😂 I like how he broke down his journey. I can see there’s more but thanks for giving us a glimpse into your life.

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The Great Performers Issue

Will Smith Is Done Trying to Be Perfect

“Strategizing about being the biggest movie star in the world — that is all completely over. ”

Will Smith Credit... Ruven Afanador for The New York Times

Supported by

By David Marchese

• Dec. 9, 2021

Will Smith’s superpower as a performer — as a movie star — has always been his radiating charisma. Who else could have credibly portrayed Muhammad Ali, the most charismatic man ever? In “King Richard,” Smith transmutes that gift into something subtler but just as powerful in his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena. (Smith, as he was eager to acknowledge, was supported in the film by Saniyya Sidney as Venus, Demi Singleton as Serena and Aunjanue Ellis as the girls’ mother and Williams’s wife at the time, Oracene Price.) Richard Williams, as embodied by Smith, is a man who has been physically bowed but not beaten. He has a limp from a racist attack as a child; his carriage is tense, a little unsure, as if always on alert for a sucker punch. He’s someone who has spent time beneath the underdog. And yet when it comes to Williams’s daughters and his dreams for them of tennis greatness, Smith invests his character with his trademark on-screen self-assurance. That Smith, who is 53 and who this autumn published a searching memoir, “Will,” was able to express those disparate traits so effectively is something he attributes to the work, precipitated by that book, that he has lately put into himself. “I wouldn’t have been able to play Richard Williams in this way,” Smith says, “before I had examined my life and understood so many aspects of my childhood and how that affected the decisions I made as a parent.”

There’s a key scene in “King Richard” in which Richard Williams talks about getting beaten up by a gang of white men as a child and seeing his father run away rather than help him. Not wanting to repeat that act of cowardice is ostensibly what drove his behavior toward his daughters. In your book, you write about seeing your dad hit your mom and how the cowardice that you felt for not intervening subsequently drove your own behaviors. When it came time to play Richard Williams, had you made any links between those situations? Absolutely. As an actor, you’re trying to find the aspects of the character that you most innately understand. So I could relate to Richard Williams similarly as I related to my father. I could relate to both their senses of disrespect. They felt unsupported and disrespected, and that was central for both of them. I started finding all those parallels, and also what happened is I got better as an actor during that time. I was organizing my memoir while I was working on “King Richard.” These two things have gone together. My ability as an actor expanded in the last 18 months. It’s one of the most exponential jumps in emotional comprehension that I’ve ever had.

Good acting can be such an intangible thing. What are you looking at as evidence of improvement? At the core, acting is what can you comprehend emotionally. And when you comprehend it emotionally, do you understand it enough to feel it and create interesting behavior around it? So something like Richard Williams’s walk: Now, you can mimic someone’s walk and look authentic. It’s a completely different thing when you know why the person is hunching over versus the stand-up-comedian version of it just mimicking it. Understanding that was the leap that happened: When you know why Richard Williams’s left leg hurts, what happened with the spike that got driven through it, that, as an actor, is the 90 percent of the iceberg that’s below the surface. When you’ve programmed it deeply, those things have corresponding vibrations for the audience that they don’t even realize.

What does your walk say about you? Ha! I guess if you were to psychoanalyze my walk from eight years ago, it’d be two things: My walk is really fast, and it’s high. I’m trying to create a joyful persona, and it’s because a long time ago I realized how you enter a space is going to determine how the space reacts to you. So my walk is joyful, but it’s also somewhat performative and pre-emptive. It’s like, I don’t want somebody to feel like they have to punch me in my face. I want to walk into a room and get as many friends as quickly as possible.

You said “eight years ago.” Does your walk say something different now? At this point in my life, I’m comfortable in my body. I’m OK with things not being perfect. I don’t have to look right. My mind isn’t drifting to what people are thinking when I walk in anymore. It’s much less performative and conscious.

Being a parent and a husband involves its own kind of performance. How did you think about those identities for Richard Williams, and how might they be different from how you, Will Smith, perform them? Richard Williams wants to gain respect, but he’s not trying to gain approval. There was a part of me, when I started, that desperately craved the approval of the world. That bleeds into everything. I wanted my children to align themselves to obtain the approval of the world. Richard Williams: very different. He was training his kids that they would most likely be getting brutalized by the world, and you don’t need their approval, but you’re going to have their respect. Which made him much more insular, and his push for the security of the family was of a higher value than the presentation of the family to the world. That was a serious difference between our parenting.

Throughout your career, you’ve been strategic about your choice of roles. For a long time you picked what you were doing based on the goal of wanting to be the biggest movie star in the world. What’s your plan now? And how did “King Richard” fit into it? Strategizing about being the biggest movie star in the world — that is all completely over. I realized that in order to enjoy my time here and in order to be helpful, it’s much more about self-examination. I want to take roles where I get to look at myself, where I get to look at my family, I get to look at ideas that are important to me. Everything in my life is more centered on spiritual growth and elevation. So, for example, one of the most important things to me during this process is, I want to make sure that Aunjanue Ellis and Saniyya and Demi are elevated and the world sees their work. I’m not looking for people to clap for me. I have two young actresses that this is their first time around on this level. I want them to feel loved and protected. I want Aunjanue to get her flowers. That is where my attention is in this process versus my attention being on box office or awards. I have as close to zero self-interest in that area as could possibly be.

What was the idea that Richard Williams represented that was important to you? Aunjanue referred to Richard and Oracene: She said that they were co-conspirators in this crazy dream. To me, everybody wants to have a crazy dream. You have to have fun with the absolute insanity of what you want to create in your life, unify your family around it and go for it. That’s the fun of life. We can’t all expect to hit it how the Williams family hit it, but I’m loving shining light on the idea of a family going for it.

You’ve also got a new Disney+ documentary series about the planet Earth. What’s an idea from that series that’s got you jazzed? I’m starting to see how science and spirituality are kind of the same thing. Religion and science, definitely at a subatomic level — that is all the definition of God, right? Everybody’s looking for the same thing. I grew up in a very religious household; my grandmother was all the way Jesus’ homegirl. My mind has always been scientific. I’m starting to see how those things fuse together. When I go and stand next to a volcano and I feel the pounding of that bass shaking my body — the fear that I feel and the awe of nature is deeply spiritual. The exploration for me is relating to nature scientifically but also, like with the volcano, spiritually.

You sound so intentional about everything. Do you ever do stuff just for fun? Almost never. It might be something I’ll have to start to let go of. I’ve been letting go of outcomes. I used to be wildly goal- and target-oriented. But my intention is still really firm. My life is pretty structured. I’m always up from 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. reading and meditating on specific things or dreams and ideas that I want to put into the world. I’m very organized in that way. I guess the illusion of control settles my mind. I hope.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

David Marchese is a staff writer for the magazine and the columnist for Talk. Recently he interviewed Brian Cox about the filthy rich, Dr. Becky about the ultimate goal of parenting and Tiffany Haddish about God’s sense of humor.

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Will Smith: 9 surprising things we learnt from the actor’s candid new memoir

From confessing his love for stockard channing, to admitting he wanted to kill his father at one point, article bookmarked.

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In the run-up to the release of Will Smith ’s highly anticipated, candid memoir Will, several details about the actor’s professional and personal lives have emerged online. As excerpts from the book were carried by publications like People , it became clear that the actor was gearing up to give readers near-unprecedented and unrestricted access to his fame and family life.

From Smith revealing he once fell in love with actor Stockard Channing to him talking candidly about his sex life, here are the main revelations from the 53-year-old’s no-holds barred autobiography, which he co-wrote with Mark Manson.

Smith turned to drugs after Jada mocked birthday party he held for her

After Smith’s wife Jada criticised the birthday party he planned for her in 2011, the couple decided to split up. While dealing with this personal crisis, the Men In Black actor travelled to Peru where he participated in over a dozen ayahuasca rituals. In his memoir, Smith described the experience of drinking the potent psychoactive tea – deep within the jungles of South America, and guided by a shaman – as the “unparalleled greatest feeling” he’s ever had.

The actor met a tantric sex expert and confessed he wanted a ‘harem of girlfriends’

After Peru, Smith travelled to Trinidad where he consulted with intimacy coach and tantric sex expert Michaela Boem, When Boem asked the actor what he would want if he could have anything, Smith said a “harem of girlfriends”. He named actor Halle Berry and ballet dancer Misty Copeland as two women he’d invite into it. Boem and Smith identified a total of 25 women for this “harem”. The actor doesn’t name any women, except Berry and Copeland, in the book.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor had suicidal thoughts when he was 13

Smith confessed that he contemplated suicide after his mother Caroline Bright – who was physically abused by the actor’s father Willard Carroll Smith Sr – walked away from her family. Explaining the circumstances under which Bright left, the actor said that “she’d had enough” of his father’s abuse. Smith said the incident left him feeling lonely and guilty, and drove him to suicidal thoughts.

