Surprisingly serious-minded and still relatively young, 39 year-old I Am Legend star Will Smith discusses the making of his latest blockbuster and reveals his plans for the future.
Hailed by Newsweek as the most powerful actor on the planet, the Grammy award-winning hip hop artist turned sitcom star and two-time Oscar nominee
Will Smith is fiercely proud of his latest venture, a powerful adaptation of Richard Matheson's seminal sci fi classic
I am Legend.
"I read the script almost ten years ago and loved how bold it was," enthuses Smith. "The story of the last man on earth. To have the audacity to make a movie by myself was an exciting idea and I guess, for me, the challenge made it interesting. The closer to impossible an idea seems the more excited I am by it."
Growing up in a big family, Smith admits the concept of being alone is entirely alien to him, making the film an even greater acting challenge. "I'm rarely alone or feel alone," he says. "I grew up with three dozen sisters [actually three!] in a three-bedroom house. My entire life, there was always someone else sleeping in the room with me, so exploring the idea of what it means to truly feel alone intrigued me. The loss of faith too. My grandmother was a devout Christian, and we were drilled as kids with the idea that we were not alone. So, the spiritual loneliness of this story, the physical loneliness, and the ideas of hope and fear, there were a lot of themes that were exciting to me to explore in a movie that people may think is a zombie movie. I love the audience sucker punch, like people are going to see this movie with pre-conceived notions and they're going to be totally and truly knocked on their butts."
How difficult is it then, to prepare for a role that is basically solo, with no other actors to interact with? "Fortunately, I've made special effects movies a lot," explains the star, "so there's a whole lot of green screen stuff where you're actually acting by yourself or with a green tennis ball that's supposed to be a monster. So, my experience has made me feel comfortable in those situations. But as an actor, it was a great exploration because you have to figure out what the moment is about. There's no dialogue, only your behavior, so you have to run through this bizarre stream of consciousness of emotion without anyone sparking you. When you have the external stimulus, it directs your actions, but if no one is there, that external stimulus has to be replaced by what your mind stimulates. It is such a wonderful acting exercise. As human beings we're stimulus response creatures, so to have to create the stimulus and the response was a beautiful psychological journey, but it also shows you how close we all live to the edge of insanity. It was emotionally, intellectually and spiritually stimulating."
Smith explains that although
I am Legend has many of the features of a classic science fiction thriller the reality is it's not so easy to categorise. "The types of movies I'm trying to make now are non-genre. I'm trying, at this point in my career, to fit the small art movies into the middle of the big, stellar, blockbuster casing. I think that with
I am Legend, the design is non-genre. Everything starts with human trauma, as in life. All things stem from trauma. There was a trauma experienced and the movie is designed around the exploration of the trauma that the person experiences. So, we're trying not to allow the genre to dictate what the scene can be. Different people will call it different things. Sci fi fans will say it's a great science fiction movie while drama fans will say it's a wonderful, dramatic depiction of post-apocalyptic trauma. I think everyone who sees it will experience the spectrum, versus a specific genre.
Logistically speaking, one of the most challenging aspects of the shoot was portraying a believably deserted Big Apple. "New Yorkers don't like it when you make Fifth Avenue look deserted on a Monday morning. It was 9am and we shut down six blocks and people weren't happy, but it looks insane in the movie. You can clearly see that New York is empty. It's chilling because it's places that you're used to seeing but you realize that you've never actually seen New York empty, ever. It does something viscerally when you see it because even if you're not actually recalling the images, you know that something really awful had to happen for Fifth Avenue to be empty."
Having worked previously with director
Francis Lawrence on a music video, Smith says it was smooth-sailing making the transition with him to the big screen. "He's extremely easygoing, confident and collaborative. He saw this movie for a long time in his head. The shooting was extremely smooth, and it's aggressive. I like the work environment to be aggressive, when we are aggressively going for something. He was able to take it all in his stride. Because of his music video experience and his commercial experience, he was able to create, adapt and move quickly."
Like Lawrence, Smith insists he's all about the movies now, sparing no time for music. "Specifically, with
I am Legend, I think I'm hitting my stride as an actor. I'm growing exponentially with every project so I can't take my focus away as I feel I'm about to go places and do things that I've never dreamed before. I'm totally focusing on creating relationships with genius cinematic minds. I want to elevate my ability to create. I want to elevate cinema, and my hope is one day, like other artists in the past, to create something that changes humanity, that changes the way people do things. So, lofty goals, but I'm not going to be able to do it if I'm focusing on other things."
Being a nurturing, supportive dad, however, remains on Smith's agenda. "I made my last film,
The Pursuit of Happyness, with my son Jaden, and my daughter wasn't having that. She wasn't happy about that at all. So there was a role for a daughter in
I am Legend, in the pre-apocalyptic section where I'm trying to get my family out of New York, so we shot a couple of scenes with my six year-old, Willow." Smith happily encourages his offspring to follow his path. "It's the family business," he explains. "Everyone does it. I have a nephew who just put his first single out. It's just what we do."
Wrapping up, there's just enough time to ask Smith about his personal favourite movies, all of which, including
I am Legend, are available to add to your list. "The most fun was Mike Lowry in
Bad Boys. To be in Miami with a fast car, a tight t-shirt and a gun, that's the life, right there! It doesn't get any better than that, as far as fun. I think probably my best performance is
Ali. I think the best all-around movies that I've ever made would be the first
Men In Black or
The Pursuit of Happyness, just as a complete movie. I think my performance in
I am Legend rivals the best I've ever done. Of all the movies I've made," says Smith, signing off, "I expect a lot of people will like
I am Legend the most."