Steven Spielbergwent to great heights to getWill Smithto star inMen in Black.TheKing Richardactor, 54, revealed on the latest episode ofKevin Hart’sHart to Heartshow on Peacock that he initially didn’t consider makingMen in Blackbecause he didn’t want to make two alien movies “back to back” (he had just finished filmingIndependence Day) — but the famous director was very convincing.“Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me,” Smithrecalled to a disbelieving Hart. “I was in New York. [He sent it] to talk to me. It landed at his house, and he had me at hello.”“Yeah, you can’t say no after you get off the helicopter,” Hart chimed in.“[I] get off the helicopter at his house, and it was the first time I ever had lemonade with carbonated water,” Smith added. “You can’t say no to that.”He then described his conversation with Spielberg, who had been producing the film, recalling the Oscar-winning director driving a hard bargain.“He said the coldest s—,” Smith noted. “He said, ‘Tell me, tell me why you don’t want to make my movie… And he put the ellipsis at the end, it was the dot, dot, dot ‘Tell me why you don’t want to make my movie?’”“If he had continued, he would have said, ‘Joker, you know I madeJaws, right? You know I madeE.T.'”The actor eventually said yes and took on the role of Agent J inMen in Blackand its two subsequent sequelsMen in Black 2(2002) andMen in Black 3(2012) alongside Tommy Lee Jones.Smith attributed most of his success to his team behind him, saying, “You cannot build a career… And you probably can’t do much of anything in this life at a high level without a rock solid team.”“I knew I had to be the tip of the spear in discipline. I knew I had to be the tip of the spear in terms of direction,” he noted. “But I always knew that I needed my squad.”The interview aired a week after Smith shared hissupport for the SAG-AFTRA strikeon Instagram.Alongside a photo of himself posing with students in an acting class, he wrote, “As some of yall mighta heard, my guild @SAGAFTRA are on strike along with our writer colleagues in the WGA. it’s a pivotal moment for our profession.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.TheEmancipationstar thanked his acting teacher Aaron Speiser — whom he fondly referred to as “coach” — and noted that he recently met Speiser’s class full of “talented next generation of actors.”He continued, “I’m grateful to coach for continuing to support these talented hopefuls in this art form that I love and have been lucky enough to work in for three decades of my life! Thanks, COACH!”
Steven Spielbergwent to great heights to getWill Smithto star inMen in Black.
TheKing Richardactor, 54, revealed on the latest episode ofKevin Hart’sHart to Heartshow on Peacock that he initially didn’t consider makingMen in Blackbecause he didn’t want to make two alien movies “back to back” (he had just finished filmingIndependence Day) — but the famous director was very convincing.
“Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me,” Smithrecalled to a disbelieving Hart. “I was in New York. [He sent it] to talk to me. It landed at his house, and he had me at hello.”
“Yeah, you can’t say no after you get off the helicopter,” Hart chimed in.
“[I] get off the helicopter at his house, and it was the first time I ever had lemonade with carbonated water,” Smith added. “You can’t say no to that.”
He then described his conversation with Spielberg, who had been producing the film, recalling the Oscar-winning director driving a hard bargain.
“He said the coldest s—,” Smith noted. “He said, ‘Tell me, tell me why you don’t want to make my movie… And he put the ellipsis at the end, it was the dot, dot, dot ‘Tell me why you don’t want to make my movie?’”
“If he had continued, he would have said, ‘Joker, you know I madeJaws, right? You know I madeE.T.'”
The actor eventually said yes and took on the role of Agent J inMen in Blackand its two subsequent sequelsMen in Black 2(2002) andMen in Black 3(2012) alongside Tommy Lee Jones.
Smith attributed most of his success to his team behind him, saying, “You cannot build a career… And you probably can’t do much of anything in this life at a high level without a rock solid team.”
“I knew I had to be the tip of the spear in discipline. I knew I had to be the tip of the spear in terms of direction,” he noted. “But I always knew that I needed my squad.”
The interview aired a week after Smith shared hissupport for the SAG-AFTRA strikeon Instagram.
Alongside a photo of himself posing with students in an acting class, he wrote, “As some of yall mighta heard, my guild @SAGAFTRA are on strike along with our writer colleagues in the WGA. it’s a pivotal moment for our profession.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
TheEmancipationstar thanked his acting teacher Aaron Speiser — whom he fondly referred to as “coach” — and noted that he recently met Speiser’s class full of “talented next generation of actors.”
He continued, “I’m grateful to coach for continuing to support these talented hopefuls in this art form that I love and have been lucky enough to work in for three decades of my life! Thanks, COACH!”
source: people.com