He wrote: “I thought about pills; I knew where a boy had lost his legs on the train tracks; I had seen people cut their wrists in a bathtub on TV.”

Smith cleared his father’s child-support debts worth £103,000

While talking about his parents’s separation and eventual divorce, the Independence Day actor said he paid his father’s backdated child support bills , totalling $140,000 (£103,000). Already a successful actor by the time the divorce was finalised in 2000, Smith said his father simply didn’t have the money to pay his mother. Smith said he stepped up to clear the bills because his mom “was unwilling to make any concession” and “there was no version of me letting my father go to jail”.

The actor revealed a childhood memory of his father attacking his mother

Theactor recounted a terrible act of violence by his father against his mother.. In the memoir, the actor wrote that he watched Smith Sr punch Bright “so hard that she collapsed”. He continued that, despite maintaining a close relationship with his father after his parents’s divorce, “a darkness arose within me” when the same memory resurfaced one night.

While he was caring for his wheelchair-bound father, who had been diagnosed with cancer, the actor admitted that he briefly contemplated pushing him down the stairs to “avenge” his mother.

Smith’s son Jaden asked to be emancipated when he was 15

Smith’s son Jaden asked to be emancipated when he was 15, after the father-son duo starred in the 2013 film After Earth. Smith said the movie was “an abysmal box office and critical failure” that Jaden “took the hit for”, despite having “faithfully” done everything his father had nstructed him to. When Jaden made the emancipation request, Smith said his “heart shattered”.

The actor fell in love with Six Degrees of Separation co-star Stockard Channing

While working on the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation , Smith admitted, he fell in love with his co-star Stockard Channing . At the time, the actor was married to his first wife Sheree Zampino, and the couple had just welcomed their first child. After the film was shot, Smith confessed that he found himself “desperately yearning to see and speak to Stockard”,

Jaden Smith was nearly named Luigi

After Will and Jada welcomed their first-born Jaden, the actor asked his older son Trey (who he shares with ex-wife Zampino) to name Jaden. Smith said the couple’s psychologist thought that involving Trey in the process would “create a sense of ownership and connection” between the two families. However when six-year-old Trey announced his decision to christen the newborn boy Luigi, Smith recalled the look of “abject horror” he shared with Jada.

Ultimately, the Smiths convinced Trey to name their dog Luigi instead, and suggested they each pick one name for the baby. Smith picked Jaden, Jada chose Syre, and Trey went with Christopher. The couple’s son was, therefore, named Jaden Christopher Syre Smith.

John Amos helped Smith bid adieu to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

When Smith was torn between committing to a seventh season of his hit show and pursuing a movie career, TV veteran John Amos came to his rescue. Amos, whose character was unceremoniously killed off on Good Times , told Smith it was up to him to make sure the cast and crew of Fresh Prince “get to leave this show with some dignity”. Aware that the storylines were “becoming increasingly hokey”, Smith finally realised it was time to bring the curtain down on Fresh Prince after his conversation with Amos.

‘Will’ is out now

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Book Review: Will Smith’s Audiobook Memoir ‘Will’

Archuleta is an author, poet, blogger, and host of the…

The entire world knows Will Smith. No, I mean really, it’s like we know him. Our Fresh Prince, our Man in Black, our Bad Boy, our hero that saves the day. There aren’t too many people I meet that have not been a fan of Will Smith’s since the ’90s. In the audiobook version of his new memoir, Will , Smith gets real, raw, and honest from the start. He introduces another side of himself that has driven his unmatched work ethic and is also rooted in pain.

I love rich storytelling, and Smith doesn’t disappoint. He begins not with the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song we all love so much or even a wild Hollywood story. He begins with him being 9 years old standing in the doorway watching his father beat his mother. It was a moment that shaped his identity. He described his father as being the “greatest blessing and the greatest source of pain” in his life.

From the book: “What you have come to understand as ‘Will Smith,’ the alien-annihilating MC, the bigger-than-life movie star, is largely a construction — a carefully crafted and honed character designed to protect myself. To hide myself from the world. To hide the coward. How we decide to respond to our fears, that is the person we become.”

Listening to this audiobook gives extra special features. Smith raps, plays piano, and plays sound-bites from his life. It was so well done. It covered everything from his early home life, how he got started rapping, his rise to fame and immense success, but also the downfalls. It was hilarious, especially his teenage stories. It was the humor we have come to love from Will Smith.

Smith is a master storyteller. A few stories he admits to not remembering all the details fully. It’s okay, because he still has a great memory. I laughed out loud about Uncle “Whatchamacallit” and Charlie Mack, cried tears over his grandmother GiGi, gave gratitude he had a friend like J.L., became shocked over how he handled his 2011 break-up with now wife Jada Pinkett Smith, and got up off my couch to dance and rap along to the music.  

In Chapter 5, entitled “Hope,” Smith tells the story about receiving his SAT scores midway through his senior year of high school. “Low 1200s. This was far from a perfect score but for a Black kid from an inner-city school in Philadelphia, those numbers were more than good enough to get me really good options for college.”

Smith excelled in math and science. His mother, who he affectionately called Mom-Mom, valued education more than anything. She was an educated woman herself. He said that “she loved words and spoke with an academic excellence.” You could hear his voice beaming as he described how Mom-Mom built a “war room” for him. She had a map of the United States, cross-referenced engineering schools with cities where they had family. She narrowed down the schools, filled out all the applications, handled all the logistics for housing, travel, and financial aid.

This story particularly stood out to me because this was a moment in Smith’s life where he was attempting to declare his independence. We’ve all had that moment — the moment when parents, or anyone, are trying to create your path, and all you want is the opposite. You start to get down on yourself, because you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I also felt for his mother. As most mothers would, all she wanted was the best for her son and to get him out of West Philadelphia.

Something happened that changed everything. Smith was working a job bagging ice and thinking maybe he could just get a job selling mattresses. He was really in a defeated place. Then, as he listened to the countdown on Power 99, “Girls A’int Nothing But Trouble” took the #1 spot. That song used to be my jam, by the way! He heard his song on the radio for the first time. This was his something that changed everything.

Smith also gives us some sugary tea. Like, the time he fell in love with his co-star Stockard Channing from Six Degrees of Separation . He was newly married at the time and just welcomed his first son Trey. “After the film wrapped, Sheree and Trey and I moved back to L.A,” Smith writes. ”Our marriage was off to a rocky start. I found myself desperately yearning to see and speak to Stockard.”

This is what we want from a Will Smith memoir — great moments that are transparent, behind the scenes, heartbreaking, joyful, and even a little boastful. All of them from his life let us see who Will Smith was, is, and still wants to be. I was impressed by the level in which he opens up. It allows the reader to make a connection with him, outside of the big screen. He lets us see that he’s a real person just like us — managing life, failing, succeeding, and becoming a better version of ourselves.

Even though this audiobook has a lot of profanity, don’t let that deter you. Smith has focused on some very emotional lessons in each chapter, but you have to follow the entire story to fully understand them. It was worth hearing them straight from his mouth. I can tell there’s still more to his story, which I hope he shares with us at some point.

Oprah was right: ”It’s just the best memoir I have ever read because you got the perfect combination of telling me the story and giving me the wisdom behind the story. And then telling me another story and making it so funny.”

Will Smith’s latest film King Richard is currently playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

What's Your Reaction?

Archuleta is an author, poet, blogger, and host of the FearlessINK podcast. Archuleta's work centers Black women, mental health and wellness, and inspiring people to live their fullest potential.

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Will smith says he crafted a joyful image to cover the pain of the past.

Tonya Mosley

Will Smith looks back on his life in the memoir, Will . "Those difficulties and those traumas and the mental anguish that I had to overcome was a big part of me growing into the person I am today," he says. Lorenzo Agius/Penguin Random House hide caption

Will Smith looks back on his life in the memoir, Will . "Those difficulties and those traumas and the mental anguish that I had to overcome was a big part of me growing into the person I am today," he says.

The world knows Will Smith as a musician, a comedian and blockbuster movie star — perhaps even the most bankable star in the world. But in his new memoir, called Will, Smith explores another identity, one that has fueled his unwavering work ethic: that of a coward.

Smith says that when he was 9, he stood by, watching helplessly as his father beat his mother. It was a moment that shaped his identity.

"I couldn't shake the idea that I had failed my mother and I was somehow unworthy of love and care because of my cowardice," he says. "And that [was] the beginnings of wanting to overachieve and wanting to create and wanting to win and wanting to build an external life that could somehow and hopefully cover the pain."

With his "Fresh Prince" rap persona , Smith landed up on a character that offered a counterbalance to what he was feeling: "That buoyant, happy, joyful image [of the Fresh Prince] was painted over a core of a real lack of self esteem and self-respect," he says.

