A publically open life gives you fame and glory, but at the same time, it can be tiring sometimes. Dealing with your own self and processing takes time, and it takes a lot of courage to do so. David Letterman in his Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction has brought so many heart-wrenchingly honest stories this time. King Richards star Will Smith appeared on the show and exposed himself on a deeper level.

In My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, Will Smith shares some inspiring stories about him struggling to cope with and control his feelings. Towards the end of a one-hour-long talk, Will talked about how he took some time off of work to introspect and how he came back to his glamorous life again.

Will Smith opens up about taking time off

Just after his father died, Will realised he needed to work on himself. He went into isolation and stayed there until he faced his worst fears and learnt how to control them. For 14 days, throughout 2 years, 14 times, he stopped talking to anyone and introspected his feelings and thoughts.

This helped him see the madness going inside his head. Because of this experience, he could confront his fears and could overcome them. It made him see some really different aspects of himself as well as life. And this helped him come back with a bang. Indeed, he came with a bang with Richard Williams.

Actor talks about his new movie King Richard

As this experience took him to a deeper level of his feelings, Will said he came back with a lot more energy and the side of himself that he also didn’t know existed. When David Letterman asked him about King Richard, Will Smith excitedly said, “I was reintroducing myself back to working more consistently” After a break, this was the first movie that he worked in.

Losing his father recently and facing his own fears, he said, this journey had helped him to develop trust and love for himself that he never had. When David says he wants to talk about King Richard, he exposes, “My experiences, and my life, and the writing of this book, have unlocked a part of me, as an actor, that is nothing I’ve ever experienced.” 

His experiences in silence made him look at his life and understand his father. These realisations contributed to his understanding of the character Richard Williams. What this character and Will’s father had common? Just like the character in the movie, Will’s father was also a “post-World War 2, African-American male with a dream and no support.” Being able to relate to the character on a deeper level, on an emotional and psychological level, Will says, after this, his life is so exciting and he is satisfied that he can reach people differently, largely because of his pain.

An actor goes through extremely intense psychological changes as he/she plays various characters. Their personal-life problems and needs are cherry on top. Will’s journey is one such example. But he could make the best of it by coming back stronger than before. Have you watched this inspiring interview on Netflix yet?