Men in Black is one of Will Smith’s standout roles. But the franchise was not just about him. It was also the iconic partnership between Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, and their clashing personalities, that made it such a hilarious ride. The duo starred in three movies, each one expanding the lore and introducing more alien species to the sci-fi world. However, to pull that off, the showrunner faced some tricky dilemmas- and they had nothing to do with Will Smith for the record.

It was Smith’s co-star, Tommy Lee Jones, who posed a unique challenge for the filmmaker, which he recently shared in his book.

It is often said that Tommy Lee Jones had a hard time getting into the groove of playing a serious character next to Will Smith. Barry Sonnenfeld recently shared this awkward situation in his book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time, as has also been reported by PEOPLE. He shared a story from the first day of filming Men in Black, when he was shooting a scene with Lee Jones and a minor villain, Mikey. As Mikey was trying to answer Jones’ questions in a scene, the actor randomly pulled a move to be funny, that no one saw coming.

Jones sang a line that he might have thought would become a big comedy punchline: “AND... ALL YOUR FLIPPERS!”. Sonnenfeld soon realized what was going on, and that Jones was trying to match Will Smith's character's comedy level. However, even after explaining what he wanted from Jones’ character, the actor was not happy and even had his agent get in touch with Sonnenfeld. It was only after the movie's release and its reception that Jones understood Sonnenfeld's vision. This was not the first time the filmmaker talked about this tricky situation, though.

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In a 2022 interview, Barry Sonnenfeld opened up about how Jones never really got into playing the tough guy in the movie.

Barry Sonnenfeld knew right away when he read the script for Men in Black that Tommy Lee Jones was the best choice for Kevin Brown / Agent K. However, the Oscar-winning actor did not exactly embrace the role with open arms- one because he did not think his character was as funny as Will Smith's and the other one might have to do with a nasty habit of the I Am Legend star.

Sonnenfeld told Inverse, “I don't think he understood that comedy”. Nonetheless, Sonnenfeld still did not want Jones to be funny or even react to anything Will Smith said as a joke. The filmmaker, therefore, assured Jones that once he saw the movie, he would see he was just as funny, and in his own unique way. And we all know how spot-on Sonnenfeld was with that call.

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What do you think about Barry Sonnenfeld's revelation about Tommy Lee Jones? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!