Smith went on to star (and later produce) the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air , which was based on that persona. After the show ended, he turned to movies, including the Men in Black films, Independence Day and I Am Legend . He's currently starring as the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard .

Looking back now, Smith says he wouldn't change the adversity he experienced as a child: "Those difficulties and those traumas and the mental anguish that I had to overcome was a big part of me growing into the person I am today, and I love my life. I'm happier than I have ever been. And it is largely based on the perception of myself that I can survive anything."

Interview highlights

Will , by Will Smith Penguin Random House hide caption

Will , by Will Smith

On waiting until after his father died to write the memoir

I saw my father beat up my mother, and that narrative didn't fit into the image that I was crafting. It was embarrassing. There was a person I wanted to be, or a person I thought I had to be, to be able to create the life that I wanted to create, and I just never could have said that out loud while my father was alive. Because at the same time, my father was my hero, and my father is largely responsible for all of the blessings and the things that I've been able to go on and create and build, so that internal conflict was dissolved when my father passed in 2016.

On being open with his family about what he was writing

Movie Interviews

Actor (and football dad) will smith on playing the 'concussion' doctor.

I had what I call "book camp." So basically ... I was probably 85%, 90% finished the book [and] I called everybody that I mentioned in the book and I sat down and for two weeks, I read everybody everything that I said about them. And we laughed and we cried and I allowed people to say, "Hey, that wasn't my experience, can you please make this adjustment?" And ... my mother and I had never talked about it. ... So it was a very cathartic time for us to sit down and talk through all of the moments and talk through the experiences, and she reassured me that she never viewed me as a coward.

On his love and reverence for his father, and wanting to show the nuance

My father was one of the greatest men I've ever known. My father was brilliant. My father was wise, and not unlike other little boys, my father was the Superman image in my mind. And that was also one of the things that was difficult about writing this book and telling this story, because as soon as people hear "abuse," they paint an ogre in their mind, and my father wasn't an ogre. My father was both things. My father was deeply brilliant. He never missed a game. He was a beautiful teacher. He was military-minded and he never abandoned the post of being a father. He put food on the table every night. That dichotomy is part of what breaks the mind of a child in that way, because you can't fit both of those things into one space.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Let's talk about that reconciliation during the 'fresh prince' reunion special.

So in writing a book, it was really difficult for me because I know that people need the black and white. People need good guys and bad guys and all of that, and my father wasn't a bad guy by a long shot. He was troubled and he overcame many of his struggles to be able to provide a place for his family, and it was hard for me to feel like I could potentially do a disservice to the multiple aspects of what my father was and have my impressions soil his legacy in a way that would feel not nuanced.

On what he learned talking to Venus and Serena Williams about their father

Before Superstardom, Williams Sisters Stunned On Compton's Courts

One of the biggest surprises was when we think about Richard Williams, we think about a standard, overbearing parent — and he was so not that. He wasn't the father that was hammering and pounding his kids to excel. He was the father who used love and he aligned with what they wanted for their lives, and it was a family mission. It wasn't Richard's mission to get his kids to become something that would satiate his ego. So one of the major things that I got from talking to Venus and Serena was, they were pushing Richard, in a way. Venus called it the "Jedi mind trick," that he somehow did a Jedi mind trick on them where they were pushing to play tennis, they wanted to excel. In terms of Richard's priorities, God was first alongside family and love and school, and tennis was fifth or sixth on the list of what he wanted from them.

On how he's had to adjust his parenting approach over the years

I fell right into my father's military mindset and the transition and the transformation that I had to make over the past few years with my parenting, the past decade really, is from a place of seeking product, seeking an end result, seeking a goal, to opening to understanding my children's unique talents and difficulties and supporting their vision for their lives, rather than demanding that they adhere to my vision for their lives. And I call it the flower/gardener scenario, where shifting from a military mindset, where I try to demand that they become a certain thing, to the flower/gardener concept where they are a seed and I'm respecting what they are as a seed, and I'm just trying to water and care for what they are innately and allowing them to blossom into what they naturally are, versus trying to force them into becoming what I think they should be.

On why he wouldn't star in films about slavery early in his career and why he decided to play "Whipped Peter" in a forthcoming film Emancipation by Antoine Fuqua

'Emancipation' Moving Production Out Of Georgia Due To New Voting Laws

In the first part of my career, it was really important to me, I wanted to be considered for the same roles that Tom Cruise is considered for. I don't want to be seen as a Black actor. I want to be seen as an actor equal to all of my white or Latino counterparts. I'm an actor. I'm a human, to be seen on the same level. So it was really important to me to play characters that weren't necessarily Black in the screenplay. ... Roles in slavery, I was not considering those at the time. But when you know, when this role came around, one of the first that I considered was Django . Quentin [Tarantino], and I talked for a long time about the potential of Django . And I ultimately decided against Django, because I didn't want to make a movie set in slavery about vengeance. It was just slightly outside of my perception and belief in the ultimate goodness of humanity. So when the Whipped Peter story came around, it is a story set during the time of emancipation, but the core of it is love. It's a man who was separated from his family and his love and his faith and God helped him to persevere and to ultimately emancipate and reunite. So I would say the philosophical thematic premise is what really drew me to Emancipation .

Sam Briger and Seth Kelley produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Natalie Escobar adapted it for the Web.

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Will audible audiobook – unabridged.

One of the most dynamic and globally recognized entertainment forces of our time opens up fully about his life, in a brave and inspiring book that traces his learning curve to a place where outer success, inner happiness, and human connection are aligned. Along the way, Will tells the story in full of one of the most amazing rides through the worlds of music and film that anyone has ever had.

Will Smith’s transformation from a West Philadelphia kid to one of the biggest rap stars of his era, and then one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood history, is an epic tale — but it’s only half the story.

Will Smith thought, with good reason, that he had won at life: Not only was his own success unparalleled, his whole family was at the pinnacle of the entertainment world. Only they didn't see it that way: They felt more like star performers in his circus, a seven-days-a-week job they hadn't signed up for. It turned out Will Smith's education wasn't nearly over.

This memoir is the product of a profound journey of self-knowledge, a reckoning with all that your will can get you and all that it can leave behind. Written with the help of Mark Manson, author of the multi-million-copy best seller The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck , Will is the story of how one person mastered his own emotions, written in a way that can help everyone else do the same. Few of us will know the pressure of performing on the world's biggest stages for the highest of stakes, but we can all understand that the fuel that works for one stage of our journey might have to be changed if we want to make it all the way home. The combination of genuine wisdom of universal value and a life story that is preposterously entertaining, even astonishing, puts Will the book, like its author, in a category by itself.

This audiobook includes a downloadable PDF of music credits.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

• Listening Length 16 hours and 16 minutes
• Author Will Smith, see all
• Narrator Will Smith
• Audible release date November 9, 2021
• Language English
• Publisher Penguin Audio
• ASIN B096MWJLNW
• Version Unabridged
• Program Type Audiobook
• See all details

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Will Summary

1-Sentence-Summary: Will is world-famous actor and musician Will Smith’s autobiography, outlining his life’s story all the way from his humble beginnings in West Philadelphia to achieving fame as a musician and then global stardom as an actor and, ultimately, one of the most influential people of our time.

Favorite quote from the author:

Table of Contents

Video Summary

Will review, who would i recommend the will summary to.

Will Smith’s memoir, Will , is a story about his life and career. It starts with his early hip-hop days and ends, at the time of writing, with making movies and becoming one of the most influential actors in the industry.

Smith was born in Philadelphia and grew up in a modest home. He began rapping at an early age. But it wasn’t until he started working with DJ Jazzy Jeff that he made a name for himself. He released his first album when he was 16 years old.

After graduating high school, Smith moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting full-time, a decision that would eventually lead him to star on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air . Eventually, he would become one of Hollywood’s biggest names .

The book is packed with valuable lessons derived from a life of learning. Here are three of my favorite ones:

• Your future success is not determined by a poor upbringing or imperfect parenting.
• Life rewards those who push through adversity and make it to the other side of challenging times.
• Everything beautiful in life is on the other side of fear.

Let’s explore these valuable lessons from Will Smith!

If you want to save this summary for later, download the free PDF and read it whenever you want.

Lesson 1: You can’t control where you’re born, but you can control who you become.

Will Smith is one of the most successful actors in Hollywood, but he didn’t grow up in a rich and educated family. In fact, he grew up in a poor neighborhood with an alcoholic father who threatened him and his mother. 

Will’s life has been full of ups and downs, but he always managed to bounce back from each challenge. This can be attributed to his strong work ethic and positive attitude toward life. At one point, he thought he made it, but he lost everything due to not paying taxes. 

Will had to learn to become resilient, so he started to build his career again. He is proof that you don’t need to be born into a wealthy, educated family to make it in life. 

