I had the distinct pleasure to meet with Will Smith for a short time this month. Say what you will (and many have) about his taste in music, film roles, parenting preferences, but there is no denying he has talent (a great deal) and a lot of savvy.
There is a story going around town that he is among an elite few of A-listers who have gotten an education at some of the most prestigious universities in the country (for example Tommy Lee Jones went to Harvard). The story is that Will Smith went to MIT.
So my question to him was: being so intelligent, has that ever gotten in the way of your work? The belief being that great performances can't be achieved through the mind but only through the heart/soul (insert new age place here).
We ended up having a great conversation which boiled down to: if you play things too smart, you will alienate a lot of people, and a lot of "smart performances" especially in comedy are just saying things in ways we haven't been trained to hear. Steve Martin's early work came to mind, though arguably a comedic genius, his comedy took a while to catch on. And lastly, keep surrounding yourself with smart people.
Will Smith is an amazingly kind individual, not at all too-cool-for-school, and actually got excited to think critically with me. So can you have a successful career and not let your grey-matter atrophy to a pulp? Will and I say yes.
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