Hollywood star Will Smith is anxious about the premiere of his slavery thriller Emancipation but is concerned that his behaviour will jeopardise the team’s efforts.

At the Oscars in 2022, the actor infamously slapped Chris Rock when the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

The audience still remembers the slap, despite Smith having already professed his “deep remorse” for it. The actor believes that some viewers might not be ready to see him on screen quite yet.

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Who is Will Smith?

American actor and rapper Willard Carroll Smith II, better known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, was born on September 25, 1968. He began his acting career on the NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996), playing a fictionalised version of himself. 

Smith, well known for his work in music, film, and television, has won numerous honours, including four Grammy Awards and an Academy Award. His films have generated approximately $9.3 billion at the worldwide box office as of 2022, making him one of Hollywood’s most financially secure performers.

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Smith originally rose to prominence as a member of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff, with whom he recorded five studio albums and the top 20 US Billboard Hot 100 singles Parents Just Don’t Understand, A Nightmare on My Street, Summertime, Ring My Bell, and Boom! Shake the Room from 1984 to 1994. The US number-one singles Gettin’ Jiggy wit It and Wild Wild West were featured on his solo albums Big Willie Style, Willennium, Born to Reign, and Lost and Found. For his rap performances, he has won four Grammy Awards.

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As a leading man in movies like the action movie Bad Boys, its sequels Bad Boys II and Bad Boys for Life, and the science fiction comedies Men in Black, Men in Black II, and Men in Black 3, Smith rose to greater popularity. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performances as Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness and Muhammad Ali in Ali after acting in the thrillers Independence Day and Enemy of the State. After that, he appeared in a number of critically acclaimed and financially lucrative movies, including I, Robot, Shark Tale, Hitch, I Am Legend, Hancock, Seven Pounds, Suicide Squad, and Aladdin.

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Smith received several awards, including the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor, for his depiction of Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama King Richard. Shortly before winning the 2022 Oscar, Smith received criticism for hitting and yelling at Oscar presenter Chris Rock when Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Following Smith’s resignation from the Academy, the Academy forbade him for ten years from attending any Academy events, including the Oscars.

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In 1992, Smith married Sheree Zampino. On November 11, 1992, their son Willard Carroll “Trey” Smith III was born. In 1995, the two were divorced.

On December 31, 1997, Smith married Jada Koren Pinkett, a fellow actor whom he met when Pinkett auditioned for a role as Smith’s character’s girlfriend in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The couple has two children – Jaden Christopher Syre Smith and Willow Camille Reign Smith.