Will’s story is one of tragedy but also of triumph. After being kicked out of school, he worked as an usher at a movie theater. He saved his money and went to college, then graduated and began working as a DJ in Philadelphia clubs. 

From there he moved on to acting, which became his passion—and eventually led him to become one of the most successful actors in Hollywood history.

Lesson 2: Adversity teaches us to become more resilient and achieve success.

Will Smith is a successful actor, producer, and rapper who has been in the business for decades. However, his path to success wasn’t easy. One of the most difficult times of his career was when he owed the IRS over $3 million dollars in taxes.

When he first made it big as a rapper, he spent way too much money and underpaid his income taxes. Eventually the IRS took many of his possessions and future income.  

At the time, his first marriage with a woman named Sheree was also crumbling, which made things even more difficult for him. Initially, Will refused to divorce Sheree because he viewed it as a failure. Eventually, however, they did manage to agree and get divorced.

Despite all this adversity, however, Will Smith did not give up on himself or his dreams of becoming successful . Instead, he took responsibility for his actions and worked hard to turn things around. He eventually got a grip on his taxes and, in 1997, he married Jada Pinkett, and they are still together today.

Lesson 3: Facing your fears is one of the best things you can do for your growth.

Will Smith, known for his roles in movies like Independence Day and Men in Black , is famous for saying that God put all the beautiful things in life on the other side of fear. That’s why he faced his fears and jumped out of a plane, trying skydiving for the first time despite being terrified of heights.

In an interview with People magazine, Smith said: “If there’s one thing that I have learned over the years, it’s that you can never go back to where you were before.” “ I’ve always been terrified of heights,” he continued. “But when I was 35 years old, my wife told me ‘you have to get over it’—so I did!”

If you want to live a life of joy and success, you have to be willing to step out of your comfort zone. You just have to take that leap of faith, which is something Will learned the hard way.

Still, he doesn’t want people to see him as an expert on this. Will believes anyone can do it, and that it’s just a matter of facing your fears and taking the leap into the unknown. Often, taking a risk and betting on yourself pays off.

Will Smith’s memoir, Will , is a quick and easy read. The book has different sections that have various meanings for Will personally. Each section has an introduction that gives you some background on what you are about to read. 

Some sections are more fun and entertaining, others deep and thoughtful. Overall, I would say that this book is worth reading if you’re interested in learning more about Will Smith, need some inspiration to accomplish big dreams, or just want a lighthearted read on your next vacation.

The 33-year-old actor who is going through a tough time and needs inspiration from someone else’s story, the 43-year-old fan who is passionate about Will Smith’s movies and his life, and anyone who wants to find motivation in their life to achieve their wildest dreams.

Last Updated on June 15, 2023

While working with my friend Ovi's company SocialBee, I had the good fortune of Maria writing over 200 summaries for us over the course of 18 months. Maria is a professional SEO copywriter, content writer, and social media marketing specialist. When she's not writing or learning more about marketing, she loves to dance and travel all over the world.

*Four Minute Books participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising commissions by linking to Amazon. We also participate in other affiliate programs, such as Blinkist, MindValley, Audible, Audiobooks, Reading.FM, and others. Our referral links allow us to earn commissions (at no extra cost to you) and keep the site running. Thank you for your support.

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Will Smith Book Review

There’s no denying the impact Will Smith has had on entertainment, and his memoir is a testament to his extraordinary journey. In this book review, we explore the inspiring and eye-opening anecdotes from his life, exploring vulnerability and resilience in the face of challenges. Get ready to be empowered and motivated by the words of this iconic figure.

Table of Contents

Key Takeaways:

• Inspiring Journey: Will Smith’s book researchs into his challenging childhood and remarkable rise to fame, serving as a source of inspiration for readers.
• Lessons Learned: The book offers valuable insights into personal growth, resilience, and the importance of believing in oneself, making it a compelling read for those seeking motivation.
• Honest Account: Smith’s candid storytelling and vulnerability in sharing his struggles and triumphs make the book relatable and captivating for readers of all backgrounds.

Who is Will Smith?

Career overview.

Even from a young age, Will Smith showed incredible talent and charisma, quickly rising to fame as a rapper and actor. He first gained recognition for his role in the hit television show “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which catapulted him to stardom.

Personal Life Insights

Even with his busy career, Will Smith has always prioritized his family. He is a devoted husband to his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and a loving father to their children. His positive attitude and dedication to his family have won the hearts of fans worldwide.

Insights This multi-talented entertainer has not been without his challenges. Despite facing public scrutiny and personal setbacks, Will Smith has always remained resilient and focused on his goals. His ability to overcome obstacles with determination and positivity is truly inspiring.

Diving into the Book

Clearly, delving into the pages of Will Smith’s book is like initiateing on a personal journey with the iconic actor. The book gives readers a glimpse into his life, struggles, and successes, offering a deeper understanding of the man behind the fame.

Plot Summary

For a quick overview of the book, the plot revolves around Will Smith’s rise to stardom, from his humble beginnings to becoming one of Hollywood’s biggest names. It takes readers through the highs and lows of his career, offering insights into the challenges he faced and the lessons he learned along the way.

Will Smith Book Review: Dive Into Your Next Adventure

Characters and Key Themes

To truly appreciate the book, it’s important to understand the key characters and themes that shape Will Smith’s narrative. His resilience, determination, and unwavering passion for his craft shine through the pages, inspiring readers to pursue their dreams with unwavering determination .

Diving deeper into the book, readers will also encounter themes of family, hard work , and the importance of authenticity in a world that often demands conformity. These themes resonate with readers on a personal level, reminding them of the power of staying true to oneself despite the challenges.

Critical Analysis

Strengths of the book.

After submerging into the Will Smith book, it becomes evident that one of its main strengths lies in the raw and honest storytelling. Smith’s ability to share personal struggles and triumphs in a relatable manner captivates readers and offers valuable life lessons.

Points of Improvement

Analysis by the readers reveals that while the book excels in authenticity, it lacks some depth in certain aspects. Readers expressed a desire for more insights into certain pivotal moments of Smith’s life and career, leaving them wanting more substance and introspection.

With that said, there is room for expansion and deeper exploration of certain themes and experiences in future publications.

For instance, delving into the psychological impact of fame and success on Smith’s personal life and relationships could provide a more comprehensive understanding of his journey and resonate with readers on a deeper level.

The Impact on Fans and Non-Fans Alike

Fan reactions.

To fans of Will Smith, his book has been a long-awaited treasure trove of insights into the life of the beloved actor. Any avid follower of his career would find the details of his personal struggles and triumphs captivating. Many have praised the candid nature of the book, applauding Smith for his honesty and vulnerability in sharing his story.

Broader Cultural Influence

When considering cultural impact, Will Smith’s book extends far beyond his dedicated fans. Cultural critics and sociologists have noted the significant influence Smith has had on breaking stereotypes in Hollywood and paving the way for more diverse representation. His journey from a successful rapper to a Hollywood A-lister is a testament to perseverance and versatility in the entertainment industry.

Final Words

Hence, after submerging into the captivating world of Will Smith’s memoir, it is clear that his book offers a deep and personal look into the life of a talented actor and inspiring individual. The honesty and authenticity with which Smith recounts his journey make this book a must-read for fans and newcomers alike. Through his triumphs and struggles, readers will find motivation, wisdom, and a renewed sense of determination. Will Smith’s memoir is a testament to the power of resilience, hard work, and staying true to oneself. It is a reflective and entertaining read that leaves a lasting impact on its audience.

Q: What is the book ‘Will Smith’ about?

A: The book ‘Will Smith’ is a memoir written by famous actor and musician Will Smith. In this book, he shares personal stories, insights, and lessons learned throughout his life and career.

Q: Is the ‘Will Smith’ book suitable for all ages?

A: Yes, the ‘Will Smith’ book is suitable for readers of all ages. Will Smith’s storytelling is engaging and relatable, making it a great read for both younger and older audiences.

Q: Where can I purchase the ‘Will Smith’ book?

A: You can purchase the ‘Will Smith’ book at most major bookstores, online retailers like Amazon, and through Will Smith’s official website. Be sure to check for both physical and digital copies based on your preference.

Will Book Summary, Review, Notes

Will by Will Smith and Mark Manson is a memoir about Will Smith’s life, starting from the days of early hip-hop, through The Princ of Bel-Air, all the way to making movies and becoming one of the most recognizable actors in the world.

Book Title : Will Author : Will Smith, Mark Manson Date of Reading : November 2021 Rating : 9/10

Table of Contents

What is being said in detail:.

Will leads us through the life of Will Smith in 21 chapters.

The first three chapters, Fear , Fantasy , and Performance , show us how Will was raised, how he became the way that he was, where he was raised, and what shaped his mindset from the early day.

Chapters four to eight, Power , Hope , Ignorance , Adventure , and Pain show us Will as a teenager and young adult, rising through the world of hip-hop, getting his first Grammy, and “making it.” 

