Interview with Will Smith, member of the Feature Films Jury

Do you have any impressions to share now that the Festival is coming to an end?

This has been one of the greatest cinematic experiences of my life. The only thing which makes me sad is that there are people who are never get to experience this. To watch two or three movies a day by global filmmakers and sit around a table with brilliant people, and break the films down and discuss what the filmmaker has done, and in some cases discuss what they could have done differently, to see how an Italian director… what he would have done, versus Park Chan-wook… it’s spectacular. The collective points of view are nothing I’ve ever seen or heard. I realized that I'd never actually heard good film criticism. I’d never actually heard really powerful, in-depth, fair film criticism.

Did rubbing shoulders with all these artists cause something to resonate in you as an actor?

I’m re-inspired about the career I’ve chosen. It just reminded me of what film is supposed to do. From the origins of storytelling, from cave people sitting around fires, stories were to entertain and to enlighten. You tell people stories with the purpose of helping them manage their lives. I've had huge financial success worldwide with films. Sometimes you can become addicted and sort of misdirected in what you are trying to accomplish when you are making a film. I got inspired and reenergized by the mission statement of improving lives.

Let's talk about the past. When did you first fall in love with the stage and having fun?

I’ve always been entertainment-centered. If I was in a room or with any group of people, I’d always be silly and want to be funny, and I needed the positive energy. My family generally would have fun together. My father was a joker. My grandmother was in charge of all the children’s performances at the church. The combination of being silly at home always led me to perform. I’ve always been on stage.

What was your first cinematic shock?

Star Wars. The first time I saw it, I was just completely bowled over. It was the technology, the story… it was like it was made for me. Star Wars and Michael Jackson's Thriller. For cinema and for music. In my mind, they were always combined. For me, music and cinema always sort of went together. Star Wars and Thriller were the most influential pieces of entertainment art.

Is there an actor you admire?

It is funny because my influences were actors from music, and the music led me to acting. In terms of film, probably Humphrey Bogart. The amount of movies he made… The film that I’ve studied most is Casablanca. That’s close to being a perfect movie. Even with the quick ending. The Bridge over the River Kwaï is my favorite movie.

Has the actor changed the man?

Up until now, the actor and performer have influenced the man. Now in my life it’s the other way around. The man and the person are starting to lead. I now have the courage to lead a little more as who I am. The battle between who I am and the image of who I am is actually just beginning.

What is your favorite memory from your time on Prince of Bel-Air?

I don't have a single favorite memory, but there’s no better job in entertainment than sitcom television. You go onto a set every day with people you love, and you try to come up with the dumbest, funniest thing you can all day long. Then you put it on television. You can’t get a more beautiful job. Those were six developmental years of my life. I’m always trying to recreate the energy we experienced. We were totally free on the set. That kind of freedom and reckless abandon to do and say anything, finding that kind of space, it’s spectacular. The cast of Suicide Squad got really close to that. It was a really rocking group of people who came together. In a way it felt a lot like The Fresh Prince Family.