The Heat Interview: Will Smith

“I told Jada, I met an attractive girl so I’m going to avoid her”

He seems like the nicest man in Hollywood, but what is Will Smith really like? Jo Carnegie finds out.

There aren’t many men who can get away with wearing a pair of diamond earrings, but Will Smith is one of them. We’re at a posh London hotel to meet the 36-year-old Hollywood star, who is in the country to promote Hitch – his hit romantic comedy. As we wait to be shown in to Will’s suite, heat wonders whether we should high five him when we meet him or try to snog the life out of him instead. You see, Will’s got that winning mix: guy’s laugh at his jokes and women, well they laugh, but they fancy him, too.

As it turns out, we get two kisses. On both cheeks. As we are introduced, Will is the epitome of charm and friendliness, and makes sure everyone’s seated comfortably before offering heat a choice of water (both Will and heat for sparkling) and ice. He’d make a good barman. Up close, Will is seriously good looking; tall, lean and muscular, with flawless skin – the type worthy of a Revlon advert. But thankfully, no telltale foundation tidemarks.

Will is lovely, not a superstar air or grace in sight. He’s so chatty and unguarded. In fact, you kind of forget how big a star he is. Fresh Prince, rapper, action hero and now giving Hugh Grant a run for his money in the romantic lead stakes. We can’t wait to start the banter with him, especially after his extraordinary claims that he and wife Jada Pinkett Smith have an agreement whereby they can sleep with other people – as long as they ask each other first…

All right, big man!

Big man! [Laughs.] I’m big Will.

You certainly are.

Woo, excuse me. [At this point, the sparkling water repeats on Will and he puts his hand to his mouth and politely stifles a burp.] It’s the bubbles. Sorry.

Eva Mendes, your co-star in Hitch says you smell very nice. May I?

[heat is halfway out of the chair towards Will anyway, but he leaps up as well to proffer himself and we end up having a very embarrassing collision. He does indeed smell lovely, heat falls back slightly breathless in the chair. All professionalism has now gone out of the window.]

My lips touched your neck then…

[Totally unfazed.] That was good. [Laughs.]

I wasn’t kissing it, honest. What aftershave is that you’re wearing?

It’s Vera Wang.

You seem like the nicest man in Hollywood, but in an interview recently you said, “People don’t realise the beast that lurks when provoked.” Do you have a secret dark side?

[Adopts a deep, slightly scary voice] What do you mean?

Well, what is the beast inside, Will?

People see who I am 96 per cent of the time, but they also forget I’m a 210 pounds, six-foot-two black guy who trained for a year and a half [before and during] the filming of Ali. So you know, people think if you’re nice, you’re soft.

Ooh, I see that fury in your eyes now…

You see that? [Narrows his eyes.] That’s what I was giving you then. I was giving you that. [Laughs.] No, that beast is not negativity. It makes me want to be Number One at the box office and be the best husband and father. There’s no one who is successful that doesn’t have a beast. It makes you work while everyone else is sleeping.

So you’re not an axe murderer. OK then, how’s the lovely Jada?

She’s good.

She looks like a strong woman. Does she wear the trousers, sorry pants, in your relationship?

Yes. [Laughs again.] She’s very fiery. It’s kind of a weird thing to talk about – any answer is the wrong answer! Oh yeah, you know. [Puts on weak, pathetic voice] “She beats me at home” Or [puts on mock-gangster voice] “Hell no! I whooped Jada’s ass!” [Chuckles.]

Do you ever have bust-ups over whose turn it is to do the washing up?

Never. Our house is 100 per cent in check and we both know our roles. I am the family er, how do you say? [Thinks…]

[Laughs.] No, Jada pretty much deals with kids and that stuff. [Will and Jada have a son, Jaden, six and daughter, Willow, four.] I am the… [Thinks again.] The directional leader of our family. I am the shepherd.

So you herd the kids around when they get out of line?

Yeah, and I choose the direction.

Are all men, even famous ones like you, guilty of leaving the toilet seat up?

I probably am.

You seem like a rock-solid couple. What’s your secret?

Tell each other the hard, cold truth. Whatever that is. There’s no worries about feelings or “Maybe they can’t handle that right now”. None of that. About anything.

Anything? So if Jada said to you, “Will, does my dress look big in this dress?” and it did, you’d tell her?

Yes. [Laughs.]

You wouldn’t get a slap for it?