But chapter nine, Destruction , tears all of it down when Will gets into a problem with the IRS by not paying his taxes, owing millions, and his new album is a fluke.

Chapters ten to twelve, Alchemy , Adaptation , and Desire, lead us through Will’s life when he stopped recording his music and got an opportunity to play The Prince of Bel-Air. 

We follow Will as he quickly rises as a TV star, gets married (and divorced) , and becomes a father. Then, he shifted to the next big thing— movies.

Chapters thirteen to fifteen, Devotion , Boom , and Inferno, lays out how Will started becoming a movie star and how quickly he rose to the rank of one of the most famous movie stars in the world. 

Chapter sixteen, Purpose , shows us how Will got the role of Muhhamad Ali and got his Oscar nomination.

Chapter seventeen to nineteen, Perfection , Mutiny , and Retreat, show us how even though Will got everything in his life, he still felt kind of empty and unsatisfied inside. 

He kept pushing himself and his family to do more and be more which resulted in quite a lot of problems in his second marriage with Jada.

Chapters twenty and twenty, Surrender , and Love, show us a Will who has changed and embraced his shadow side. He is no longer the “do or die” type of guy who pushes everyone to the brink . 

He found a new way to himself and his family, accepting his shortcomings and coming to terms with his demons.

The epilogue titled Jump takes us to Will’s 50th birthday where he did a Bungee Jump from a helicopter overlooking Grand Canyon with his entire family and friends watching. 

The event was a culmination of his fear of being a coward and dealing with failures and fails in his life.

Most Important Keywords, Sentences, Quotes:

It didn’t matter if it was raining, if it was hot as hell, if I was mad, if I was sad, if I was sick, if I had a test the next day — there were no excuses.

Some of the most impactful lessons I’ve ever received, I’ve had to learn in spite of myself.

The days dragged on, and as much as I hated to admit it, I started to see what he was talking about. 

When I focused on the wall, the job felt impossible. Never-ending. But when I focused on one brick , everything got easy — I knew I could lay one damn brick well ….

I’ve always thought of myself as a coward. Most of my memories of my childhood involve me being afraid in some way — afraid of other kids, afraid of being hurt or embarrassed, afraid of being seen as weak . But mostly, I was afraid of my father.

The North Philly streets had a way of hardening you. You either crystallized into a mean motherfucker, or the hood broke you.

But as it turned out, Daddio loved it. It was in the military that he discovered the transformative power of order and discipline, two values that he came to worship as the guardrails protecting him from the worst parts of himself.

Like many sons, I worshipped my father, but he also terrified me. He was one of the greatest blessings of my life , and also one of my greatest sources of pain.

He loved the poetry of his profanity — I once heard him call a man a “dirty rat, cocksuckin ’, low – down, mangy pig fucker” Mom – Mom doesn’t use profanity.

In his world, there was no such thing as a “small thing.” Doing your homework was a mission. Cleaning the bathroom was a mission. Getting groceries from the supermarket was a mission. 

And scrubbing a floor? It was never just about scrubbing a floor — it was about your ability to follow orders, to exhibit self – discipline , and to complete a task with the utmost perfection.

The constant fear during my childhood honed my sensitivity to every detail in my environment. 

From a very young age, I developed a razor – sharp intuition, an ability to attune to every emotion around me. I learned to sense anger, predict joy, and understand sadness on far deeper levels than most other kids.

This emotional awareness has stayed with me throughout my life. Paradoxically it has served me well as an actor and performer. 

I could easily recognize, comprehend, and emulate complex emotions long before I knew that people would pay me for it.

My father tormented me. And he was also one of the greatest men I’ve ever known. My father was violent, but he was also at every game, play, and recital. 

He was an alcoholic, but he was sober at every premiere of every one of my movies. He listened to every record. He visited every studio. The same intense perfectionism that terrorized his family put food on the table every night of my life.

In a family of fighters, I was the weak one. I was the coward.

How we decide to respond to our fears, that is the person we become. I decided to be funny .

That night, in that bedroom, at only nine years old, watching the destruction of my family as my mother collapsed to the floor — in that moment, I decided. 

I made a silent promise. To my mother, to my family, to myself: One day, I would be in charge. And this would never, ever happen again.

Comedy is an extension of intelligence. It’s hard to be really funny if you’re not really smart.

Living in your own little world with your own rules can be an advantage sometimes, but you have to be careful. You can’t get too detached from reality. Because there are consequences.

Kids could be cruel. And the more eccentric you are, the less mercy you will be shown.

The bigger the fantasy you live, the more painful the inevitable collision with reality. 

If you cultivate the fantasy that your marriage will be forever joyful and effortless, then reality is going to pay you back in equal proportion to your delusion. 

If you live the fantasy that making money will earn you love, then the universe will slap you awake, in the tune of a thousand angry voices.

3. Performance

Gigi didn’t make a distinction between your burdens and her own. She truly believed the message of the Gospel. She saw loving and serving others not as a responsibility but as an honor.

These three ideas — discipline, education, and love — would fight for my attention throughout the rest of my life.

I was raised to believe that I am inherently equipped to handle any problems that may arise in my life, racism included. 

Some combination of hard work, education, and God would topple any and all obstacles and enemies. The only variable was the level of my commitment to the fight.

The equation was now complete: DJing + MCing = Hip – Hop. And the world was not ready.

I never cursed again in my rhymes. And I got criticized and smashed for years for that choice. But there was no peer pressure that even came close to overriding Gigi pressure.

This was always my biggest strength. I had been cracking jokes my entire life. Now all I had to do was make them rhyme and people were flippin’.

“Nah, Miss Brown, we both know I am barely thirty seconds late. And if you don’t mind, thenceforth and hitherto do I demand to be known as the Fresh Prince.” The classroom burst out laughing. The name stuck.

In order to feel confident and secure, you need to have something to feel confident and secure about.

Internal power and confidence are born of insight and proficiency. 

When you understand something, or you’re good at something, you feel strong, and it makes you feel like you have something to offer. 

When you have adequately cultivated your unique skills and gifts, then you’re excited about approaching and interacting with the world.

As a teenager, outside of physical injury, you cannot feel worse than having your mother catch you and your girlfriend doggy-style on her kitchen floor.

I could go on and on. But I’ll stop and just say there’s a reason why many, including myself, consider Jeff to be the GOAT of hip-hop DJing. Even today, over thirty years later, he’s revered by DJing experts as one of the best in the world.

Jeff was flawless that night. And when it was all said and done, the 1986 World Supreme DJ was a kid who spent most of his life in a basement in Southwest Philly: my DJ, DJ Jazzy Jeff.

But by the time we drove home the next morning, New York disappearing behind us, I was struck with an overwhelming conviction: I am not going to college.

We didn’t realize that Dana didn’t even have a company yet. He had no distribution, very few connections in radio or television. And DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were his first foray into the music business.

Deep down inside, I knew that my dreams would be made or broken by the people I chose to surround myself with. 

Confucius had it right: It’s nearly impossible for the quality of your life to be higher than the quality of your friends. 

And by the grace of God, there has never been a single moment in my life when I have looked to my left or to my right and not seen an extraordinary friend, someone who believed in me and was down for whatever.

Our hopes had finally collided. And these hopes were inherently incompatible with each other. One had to give way. One of us was going to have our heart broken.

My mother’s college education saved her life, which solidified for her a fundamental premise: A college education is the only armor against the brutality of this world. 

And without a college education, I would be condemned to certain destruction. This was not her advice to me — this was” the truth.” To her, being a rapper was impossible. But I am not my mother. 

Just as her education saved and defended her from the hardships of her early life, performance and hip-hop had saved me from mine. It’s clearer when I look back now. 

While we were gridlocked and colliding and arguing, the reality was, both things were true — one was true for her, and the other was true for me.

“ So, here’s what we gonna do,” Daddio said.” You got one year. Your mother said she can get all them schools to hold your acceptance till next September. 

We’re gonna help you and support you to do anything you think you need to do to succeed. 

But in one year, if it ain’t happenin’, you’re going to go to whichever one of them school’s your mother choose. That work for you?” In my mind a year was forever. I was ecstatic.

I ran outside; I wanted to grab somebody, to tell somebody,” THAT’S ME, Y’ALL, THAT’S ME.” But it was ten o’clock; nobody was out there. I started giggling, a knee-jerk reaction that I still have to this day when I find myself in extreme emotional circumstances. 

I couldn’t stop laughing. It was a joyous, blissful laughter. The pure joy of a child waking up on Christmas morning. The joy of discovery. Of renewed hope. Of a new life. The joy of being right about me.

6. Ignorance

People often say ignorance is bliss. Maybe … right up until it’s not. We punish ourselves for not knowing.

Living is the journey from not knowing to knowing. From not understanding to understanding.  From confusion to clarity. 

