Will Smith: My Work Ethic Is "Sickening"
Star Tells Steve Kroft It Compensates For Average Talent
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Will Smith: Philly Raised
Will Smith walks with Steve Kroft through his hometown of Philadelphia and introduces him to places and people that have shaped his life.
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Will Smith: Blockbusters
Will Smith tells Steve Kroft that when he is choosing a movie he consults his family and friends. Their "mainstream sensibilities" have led him to leading roles in worldwide hits.
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Will Smith: Early Fame
A pioneer of rap music with a hit single in high school, Will Smith tells Steve Kroft about what influenced him early on.
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Will Smith (CBS)
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Will Smith, on the set of "I Am Legend." (AP Photo)
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- Will Smith Stays Grounded
Of all the stories in Hollywood, there is not another one like Will Smith's. At age 39, he has already had three successful careers: Grammy award winning rapper, sitcom sensation, and finally one of the biggest movie stars on the planet.
With two Oscar nominations and almost four and a half billion dollars in box office receipts to his credit, a movie starring Will Smith is about as close as you get to having a sure thing, whether it's science fiction, romantic comedy, or a summer blockbuster, like his latest effort, "Hancock," which opens nationwide on July 2.
And as correspondent Steve Kroft first reported last December, there is an ease and enthusiasm about him that transcends race and cultural boundaries, and it is one of the reasons so many people like him.
Asked what he thinks his appeal is, Smith tells Kroft, "I love living, I think that's infectious. It's somethin' that you can't fake."
"And I think that the camera can feel that I'm happy doin' what I do. And it's somethin' that gets inside of people," he adds.
It is swagger with a smile, confidence with cool, and wit grounded in wisdom -- someone who knows who he is, and where he is going. And it has made him one of the most popular and powerful actors in Hollywood.
Why does he think he has been so successful?
"I've never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I've viewed myself as slightly above average in talent. And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy's sleeping? I'm working. While the other guy's eatin’? I'm working. While the other guy's making love, I mean, I'm making love, too. But I'm working really hard at it," he tells Kroft, laughing.
That he makes it look just the opposite is testament to his personality and his skill as an actor. He likes the fact that you never see him sweat unless you are supposed to, or notice the emotional capital expended as a homeless father with a hungry son, or the commitment it took to become Muhammad Ali.
Photos: Multi-talented Mr. Smith
Photos: Smith Family Album
Photos: A New York "Legend"
Or the sheer challenge of his last film "I Am Legend," in which he was required to hold the screen, all by himself, for over an hour, as the survivor of biological outbreak that has wiped out most of the world. And he managed to pull it off.
The instincts and the work ethic come from his middle class upbringing in Philadelphia. His mother was a school administrator, his father owned a refrigeration company.
One summer, his dad tore down a brick wall in the front of his business and told 12-year-old Will and his 9-year-old brother to rebuild it, a job they said was impossible. It took them a year and a half, but they did it.
"And he said, 'Now, don't you ever tell me there's somethin' that you can't do.' And walked right through that door, went inside. And me and my brother stood here and looked. And said, 'Daddy crazy as hell, ain't he?'" Smith recalls, laughing.
The wall is still there, and so is the lesson he learned from building it. "I just put my head down and lay the first brick," Smith explains.
Later that afternoon, outside the Philadelphia house where he grew up, Smith and Kroft ran into his father. Asked what kind of kid Will Smith was, if he was trouble, his father told Kroft, "Not at all. Not at all."
"Listen, anytime you're willin' to choke your kids, there ain't gonna be no trouble," Smith joked, laughing.
It was part of a tour that included what he called the best cheese steak in Philly, and a trip to his alma mater, Overbrook High, the same school that produced basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain.
A few minutes, later Smith and Kroft were besieged. As Smith tells it, he was a B-student who should have been making A’s. But the teachers were so charmed they called him "the prince."
Smith has a natural tendency to draw everyone into a spotlight that began shining on him before he ever left Overbrook High, like Charlie Mack, his old friend, and Jeff Townes, his partner in a teen rap duo called "DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince."
There was something mesmerizing about the Fresh Prince and the videos that helped move the music from the streets into the mainstream. They won the first Grammy ever awarded for rap, providing the show business platform that would eventually launch Will Smith into the stratosphere.
Produced By John Hamlin and Albert Kahwaty
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Photos: Multi-talented Mr. Smith

You only referred to his two children by Jada Pinkett Smith. He has another child from a previous marriage.
It really disturbs me when this is done during any interview. If for no other reason than the feelings of the other child, there should never be mention of some children without mention of ALL children.
I am also somewhat disappointed by Mr. Smith, and other celebrity parents who find themselves in this situation. Even if the interviewer forgets, I would expect the parent to say "Oh, and I have another child from a previous relationship."
