Will Smith sat down with Idris Elba at London’s Savoy Theatre on Thursday to celebrate the release of his memoir Will, and revealed to Idris and the audience that he once paid his taxes in a pretty unconventional way.
In a video captured by Metro, Smith revealed tol Elba that he had gone completely broke before his star-making turn as an actor in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. “I’m not sure what the government is like with taxes in the U.K., but in the U.S. they take it seriously,” Will said. “So Uncle Sam wanted his money. I didn’t forget—I just didn’t pay.”
The owed sum forced Will to “sell everything” and move to Los Angeles.
“I knew whatever my new life was going to be, I could feel it was going to be in Los Angeles,” the 2016 Suicide Squad actor told the star of 2021’s The Suicide Squad. “So I borrowed $10,000 from a friend of mine who was a purveyor of neighborhood pharmaceuticals.”
The crowd broke into laughter. “I borrowed $10,000 and I moved to Los Angeles and one time we were doing shows and I was trying to drum up some cash, so we were in Detroit and we were doing a show. I had met a guy named Benny Medina. You remember Arsenio Hall? I started to go there because everybody was on Arsenio Hall.”
Smith has been deep in the throes of his book tour, and just returned to the big screen as Venus and Serena Williams father in King Richard. It’s mostly received praise from critics, although some viewers called the film sexist, regardless of the Williams sisters serving as executive producers.
“The interesting thing about the critique of ‘King Richard’ centering the father is not just that Venus and Serena executive produced it, but they refused to attach their names UNLESS it aligned with their vision,” writer Michael Harriot offered in a viral rebuttal tweet.
King Richard stars Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal, and you can stream it now on HBO Max or catch it in theaters.