By universal design you are born into a perplexing situation, bewildered, and you have one job as a human: figure this shit out.

“Can I help you?” Daddio said.” Where’s that muthafucka at?” Dana gruffly responded.” Well, if the muthafucka you’re looking for is Will, he’s in the house. 

You’re welcome to come in and kill him now. And the whole family’s home, too, coz if you touch Will, you gon’ have to kill us all …. But we ain’t acceptin’ no fuckin’ threats from you.”

7. Adventure

What I’m saying is objectively, and factually true: The late 1980s was the greatest time in hip-hop history, period, full stop, amen.

We never even adjusted from our jet lag. We woke up at 4: 00 p.m. every day, hit the studio by 6: 00 p.m., worked until about 6: 00 a.m., grabbed some free breakfast from the Swiss Cottage buffet, and went to bed around 7: 00 a.m. 

We kept that schedule up for almost six weeks. And it was bliss.

He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper was released on March 29, 1988. Anchored by” Brand New Funk” and” Parents Just Don’t Understand,” the album would eventually reach # 4 on the Billboard 200, going triple platinum ( selling more than three million copies ).

We were red – hot, and unstoppable. At twenty years old, I was a world-famous rapper, a Grammy Award winner, and a Freshly minted millionaire (pun intended ). I would drop the mic, but I need it for the next chapter.

On the outside, though, I was strangely calm, because none of these thoughts were registering as actual feelings. I wanted to be angry — I mean, you’re supposed to be pissed when somebody cheats on you, right? But I felt nothing.

When you’re a twenty-year-old rapper from the inner city of Philadelphia who’s just made his first million dollars, the only people who can afford to hang with you are other rappers, professional athletes, or drug dealers. I picked drug dealers.

“Boy, why you need three cars?” he said. “You only got one ass.”

I have since realized the critical importance of environment. Choosing the city you live in is as important as choosing your life partner.

The thing about money, sex, and success is that when you don’t have them, you can justify your misery — shit, if I had money, sex, and success, I’d feel great! 

However misguided that may be, it psychologically permeates as hope. But once you are rich, famous, successful — and you’re still insecure and unhappy — the terrifying thought begins to lurk: Maybe the problem is me. 

Of course, I dismissed that foolishness quickly. I just needed more money, more women, more Grammys.

9. Destruction

It is unbelievably painful for me as I write this chapter because these conflicts and misunderstandings had such simple solutions, yet our immaturity demanded that we had to suffer excruciating consequences in order to learn the most basic lessons of human relating. 

It’s so obvious to me today how hurtful it must have been for Clate to go from being my best friend and my creative right hand to someone who was increasingly being excluded and alienated and asked by photographers to step out of pictures. 

And what’s worse, we never even talked about it.

Imagine you were to secure a title fight against Mike Tyson in his prime. 

Fearful for your life, you hire legendary trainer Freddie Roach, you commit to the perfect diet, the perfect training regimen, you do everything within your power to prepare yourself to face Iron Mike. 

You step into the ring in impeccable physical and mental condition, and Mike destroys you within fifteen seconds. You did everything you could possibly have done, and still lost. You’re just not as good a fighter as Mike Tyson. 

That is a bearable loss; that is what I’m calling natural destruction. But if you were lollygagging during training, didn’t really eat right, and let your boy Pookie train you — and then Mike knocks you out in fifteen seconds — now you have to face an unbearable loss. 

You have to live the rest of your life not knowing what might have happened had you done your best. In the back of your mind, forever, you will know that you didn’t only lose to Mike Tyson, you lost to yourself. 

The fight wasn’t you versus Mike — it was you and Mike versus you. That’s how I feel about And in This Corner …

I didn’t pay my taxes. It’s not like I forgot, it was more like … I just didn’t pay my taxes. In January 1990, Uncle Sam decided that I’d had enough fun and he wanted his. 

I owed the IRS taxes on around $3 million of income . I think somewhere above a million dollars, Uncle Sam shifts from ornery to irritable and everything north of about $ 2.3 million makes him aggressive and cantankerous.

I was rich and famous, minus the rich, and minus the famous. I was worse than broke — I was in the hole. 

The walls were tumbling down. I had enjoyed Sodom and Gomorrah way more than I was enjoying Jericho.

As I write this chapter, I have never seen or spoken to Melanie again. I’ve reached out on multiple occasions over the years with no response. 

She was the victim of one of the lowest points in my life. Yes, we were young, yes, we hurt each other, but she did not deserve how I treated her; she did not deserve how it ended.

name. But as I sat in that jail cell, facing aggravated assault, criminal conspiracy, simple assault, and reckless endangerment charges for a punch I hadn’t even thrown, I finally understood a term I’d heard many times before: Rock. Bottom.

” When I get my feet, you should roll out to LA.” Bucky chuckled the same knowing chuckle.” Sure, man, I’ll do that.” He gave me a pound. I made my flight. Three days later, Bucky was dead.

10. Alchemy

“But right now, everybody that needs to say yes to this show is sitting out there in that living room waiting for you. And you are about to make a decision that will affect the rest of your life.”

“NO PARALYSIS THROUGH ANALYSIS!” Quincy shouted again and again. He would intone this mantra nearly fifty times over the next two hours. It was the answer to every question, it was the response to ever stutter, it was the solution to every legal problem. 

Until, two hours later, when Quincy Jones, Brandon Tartikoff, Benny Medina — and Will Smith — entered into an agreement to shoot a pilot for a television show tentatively titled The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Six weeks earlier, I had been curled up in a ball in Marina del Rey, lost, depressed, and terrified. And just like that, the universe had given me a new family: James Avery. Janet Hubert – Whitten. Alfonso Ribeiro. Tatyana Ali. Karyn Parsons. Joseph Marcell.

I was well into my twenties before I actually read an entire book cover to cover.

11. Adaptation

(Just as a piece of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air trivia: In the opening credits of the show, when I get in” one little fight and my mom got scared,” the person I get into” one little fight” with, the guy who is spinning me around and precipitating my departure for California? That’s Charlie Mack.)

For example, the same angry, aggressive persona you cultivated as a child to protect yourself from bullies and predators will now destroy every relationship you have if you’re unwilling to let it go. 

Things can be perfectly useful and absolutely necessary during certain periods of our lives. But a time will come when we must put them aside or die.

I would later learn a term that resonated deeply with my experience at O’Hare that night: psychography, or automatic writing, is a theoretical psychic ability allowing someone to produce written words without consciously writing. (Skeptics call it self-delusion; I call it” another Grammy” and” my first # 1 record.”)

The war between desire and obstacle is the heart and soul of dramatic storytelling ( sometimes, the obstacles are internal — those are the fun ones ).

I came up with a way to describe what makes a great movie star character: I call it the three Fs of movie stardom: You have to be able to fight, you have to be funny, and you have to be good at sex. 

Beneath the three Fs are our deepest human yearnings: fighting equates to safety, security, and physical survival. 

Being funny equates to joy, happiness, and freedom from all negativity . And being good at sex equates to the promise of love.

When you know what you want, it clarifies what you don’t want. And even painful decisions, though not easy, become simple.

“J. That’s a lot of money, dude.” “Tom Cruise wouldn’t take this role,” JL said. We turned down 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag.

“Damn, J, you are hyped about this one!” “I’m tellin’ you, this is the one,” he said, punching his fist into his hand.” Word! How much?” “Well, this one’s different ….” “I get that, J, but, how much?” I said. I took Six Degrees of Separation for $300,000.

Will Smith is no more” real” than Paul — they’re both characters that were invented, practiced, and performed, reinforced, and refined by friends, loved ones, and the external world. What you think of as your” self” is a fragile construct.

Something broke in our marriage — something we would never get back. ( Sheree would later confide that was the most her feelings had been hurt in her adult life. ) 

Sheree and I deteriorated quickly after that. We argued about everything — nothing was too trivial to fight about: I recall criticizing how she washed a skillet …. Sheree and I would go days without speaking to each other. 

We even invented a” game” that we” played” when people came over called” You Know What I Hate About You …?” And the” winner” was whoever could make our guests” laugh” the most.

Am I having a fucking nervous breakdown? And slowly, my emotional truth came into vivid, three-dimensional clarity. I knew with absolute certainty that Jada Pinkett was the woman of my dreams. 

But I had committed my life before God to Sheree. And there was no version of me ever going back on my word. 

My tears were railing against the harshness of this reality. And my laughter was cursing its absurdity. 

But soon, my hysteria subsided. I wiped my tears, and I exited the stall fully prepared to spend the rest of my life with Sheree Smith.

13. Devotion

I would never have gotten married if I thought divorce was an option.

The reason you say you’re gonna do it or die is because death is what happens when you don’t do it. 

Your mind is trying to protect you from hard things, to defend you from pain. The problem is, all of your dreams are on the other side of pain and difficulty. 

