Will Smith - “Emancipation”

Middle Eastern African Were you going next? South Pole? South Pole? Yeah, that's a real thing. But why why? Yeah, like, what are you hoping to discover that? Blin people don't like the cold Wood? Why are you there? Will know? So the show is I don't I don't know if I'm supposed to be announcing it yet. But the show is called Pole to Pole. So we're going from the South Pole to to the North Pole and all the stops along the way, and we're we are It's called other

People's Wisdom, so we're seeking the wisdom. There are people who live at the South Pole there researchers, so we're going there. We're gonna talk to him. Scientists basically say, like the world's knowledge is story with story absolually. You got me. You're making me cry, right, yeah, just not just the South Pole is just such when I think about all that cool surprised you're awake. The guy, the guy who discovered this outpole is named Will Smith for real. Yeah,

that's true. You said that's so I don't even know if you're lying right now. You said that's so convincing. No, it's true. It's true. You'll be somebody can google it, somebody, I'll just believe. So you're traveling around the world. Emancipation. I just I just watched it. It is a I mean, it's so hard to describe movies like this because you

people see it in the clip. But you play one of the most famous unknown people's surprising, and you know what I mean from America's history, a man whose picture went around the world that basically showed many people who didn't know innately how brutal slavery was. Let's let's talk about this. First of all, Emancipation is not the kind of film we would expect to see you and immediately as Will Smith. So why this project, Why get into the story and why this story in particular? You know,

when I when I read this script. Man, it's like, you know, we we've you've probably seen the image. Um, it's a black man and it says, you know, his his back and his army sitting. So it's a pretty pretty famous we have that image. I think it's one of the famous. Yes, yes, so it's it's it's that that image. And first seeing that image was one of the things that really uh got me, you know, excited to explore this because you you see the image, but you don't know who he is. You don't know what

this or he is. And then as I started to do the research, and you know, it's American slavery was you know, one of the most brutal aspects of human history. You know, it was it was it was something that was was so incomprehensible, you know, it was just so it's hard to understand the the level of human cruelty. Um. And the screenplay was spectacular, and Antoine Fuqua just he you know, he did his thing on this man. And it's gripping the whole way through. I'll tell you that much.

It's it's scary, it is, it is gripping. It is not it's not glamorizing because because it is the story of how you know, the union is moving and people start hearing whispers of Lincoln has declared that, you know, slavery is abolished, it's freed the slaves. But then you see how many haven't received that news, and you see how that news doesn't change everybody's lives over nights. Yes, so the emancipation was January first, and slaves weren't free

until June nine, so the the period of emancipation. Yes, so January one, slaves were free, but the South refused to allow the slaves to be free, so the the enslaved people started trying to run to get to Lincoln's army. Uh and in Baton Rouge is where Lincoln's army was from, from this this place in Louisiana. So it's about that period where the slaves were free, but they weren't being freed. So it's a it's a you know, it is a beautiful,

beautiful movie. Um, and you know, so my daughter asked me, She's like, Daddy, do we really need another slave movie? When I was thinking about it, and I was like, I said, baby, I promise you I wouldn't make a slave movie. This is a freedom movie. You know, you know, yeah, you're alive. Yeah, it is interesting that you say that.

It is interesting that you say that because the story, you know, one of my favorite lines in the movie is when um, you know, I think it's one one of the he's leading one of the battalions and he talks to your character, right, he's like a general commando, and he says to your character, says, I was born free. And he says, we're allowed to own houses. Were because allowed? And your character says to him, if you're if someone must allow you to do it, are you really free?

You know? And you know, this film, what's really what's really interesting about it is it centers on faith, you know, and the power of faith, you know, to be able to endure anything, you know, and this character it's just what what he had to endure and what he had to survive. Um, only God could you know, make a man when you look at those marks on his back, you know, only God could make that possible, you know. And there there he talks about a period in doing

the research. He talks about he was whipped into a coma and he was in a coma for three months, and he said that he met God while he was in the coma, and when he came out, he believed in a way that he had never believed before. And yeah, I learned the difference between faith and revelation. Right. So faith is one thing when you have to you know, you have to have faith. I'm not crying to my eyes, you know, I just got tired. I got airplane eyes.

I got airplane I got airplane eyes, you know. But you know the difference between faith and revelation, right that that he walked in the world, um with a knowledge of the divine, with the knowledge of God, that was just something I've desperately wanted to understand and explore. Yeah, I mean, you watch the film you Wonder. You know, it's one of those movies where you watch it and you go, this is harrowing, this is gripping, this is

it's it's wild. It seems unbelievable, and then you see the images of the real person and you you, your mind cannot comprehend that it was possible for this to happen to a human being and that they actually exist. It's a story that you know, that that goes beyond everything, And and I'd love to know, like in in the telling of the story, you know, beyond faith, beyond revelation. What is the biggest thing you took away from it? Because it's interesting, you know, I get what your daughter

was saying, do we need another slave movie? And I understand what you're saying about it being a freedom movie, But I feel like each story has a different you know, because it's it's a movement, it's a revolution, it's a question freedom. What do you think was the biggest lesson you took away from the story? You know, I think that you know, as an actor, anytime you go into these characters and you you uh, you go these deep, this deep into these roles, it it changes something about you.

