When Will Smith was ready to turn down the role of Agent J in 1997’s “Men in Black,” executive producer Steven Spielberg decided to take matters into his own hands. During a recent appearance on Kevin Hart’s “Hart to Heart” talk show (via Insider), Smith told the story of Spielberg sending a helicopter to bring him in for a meeting in which Spielberg questioned Smith’s apprehension over “Men in Black.”
It all started with Smith not wanting to make another alien-centric movie after 1996’s “Independence Day,” his first bonafide blockbuster. James Lassiter, Smith’s former manager, urged Smith to take the role of Agent J. According to Smith, Lassiter was “the arbiter of taste” for his acting career.
“In the heyday, the 10 movies I made at the top of my career, [James] was choosing the films,” Smith said. “He just had an eye. I didn’t want to make ‘Pursuit of Happyness.’ I didn’t want to make ‘Ali.’ And [James] picked ‘Men in Black.’ I kind of understood ‘Men in Black’ a little bit but I didn’t want to make ‘Men in Black.’ That was the next year after ‘Independence Day.’ So I didn’t want to make two alien movies back to back.”
Potentially turning down a project backed by Spielberg’s Amblin production company garnered the attention of Spielberg himself.
“Steven Spielberg sent a helicopter for me to talk to me,” Smith said. “I was in New York. It landed at his house. And, like, he had me at hello. And it was the first time I ever had lemonade with carbonated water. You can’t say no to that.”
“He said the coldest shit,” Smith added. “He said, ‘Tell me why you don’t want to make my movie…’ And he was the producer. And he put the ellipsis at the end, it was the dot, dot, dot. If he had continued, he would have said, ‘Joker, you know I made “Jaws,” right? You know I made “E.T.”‘”
Being called out by Spielberg was all the convincing Smith needed to accept “Men in Black,” which became yet another early blockbuster for the young actor. The film earned $589 million at the worldwide box office and gave Smith his second movie franchise after “Bad Boys.” The back-to-back successes of “Independent Day” and “Men in Black” solidified Smith’s movie star status in the late 1990s.