So, a mind that tries to seek pleasure and comfort and the easy way inadvertently poisons its dreams — your mind becomes a barrier to your dreams, an internal enemy. If it was easy, everybody would do it.

My sister Ellen stays in the mix; she always has. Every party, every piece of gossip, every rumor — she’s the girl on the block that when something happens, she has the scoop. 

If she worked for the police department, she would drop crime by 40 percent in her first week. She knows everything about everybody at all times.

The next ten years of my professional life were an absolute, unadulterated, unblemished rout of the entertainment industry. 

Bad Boys; Independence Day; Men in Black; Enemy of the State; Wild Wild West; Ali; Men in Black II; Bad Boys II; I, Robot; Shark Tale; Hitch; The Pursuit of Happyness; I Am Legend; and Hancock. Resulting in more than $8,000,000,000 in global box office.

It was the first time I had ever experienced a woman having a sexual reaction to my manness. Up until this point in my life, I had used comedy to attract women. 

And now I was being objectified. It was wonderful. All I could think was, OK, Michael Bay, you were right, I was wrong. Thank you. From that point forward, directors had to argue with me to keep my shirt on.

Imagine the following in the Arnold voice:” You are not a movie star if your movies are only successful in America. 

You are not a movie star until every person in every country on earth knows who you are. You have to travel the globe, shake every hand, kiss every baby. Think of yourself as a politician running for Biggest Movie Star in the World.”

So I would shoot The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air during the week, leave the set, go straight to the airport, fly to Europe overnight, land Saturday morning, do interviews all day, do a premiere, sign autographs all night, head straight back to the airport, hop back on the jet, memorize my lines for the next Fresh Prince episode on the flight, and land in LA just in time to go to sleep Sunday night. 

Then I’d wake up Monday morning and do it all over again.

Movie stardom also had effects on my relationships. When I was music famous, my family and friends saw it as cool and fun. 

When I was TV famous, there was a subtle distance growing between us, but Friday nights at The Fresh Prince felt so family-oriented that we would reconnect and feel as bonded as we always had. 

But when I became movie famous, something fundamental changed. Some friends and family I had known my whole life shifted into one of two camps: Either so respectful and deferential that it felt like we were strangers — I couldn’t find my loved one within their new behavior.

Or, in the second camp, they became disrespectful to try to show me that I’m not no damn movie star round here.

They gave me a list of movies to watch and things to read and turned me on to what would become the central conceptual framework for how I chose and made movies for the rest of my career: Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth, the hero’s journey as laid out in The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

15. Inferno

Will Smith was named Hollywood’s most bankable star in a survey of movie industry professionals …. The stars were ranked on ability to attract financing for a project, box office success, appeal to different audience demographics and other factors …. Smith was the only person to receive a perfect score of 10. — REUTERS

I always enjoy recounting the stories of my children’s births — partly to depict the harrowing journeys to parenthood, but mainly to embarrass my kids in front of their friends.

I have spoken over the years to many artists, musicians, innovators, athletes, thinkers, poets, entrepreneurs, big dreamers from all walks of life, and there is a secret conversation that always seems to arise: How can we fully pursue and realize our visions while at the same time cultivating love, a thriving family, and fulfilling relationships? 

And here’s the harsh reality for everyone who loves a dreamer: Everything comes second to the dream .

16. Purpose

“Do not get comfortable with your back on that canvas,” he said. “You fight how you train.”

His position was: dreams are built on discipline; discipline is built on habits; habits are built on training. 

And training takes place in every single second and every situation of your life: how you wash the dishes; how you drive a car; how you present a report at school or at work. 

You either do your best all the time or you don’t; if the behavior has not been trained and practiced, then the switch will not be there when you need it.

The one year of training and the five months of filming of Ali was the most grueling mental, physical, and emotional test of my entire career, but also the most transformative.

I had experienced the magnetism of fame, I knew well the allure of celebrity, the attraction of money, but this was my first dose of the power of purpose and the radiance of service.

Purpose and desire can seem similar, but they are very different, sometimes even opposing forces. 

Desire is personal, narrow, and pointed, and tends toward self – preservation, self – gratification, and short-term gains and pleasures. Purpose is wider, broader, a longer – term vision encompassing the benefit of others — something outside of yourself you’re willing to fight for. 

There have been many times in my life where I was acting from a place of desire but I’d fully convinced myself that it was purpose.

17. Perfection

I am a dreamer, and a builder. I picture grand visions, and then I build the systems to make them real in the world. 

That is my love language. I want to help the people I love build extraordinary lives for themselves. 

But it demands that they be willing to grind and sacrifice and most importantly, they have to trust me. And if they don’t, it registers as a complete rejection of my love.

Witnessing my parents’ struggles branded me with the impression that financial stability was an imperative for love and family to have any chance whatsoever to thrive.

The problem was, I’d conflated being successful with being loved and being happy. These are three separate things. And since I’d conflated them, I ended up suffering from an even more insidious version of the “subtle sickness,” which I can best describe as” more, more, more, more.”

So let me get this straight: You want us to believe that my character grew up bagging ice in West Philly, wins the first Grammy ever given to a rapper; becomes a TV star, then the biggest movie star in the world, breaking box office records every time he releases a damn movie; marries a beautiful actress, artist, performer, and poet; has three spectacular children; and the greatest hockey player in the history of the sport, Wayne Gretzky, just patted him on the back because his son just caught a touchdown pass from the son of the greatest quarterback in the history of that sport, Joe Montana?

So no, I did not push my kids into show business because I was an insane, overbearing father. It was only after they decided to be in show business that I became an insane, overbearing father.

When people are too worried about how they feel, they’ll never feel how they want to feel.

Back then, I made the troubling conclusion that questing with empathy was an oxymoron, and you could either worry about how people feel, or you could win. But you had to pick one.

19. Retreat

It all slowly drifted into focus: Am I an addict? I don’t do drugs, I don’t really drink, I’m not hooked on sex like some ghetto hyena. But I did not know how to stop, or be still, or be quiet, or alone. I’m addicted to the approval of others, and to secure their approval, I became addicted to winning.

I must have read at least one hundred books over the next few years.

20. Surrender

But you — if you could be master of the universe, and you could snap your fingers and have any life you wanted, what would it look like?” That was a really heavy question.

But neither of these identities is you. The question is, can you find safety in yourself and not from some external source of approval? Can you become a Freestanding Man?”

“Well, you know, mathematically speaking, ninety-nine percent is about as far from zero as you can get.”

Surrender transformed from a weakness word to an infinite power concept. 

I had had a bias toward action — thrusting, pushing, striving, struggling, doing — and I began to realize that their opposites were equally as powerful — inaction, receptiveness, acceptance, non – resistance, being. 

Stopping was equally as powerful as going; resting was equally as powerful as training; silence was equally as powerful as talking. Letting go was equally as powerful as grasping.

Minimizing my talking became my practice for maximizing my awareness. I had always seen the world as my battlefield; I now understood that the true combat zone was my mind.

“Hey, Dad,” I said nervously.” You did good.” “What you mean?” he asked. “With your life.” I don’t think he was expecting to hear that. He took a pull of his Tareyton 100, turned his eyes back to the TV. 

He didn’t seem like he was ready to go there just yet. But I was. “I’m sayin’ you did great with your life. And when you’re ready to go, I want you to know that it’s OK. You raised me well. And I got it from here. I’m gonna take care of everybody you love.”

“Daddio, what’s goin’ on? “He puts his cigarette down, pensively gazed out at the Ben Franklin Bridge arcing over the Schuylkill River.” Man,” Daddio said, “you tell motherfuckas you gon’ be dead in six weeks, and nine weeks later you still hangin’ around. 

This shit is embarrassing. “This was probably the second biggest laugh Daddio and I ever shared.

We simply look at each other. Twenty minutes of silence. Finally, I hear my sister Ellen in the background whisper to Daddio,” Dad — you’re just looking. You don’t have anything you want to say to Will?” 

Daddio searches for one last piece of wisdom. One final brick. But he’s empty. He slowly shakes his head, a final surrender.” 

Shit, anything I ain’t told this muthafucka already, he sure ain’t gonna get it from me tonight. “We shared a final laugh, we said goodbye, and forty-five minutes later, Daddio was gone.

There are no relationships, careers, or houses with a name that can fill the hole. There is nothing that you can receive from the material world that will create inner peace or fulfilment. 

The truth is,” the Smile” is generated through output. It’s not something you get, it’s something you cultivate through giving. In the end, it will not matter one single bit how well they loved you — you will only gain” the Smile” based on how well you loved them.

I’ve realized that for some reason, God placed the most beautiful things in life on the other side of our worst terrors. 

If we are not willing to stand in the face of the things that most deeply unnerve us, and then step across the invisible line into the land of dread, then we won’t get to experience the best that life has to offer.

