THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
An Interview with Will Smith
By Wilson Morales

December 11, 2006

Did Jaden come up with any of his own jokes and how did it feel knowing that with just one word he could steal the scene from you?

Smith: I know. (laughs) There was probably about a year, maybe when he was 6, where he thought he was going to be a comedian and that’s what he wanted to do. He got the box set of “The Fresh Prince” so he wanted to tell jokes, and so he learned about 10 or 15 jokes and we used a couple of them in the movies, and those are all his.

You actually did the Rubik’s Cube on Oprah…are you an alien?

Smith: (laughs) No, it’s a serious of algorithms that anyone can learn. It took me… we flew in these two kids, the US Champ and the California State Champ, and they spent probably 12 hours with me teaching the series of algorithms and then maybe 30 hours practicing before I could do it by myself.

Can you talk about the GLIDE memorial scene and what that experience was like?

Smith: You know, Reverend Cecil Williams was very open with us and welcomed us in, and all of the people in those scenes are actual people who stay at Glide. When you’re around people like Chris Gardner, Reverend Cecil Williams, people who committed their lives to other people, you just feel like you ain’t doin’ nothin’ with your life. Just the spirit—and that’s always amazing to me for people who can survive on spirit, people who can survive on an idea. My mother and father came from a two-parent household and our electricity would get cut off and our gas would get cut off every once in a while but for the most part, I always felt like my worst fall was back to my parents house, and the idea of homeless, thinks about that idea, and Reverend Cecil Williams was explaining that homelessness is hereditary and what happens is most people, someone in your family at some point bought a home, so for generations, everyone will have some place to stay in a worst case scenario, and to be so disenfranchised and so disconnected that you have to sleep outside, you know what I mean, that is a huge problem and it’s an emotional issue and let’s just hope that there’s people a lot smarter than me working on it.

You used the phrase “audacity of hope”… where did that phrase come from and what did it mean?
Smith: Who did I hear say that? Oh, yeah, that was Barak Obama. See, I have a three repeat clause. If somebody has a cool phrase, it’s three repeat. The first time I’ll say, “Well, you know, Barak Obama said, ‘The audacity of hope’” and then the second time I repeat it, I’ll say, “Well, someone said ‘the audacity of hope’” and then the third time I say, “Like I always say, ‘the audacity of hope’”

How does it feel to be in the Oscar race at this time of year?

Smith: You know, that period between the nominations and the show is the best series of parties on the face of the earth. (laughter) I mean, it is every night, different cities. You’re part of this wonderful elite group and it’s a beautiful time. It’s sort of bittersweet when you get to the show, because it makes the transitions from a celebration to a competition, and I’ve never been an awards guy. I mean, it’s fun. I tell my wife all the time that I’m more of a mall guy. When I walk into the mall on Saturday afternoon, if they don’t shut it down, then I feel like I’m slippin’. That to me, that’s how I judge my work, and that’s how I judge the quality of my material is by having to shut the King of Prussia mall down outside of Philly on Christmas.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS OPENS ON DECEMBER 15TH

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