I see this happen too often in interviews of some celebrities with children outside of their current marriage. I don''t care as much about the "accuracy of the information" as I do about the feelings of that child who was not mentioned. I know I would be really hurt if I were in that position.
Forgot the email address, smith.pbrian@earthlink.net
A soldier''s mom
Steve said "...where he lives with his two children, Jaden and Willow." I don''t think it was intentional dismissal of Trey, but a statement of the fact that Trey may live with his mother, Sheree.
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
And then I read the second post and go ....yea. dito ECCO ..what SHE said. ADHD etc. "You look fine to me."
But I did have my own idea! A, "NO BRAINER" that would help the world. And the entire water bottle buying public. Not that I really think anyone connected to Will, ah "Mr. Smith" will be reading these or gettin back to him with, "Hey Will check this out, it was on the blog."
But you how some 350 million plastic water bottles go into land fills each week? I got an idea that would put a big dent in that. You got my email...................
Mr. Smith''s good friend and mentor, Mr. Bill Cosby, uses his name, influence, and probably not a small amount of money to further the cause of the preservation of Jazz as an American institution, paying special attention to the most neglected, the "Black" performers.
Such an effort can never be overdone, we need all the support we can get, even lending one''s name to a program can make the necessary sponsorship dollars flow.
My own efforts have been more in the area of opening foreign markets directly to "Black" American jazz artists, and am trying to open the US doors to artists from those foreign markets, hopefully the increased cultural exchange will create even newer forms, and make it harder for the warmongers to use Americans'' lack of exposure to foment illegal wars.
Mr. Smith, Music was your launching pad, it can be even greater if you want it to be.
Also God called, he said he was revoking your life as of 3 am tomorrow morning, you were being called back, I guess that will hurt the whole Will Smith thing, sorry about that.
You Go Will! Awesome, awesome person. Lovely family and something many in this country lackm a work ethic!!
His success has a lot to do with a huge marketing force that saw potential in a high school kid. And that kid lived up to that potential.
More people should be able to use their God-given talents; or at least use them in tandem with projects that benefit the community/country as well as themselves.
wrong,
he wants to run for president
I have to truly admit
I LOVE THE GUY!
He is classy, funny, ***, sincere.
Congrads to Jada, I hope his destin of wanting to help will not just be at x-mas . someone needs to help the children who are TRULY trying to go to college and should not have to do the loan thing or the government grant thing .
That is all part of becoming an adult. Is that your feeling, everything should be handed to you with no responsibility of paying anyone back? That%u2019s the problem with kids these days; they think everyone owes them something before they even come close to earning it.
Hay buddy, how are things at the trailer park today. What a low class post. You don''t know these people so where do you get off with the cheap shots? I met Tom several years age and he was a really nice guy. Didn''t come off as conceited in any way. His religion is his business and he never brought it up. As for you use of the word c**n you need to wake up and join the 21st century. It is not smart, it is not cute, and it is not acceptable. You call the wrong guy something like that and you''ll wake up wearing your azz for a hat. Oh yes, everyone that lives in a trailer park is not low class.
Will Smith was in the right place at the right time and he has talent and yeah, sure, there was some luck thrown in there too but many actors were "discovered" and it''s luck.
There''s nothing I like more than a polite response when I post. I must say that your reply had all the class of a street prostitute having a bad day. Didn''t your mommy teach you any manners? You make many assumptions about me and I''m wondering how you know all the things you mention. I won''t even try to deal with each stupid comment. But I will say that it sounds like you have a terrible crush on your boy Tom. "Bushy eyebrows, Pouty lips", come on boy try to control yourself. I"ll bet you talk about all your boyfriends like that don''t ya. Watch it though, Katie might kick your little azz.
True, actors work long days. Look at the rewards. Let''s become a nation of actors and all our money troubles will disappear. After all, what''s quality assembly or quality application development when we can all thrust our egos on a 60 foot screen and let everybody whine how expensive it is to get just to see us flaunt how cooooool we are...
Also someone believes that "luck" plays a major role in success, nothing could be further from the truth. When preparation meets opportunity massive success is possible. They were prapared when an opportunity came their way to advance their careers. Are you prepared? www. macksimize. com
I am gratefuly for Public Broadcasting''s news, reporting when it happens regardless of their market share, Neilsen ratings. Get guts 60 minutes.
thanks. continued success. B.
Will, if you are really looking for something to do that will make a difference -- I''d suggest you devote the next six month to to Barrack Obama''s campaign. Think about where you can go that will make a difference. It''s hard to imagine what you might do otherwise that would help make a better future.
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by michaelwsmit
June 30, 2008 9:07 AM PDT
- Will if your truely interested in making a difference in the world. My name is Michael Smith and I''m currently working on my 3rd US Patent. It''s involved with clean alternative energy use for everyone. I have filled out and submitted 60 minutes form Sunday evening after seeing your interview with Steve Kroft. The form has my contact information on it.
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