When Will Smith revealed why he took a hiatus in his acting career

Will Smith got his breakthrough role in the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and since then, he has appeared in several hit projects. Following his decade-long success, he took a brief hiatus from acting for around four years. Smith explained how he felt at that time and what bought him back into the industry. 

When Will Smith had a rough patch in his acting career 

Will Smith wasn't seen on the big screen from 2009 to 2011. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter's Actor Roundtable, he opened up about his thought process at the time. He said that in retrospect, he realized that he had hit a ceiling in his talent. He had a "great run" that he thought was fantastic and realized that he had done everything that he could do with himself that he had. For two years he didn't take up any role, instead spent months reading parenting books, going through marriage counseling, and reflecting on his inner self.

Will Smith stated that he really divided himself. And then all of a sudden it was like, ‘Oh!’ and he found the connection. He stated that one's work can never really be better than they are. Their work can’t be deeper than they are, he understood. The actor described himself as "product-oriented" as he always felt a need to win. But this mindset was changed by his daughter Willow. She shifted his focus from product to people.

The Bad Boys star mentioned that it took a couple of years, but as soon as he got knocked off of the product and started shifting to people, the whole world opened up for him again. He asserted that acting opened up in a whole new way. Then he went from going into day one of a movie trying to figure out what everybody has to do so they win, to opening up and knowing how every person was which was a whole new world for him. 

Will Smith found a new outlook and passion for his acting. He added that it was a "pathology" that broke for him a couple of years ago. He admitted that then he fell in love with acting and couldn’t imagine what else he could do that could add so much to his life other than acting. 

Will Smith broke his long halt with Men in Black 3 in 2012. Since then he has appeared in several movies. Will Smith's movie list includes names like Focus, Concussion, Suicide Squad, Bright, Aladdin, Bad Boys for Life, and more. His upcoming movie, King Richard is a biographical drama film focusing on Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. 

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