You understand something that you didn't understand um before. And I guess that the the major thing that came through from me with with Peter is the the power of the direction of love. Right, So this is he's trying to get back to his family, and that that comprehension of love and how love actually is a superpower. You know, when you can fill your heart with that kind of love, it's a propulsion that is unlike any other thing, is stronger than fear, is stronger than hate, you know, is

stronger than tired. You know. It's like when you can really latch into and fill your heart with love in a way, it really is shield an armor, unlike anything that exactly that's beautiful, It's it really is. Congrats again, you know, congrats on movie. Great seeing you again. You know, it's it's been a while since I lost Sorry, it's been a while since many people have seen you. You know,

I've been away. What you'all been doing you you know, yeah, it's it's it's been I can only imagine what it's been like for you, because it has been weird for many of us. You know you you Will Smith, you know you are you Will Smith. You are you one of the biggest movie stars that has existed, you know, one of my favorite people that I've ever seen inhabit

a screen. You know. And then you you had the Oscars where in one night you have no independent recollection of I can only imagine because you you know you you you won. You know, you won your first Oscar that night. Well deserved Oscar that night. But it is it is simultaneously in many ways, not the worst. I won't say the worst because I know the life you've lived and read the book, but it is one of the best days of your life and one of the worst days of your life. And I would I'd love

to know. I mean, just you know us talking first of all, what has the journey been like since that day? Like, because we everyone speculates everyone I think this, I think that, I think this, I think that. What has it been like for you? Yeah? That that was That was a horrific night as you can imagine. Um. You know, there's many nuances and complexities to it, you know. Um, but at the end of the day, I just I lost it, you know, And I guess what I would say. You

just never know what somebody's going through, you know. You know, in in the audience right now, you know, you're sitting next to uh strangers, you know, and somebody's mother died last week. You know. Um, somebody's child is sick. You know. Um, somebody just lost their job. Somebody just found out their spouse cheated. You know, there's it's like there's all these things and these there's strangers, and you just don't know

what's going on with people, you know. And as I was going through something that night, you know, and uh, not that that you know, justifies my behavior at all. I would just say, you know, you're asking what did I learn? And it's that, um, we just gotta be nice to each other. Man. You know, It's like it's hard, and I guess the thing that was most painful for me is I took my heart and made it hard

for other people, you know. And it's like I understood the idea where they say, hurt people, hurt people, you know, and it's like, you know, it's it's interesting. I remember again, everybody was speculating. One of my friends called me and we're talking. We're talking, everyone's got these opinions. And then someone said, I feel like we saw the real Will Smith in that moment, because there's a guy who's so full of love and so positive. But I feel like

in that moment we saw the real Will Smith. And and I said, and not because I know you, you know, but but I said, honestly, I said, you know, if anything,

I feel like it was the opposite. Like you know, you're talking your book about growing up so afraid of conflict, you grow up in your book talking about how you always afraid to fight with how you were afraid to For me, it felt like in watching that moment, I felt like you were like is it's like in a weird ways, like you you stood up for the wrong thing at the wrong time in a way, do you know what I'm saying. It felt like you're taken everything because here we are, you know, human to human, man

to man. But like people have said some shitty things about you and your family, you know, you're a human being. It felt like, and I would say this people, it's like it is. It's becoming relentlessly shitty now and people think it's okay. That's the thing. People think it's okay, and not Chris by the way, I'm talking about people, the Internet, et cetera. But it felt like this was Will Smith for the first time, going okay, is this

how you want me to respond or not? Yeah, No, it was you know, it was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother. You know, it's that, you know, all of that just bubbled up in in in that moment um. You know, I just that's not who I want to be. You know, you've known me for a long time, so you know me personally, so you know, um, but you know, y'all might not know. Um, you know it's like that

that that is, that's not who I want to be. Man, I'm trying to you know, I'm trying to put it. I also think that's not who you are. I'll be honest with I think it's not who you are. I think everybody can make a mistake, and I think I think it's an honest opinion. I mean, I think how I how I think of living my life. But I mean, I mean, that's honestly. I'll tell you, but I'll tell

you why. I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why because so on my side as a human being, I go the reason it was shocking is because that's not who you are. Does that make sense? Like like I saw, for instance, there wasn't There was an article that was written I think it was a Hollywood report or whatever.