Well, you know. [Laughs again.] It is hard sometimes because you don’t want to hear the truth, but we don’t hold each other responsible for that. No relationship can survive without the truth. How else would someone know what you see, what you think and what you feel if you don’t say?

I suppose. Were you surprised that Brad and Jen split up?

Well, I only met them a couple of times and I didn’t really know a lot about their relationship, so you know. [Shrugs.]

Why is it that famous people can’t seem to stay together?

If you look at all relationships, I don’t think the ratio in Hollywood is any higher. But in Hollywood, there are so many options. Jobs and women and men and the greatest of all things. That adds some level of difficulty to sustaining a relationship and protecting and nurturing what you have.

Famous people always seem to blame break-ups on their careers.

People work 60-70 hours a week on their job and only take 15 minutes at the weekend to focus on their relationship. Now, if you only worked that on your job, you’d get fired. The thing that should be your top priority, you spend the least amount of time on. The math is wrong.

Is it true that every time a couple splits in Hollywood, you and Jada go and ask them what went wrong? Like Tom and Nicole, and Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.

Well, we study relationships.

What do you mean?

We were friends with Bruce, and Tom and Nicole. The question is, “What happened?” We understand the nature of relationships and that they change. You meet someone and a new relationship is born. So you live and things are going wonderful and the woman gets pregnant and you guys have a baby. And that is the death of that relationship up until that point. Now it’s time to create the life of a new relationship. A lot of people get caught trying to recreate something that is dead. You have to move on.

So Nicole and Tom didn’t tell you to mind your own business then?

Not at all. Tom, Jada and I are all really good friends. You know, you work with people, spend some time with them and you vibe or you don’t vibe. The friendship develops if you’ve both got kids and stuff.

What’s this about you saying it’s all right for you and Jada to have sex outside your marriage if you ask each other first?

Well, that was taken a bit out of context. What the statement was, is that we tell each other the 100 per cent truth. So hypothetically, if there was a situation where I met this girl and I said “Jada, I met this girl and she’s beautiful.” It isn’t something I would do but I would be honest about how I felt.

So neither of you have had sex with other people?

No, no. But there have been situations where I have told her “I’ve met someone who is attractive and I think I’m going to avoid them.” [Laughs]

What’s Jada’s reaction to it?

You know, we stood up in front of God and our family and friends and said, “Till death do us part.” So if we part, one of us is going to die, right? We know we’re going to be together and we know the only way is sharing darkest thoughts and feelings. It might be hard to hear things, but it’s easier than finding out a year later.

Do you think it might ever get to the stage where you say, “I actually want to have sex with another person”?

I can’t predict the future, but I know for a fact I’m not the type of dude to cheat. All you know is what you think and what you feel and with your partner, you guys will work it out. Breaking up is not an option.

OK, but do you worry that one of you might meet someone else?

Um, I guess theoretically that is a reality. But we have built something, So yes, we could meet someone else, someone else can by intriguing or exciting, but 90 per cent of the people you meet aren’t going to tell you the truth. We got that.

So you’re saying you are only being honest and human?

You can’t appreciate a woman if you don’t appreciate women. What’s wrong with that?

So, obviously Jada won’t mind if we go out for a drink tonight, then?

No problem at all. Because she knows that there is no way that anything would happen that I didn’t say was going to happen. If I said, “We’re going for a drink and a talk,” she knows that will happen.

What if you asked her if I could sit on her lap?

Nah, that’s kind of sexy! [Starts laughing]

Jada got you a birthday cake with a picture of Mel B on it once because you fancied her, didn’t she?

It had J-Lo, Salma (Hayek) and Mel B. I had a crush on Mel B. I always have my fantasy chick on the side.

Has Jada got a fantasy man?

Uh, I think she’s single right now, but the last one was The Rock.

It’s OK for normal people to have crushes on celebs, but isn’t it a bit weird when you’re famous yourself?

You see, what we do in our relationship is make sure we’re the best. Then you don’t have to worry about anybody else. I know for a fact there is no man to compare to me on the face of the earth as far as Jada is concerned. Nobody. And there’s not a woman who can do and handle what Jada does being with me. So in a world of no competition, it’s easy to have a journalist sit on your lap. [Laughs]

The publicist comes in. “Time’s up,” she says and heat is ushered out, but not before we get another kiss from Will on both cheeks. What a gent. We may have had our chance to throw ourselves at him cut cruelly short, but unlike most Hollywood stars who keep warily schtum about their relationships, Will Smith is a breath of fresh air. Somehow, we don’t think he has to worry about Jada trading him in for The Rock, either.