So I’ve been making a conscious effort to attack all the things that I’m scared of. And this is scary. When Yes Theory challenged me to heli bungee, my heart jumped. 

And I’ve learned to recognize that feeling as a signal that the great gift has presented itself. As soon as my heart jumps, I’m in — I gotta do it. But I also can’t be outdone, so when Yes Theory said” Heli bungee,” I added, “Over the Grand Canyon … and on my 50th birthday.”

As I took in the dueling landscapes of friends, family, and Grand Canyon, and saw the faces of the next generation — Harry’s kids, Ellen’s kids, Pam’s, JL’s, Charlie’s, Omarr’s, Caleeb’s, Scoty and Ty’s — I realized: I’m standing in the middle of my dream. 

This is what I’ve always wanted: Everyone I love is here, together, as a family, and I had brought them to the Grand Canyon to witness the senseless and horrific death of their uncle Will. 

Book Review (Personal Opinion):

Will is as good as a memoir can get. It’s riveting in its description of Will’s life and it doesn’t hold any punches. 

Will talks about the brutality of growing up in Philly, domestic violence, drugs, and drug dealers. 

The memoir is sincere, not letting us see the image of Will Smith as this all-mighty Hollywood actor, but as a scared little boy who took humor as his defense against the brutal reality of everyday life.

Rating : 9/10

This Book Is For (Recommend):

• An aspiring artist who wants to know what it takes to “make it”
• A young entrepreneur who wants to learn how to woo the crowd and draw in business opportunities
• Anyone who thinks success comes easy

If You Want To Learn More

Here’s Will Smith talking about his book at Jimmy Fallon’s Show. The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

How I’ve Implemented The Ideas From The Book

There’s quite a lot that spoke to me from this book and I found myself thinking and behaving at certain moments just like Will Smith. 

I had my crucibles from which I learned what my mistakes were (especially when it comes to dealing with people) and I’m glad Will showed us his.

One Small Actionable Step You Can Do

I’ll give you the same advice “Daddio” gave Will:

When you’re building a wall, you’re not really building a wall. You’re setting a single brick perfectly at its place and once you do that, you set the next brick perfectly. Once you set enough bricks perfectly, you will have the best damn wall out there.

Bruno Boksic

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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘King Richard’ on Netflix, The Movie That Won Will Smith An Oscar (and Inadvertently Led To The Slap)

Where to stream:.

• King Richard

Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ on VOD, A Biopic of a Music Legend and International Inspiration

Sean penn addresses hollywood ai controversy with wild response: “i want to create a virtual replica” of “your daughter”, stream it or skip it: ‘emancipation’ on apple tv+, starring will smith as an enslaved man running, running, running from his captors.

King Richard — now streaming on Netflix — is a sports-biodrama about Richard Williams, father-coach of tennis super-superstars Venus and Serena Williams. The BOATS movie ( Based On A True Story , y’know) was a huge hit when it was released in theaters back in 2021, and won Will Smith his long-coveted Oscar statuette in March of 2022. And, well, you know what happened that night , right? The movie has been streaming for a few years now, but lands on Netflix for the first time here in March of 2024. Are Netflix subscribers ready to forgive and forget and put this movie in the Netflix Top 10 , or does The Slap still sting?

KING RICHARD : STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: As Richard Williams, Will Smith speaks in a let’s-go-to-woik Loo-see-annah accent as he talks about being “in the champion-raising business.” He piles his five daughters into a VW bus and putt-putts them over to the nearest tennis court in their Compton neighborhood, where they sweep away the debris, hang handmade motivational posters and load tennis balls into an old shopping cart. All this, so Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton) can further hone their swings, serves and stances, their three sisters acting as a cheering section and support network. When a local tough gang member harasses one of the girls, Richard stands up to him, knowing straight-up that he’ll take a beating — and that says a lot about who this man is. It says even more that he coaches his girls all day and works all night as a graveyard-shift security guard, where he sits at a desk with a pistol on his hip and a stack of tennis magazines to read. His wife, Brandy (Aunjanue Ellis), shakes her head, questioning his ability to maintain such a tireless pace.

We soon surmise that Richard has everything going against him: He’s a Black man who’s trying to scale the towering walls surrounding a sport run by the rich white establishment. But he’s persistent, determined, unflappable and many other adjectives, although “annoying” isn’t quite one of them. He makes his own brochures and promo videos and comes off like a total nut, albeit a very shrewd, smart total nut. That careful balance puts him and Venus and Serena lightly trespassing courtside as Pete Sampras hits balls with John McEnroe, soon netting Sampras’ coach, Paul Cohen (Tony Goldwyn) as Venus’ pro-bono mentor. But, you may ask, what about Serena? Well, Paul only has room for one more, so Richard videotapes Venus’ practices so Brandy can teach Serena the exact same stuff. Like I said, shrewd . Except for the open stance. Paul insists on a closed stance, but Richard insists on an open stance, and that’s that. It’ll soon be a recurring theme in this movie that Richard doesn’t lose arguments like this, even though he’s a nobody and everyone else is a somebody. But everyone else isn’t a wizard of the human condition like Richard.

Well, mostly. This isn’t a hagiography, and Richard is as flawed as anyone else. Yet his intentions are pure. As Venus works her way toward a 63-0 record on the juniors circuit — that’s wins and losses, and something that isn’t just Hollywood, in case you’re doubting it — with Serena quietly on her tail, Richard doesn’t let anything get to anyone’s head. After Venus scores another trophy, he interprets the girls’ celebratory mood as bragging, and makes them watch Cinderella when they get home, hoping they learn something about humility. Soon enough, Richard ditches Sampras’ coach — yes, this is all part of Richard’s plan — and brokers a deal with Rick Macci (Jon Bernthal), a Geraldo-mustached coach with a tennis-champion factory in Florida. Somehow, Richard scores himself a coaching job, and the whole family a permanent relocation to Orlando and a motorhome to get them there, all on Rick’s dime. Next thing you know, Venus is swatting balls back and forth with current No. 1 player Jennifer Capriati, and also, Richard is telling Rick that Venus is done with juniors and will only train at the facility, and that way she can still be a kid and focus on getting all As in school. This makes Rick turn beet-red, but Richard has weaseled in and taken the wheel, literally, because now he’s driving through the grounds on Rick’s favorite golf cart. Richard will go against the grain and do it his way and all those cliches, and since we all know how this turns out, it’s safe to say it’s the right way.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: You could make a mini film festival out of Will Smith sports movies: The Legend of Bagger Vance , Ali , Concussion .

Performance Worth Watching: King Richard is one of the rare occasions where Will Smith loses himself so fully in a character, we forget we’re watching Will Smith the Movie Star. It’s an overprotective-father role, but one with subtleties fueling the showy affectations — stooped shoulders, pursed lips, tight shorts, that heavy accent. This is next to Ali as Smith’s career-best performances; don’t be surprised when the Oscar nomination happens.

Memorable Dialogue: “This is where we hit the horn, we pop the corn, and when we pop it, we pop with extra butter, right? Bang!” — Rick Macci says shit like this all the time, yet still plays second fiddle to King Richard

Sex and Skin: None.

Our Take: You think you’re the gatekeeper? Richard Williams will show you who’s the gatekeeper. The primary takeaway from King Richard : Richard’s let’s-have-fun philosophy, which logically leads to his insistence on preserving his daughters’ highly vulnerable psychological well-being; he’s seen how young women get fried on the grueling juniors circuit, and he knows there has to be a better way. No matter how many times he’s a Complex Character who’s stubborn and argumentative and egotistical and a little shady and sometimes flat-out wrong, he gets one core thing right — he’s a parent first, and a coach second. That ends up being the film’s springboard for inspiration, in lieu of the usual rah-rah big-game breathless-sports-announcer-narration tension-and-release hoopla-fodder. There has to be a better way to tell an underdog sports story, and Green and Baylin pretty much find one.

And yet, this is far from an art film. It’s a mainstream crowdpleaser with a gigantic Will Smith performance so nobody will be surprised when the filmmakers employ musical montages, bits of family melodrama and lightly manipulative feelgood tones as narrative lubricant. Sidney and Singleton’s performances are secondary to Smith’s marquee hogging, but they aren’t beholden to precocious-kid tropes; they’re realistic young women in their mannerisms, their screen presence winning enough that we’d love to see them in a sequel about the next stage in Venus and Serena’s lives. Also notable is Bernthal, who develops comic chemistry with Smith — Macci is the flusteree to Richard’s flusterer, and they’re funny without making any overly broad strokes. Bottom line, King Richard runs smoothly and effectively, with more traits of a character drama than a biopic. We never get the impression that Richard, infallible as he often thinks he is, isn’t open to learning a little something himself.

Our Call: STREAM IT. King Richard gets the slick-production big-star sports-bio right, Slap or no Slap.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba .

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