Will Smith aspires to join politics: Concussion star thinks 'there might be a future out there'
After Kanye West's wish to contest in the US presidential election, Hollywood star Will Smith has expressed his desire to try and make a career in politics. The actor has been in the movie industry for the past 20 years and has played a role in numerous blockbusters and critically acclaimed movies.
"As I look at the political landscape, I think that there might be a future out there for me. They might need me out there," he told The Hollywood Reporter during the podcast series Awards Chatter.
The Oscar-nominated actor added, "This is the first year that I've been incensed to a level that I can't sleep, you know? So I'm feeling that at some point, in the near future, I will have to lend my voice to the conversation in a somewhat different way."
The actor has been married to actress Jada Pinkett-Smith since 1997 and has two children, Jaden, 17, and Willow, 15, with her. Smith admitted that he was upset when his movie After Earth with son Jaden was declared a flop. "For me, a quarter of billion dollars at the worldwide box office is a flop, and After Earth only did a quarter of a billion. That Monday morning, after the box office receipts came out, I had about 10 or 12 minutes where I was sulking," he said.
The 47-year-old actor is currently working on the post production of his upcoming film Concussion that is a biographical sports thriller drama. During the interview, he explained his struggle to portray the character of Bennet Omalu, the forensic pathologist who fought to consider the risk of brain damage to American football players and their medical safety.
"It was a huge conflict for me to make this movie," he said during the podcast. "I'm a football dad. I grew up in Philly, with my Philadelphia Eagles, so the idea of making a movie that illuminated this particular issue was not something I was chomping at the bit to be a part of. But I read the screenplay, and it was really, really well written. And then, I met with Dr. Omalu and he told me his story, and I'm looking at his eyes while he's telling his story, and as an artist, it's the type of story you live for, to have a person with this type of experience that you can talk to, and there's social ramifications to the piece, and it's also a brilliant story about the American dream."
Produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony, the highly anticipated movie will premiere on Christmas Day 2015.
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