They had a list of like problematic actors order I was personally offended for you and Letitia funny enough for a different reason, but they had you guys in the list where I was like, wait, some of these people are here for sleeping with underaged kids. These people are here for abusing their spouses. And again, what you did was I always tell you that I love Chris, I'm friends with him, I love you, I'm friends. But I was like, this is but I was like, but it's

not the same world. And that's where it was weird, especially I find, you know, because there were all these dynamics, so I know that as black people, black people together and be like, what was weill doing? What the hell happened here? Right? But then I know a lot of black people are like, you know when people came out and they were like, he should go to jail, Like you need to relax yourself. It was a weird, like

some people overreacting, which made some people underreact. You know, No, it's it's the I understand you know how shocking that was for people. Man. You know, um when next stage you seemed you seemed a little dazed afterwards them, I was gone, dude, I was gone. I was gone. I was you know, that was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time. Um, and you know, but it's it's I understand the pain. You know. It was like, um, my little my nephew, it's nine and

he is the sweetest little boy. He's like, you know, we came home and it's like he had stayed up late to see his uncle, Will you Know, And we're sitting in my kitchen and he's on my lap and he's holding the oscar and he's just like, why did you hit that man? Uncle? Will you know? Damn it? You're why are you trying to oprah me? And he's string he's sitting on your lap and yeah, you know, so yeah it was um, you know it was. I

was like, it was a mess. You know. I don't want to go too far into it to give people more to misunderstand. Is it is? It? Is it hard? You know? You you have lived. I realized this morning when I was thinking about you coming on the show, you were one of the rere breed of human who has lived more of your life in the spotlight and out of it. You got into this industry as a kid, you know, you grew up and blew up into it

as a young man. You had your tax issues, you had your life, you had your family, you had you know, but you have lived in this world for so it's it's funny again. I realized chatting to friends, and I was like, you know what's interesting here is for us, This is the Oscars for Will Smith, This is like

a cookout. And I'm not diminishing, but I don't like those are your people, that's your world is like you know, and I was like I was saying, I think that as part of the reason many of us were that because you like, it's this lord of event, it's it's bigger than life, whereas many movie stars are at the astars like oh, nice to see you again. Hey, good to be here, good to be good to be back. And I feel like that that was part of the disconnect. I feel like that was part of But but what

I what I do? One thing that's killing me? Um, you know, so Emancipation is Antoine's masterpiece. That's what he has created, an absolute masterpiece. UM. Bob Richardson, the DP

and Ben Foster and just all the way down. It's like these top artists in the world have done some of the best work of their career and the idea that they might be denied because of me, it's like, you know, it's like that that that is killing me dead, you know, And it's like the thing that is so critical for me is that, you know, these people came and they trusted me, and they were down for for me, and you know, I just I hope that their work will be honored and their work will not be tainted

based on, you know, a horrific decision on my part. I honestly hope and I don't think that that will happen. I um, I you know, I have conversations with people all the time about restorative justice, you know, you know, but restorative justice about like atonement about we have all these comments, We have them at the highest levels often, and what I realized is we we often don't have

these conversations as they pertain to daily life. You know, what somebody says, what somebody does, and especially in isolation, I don't That's why I say the sum of the person is oftentimes how I define them as opposed to a moment, you know, and and on a personal level, you know, I think I speak for many people if I don't forgive me. But you know, obviously people were hurt because we love you and we love what you do. Um. People were shocked because you know, will submit, it's Chris Rockets,

you know, you know, so oscars all these things. But I also think I speak for people when I say, like, I don't want that to define you. I don't think it should define you. You know what I mean, likeness that I don't think. Yeah, I don't think any one of us. I don't think any one of us in life deserves to be defined by our like you know, if anything, I mean like you and Chris have the biggest story to handle on your own. It's not you know, our our foray. But but yeah, man, Um, I hope

you don't stay hidden forever. I hope I hope you know that you don't always have to bottle it up. I hope you know that you you you you, not being perfect is what will make you for you will smith Man? Do you know what I mean? You dude, we love you, Tucker? Did that? Do you know the big guy was? That was one of the big things for me over this last couple of months. You know that I had to forgive myself for being human, you know.

And it's like, trust me, there's nobody that hates the fact that I'm human more than me, but I know that um and just you know, finding that um space for myself within myself to be human, you know, It's like I want I've always wanted to be Superman. I've always wanted to swoop in and save the damns an distress,

you know. Uh, And I had to humble down, you know, and realize that that I'm a I'm a flawed human, and um, I still have an opportunity, you know, to go out in the world and and contribute in a way that fills my heart and hopefully helps other people. You know. Sorry, I think we've got that. Man. Hey, look, we want to watch The Daily Show weeknight eleven ten Central on Comedy Central in stream full episodes anytime. I'm on Paramount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast and stre