It's so weird seeing a person you grew up with stand proudly with their children right? Lol! I say this as if I'm talking about a personal friend or something! Actually, the person I'm talking about here is Will Smith. I grew up watching him as the "Prince of Bel-Air" but I finally see him really grow up in "After Earth."
I actually attended the New York premiere of "After Earth" with my friend who was covering the event as part of the press. I, who's always been a fan of Will Smith since his 90s sitcom days, tagged along hoping to get his autograph. IT was there that I saw him, for the first time, as an actual father. You never really see celebrities as fellow humans, right? You'd often think of them as creatures from another world or something. But seeing him interact with Jaden Smith, his son, and the rest of his family who attended the premiere, was nothing short of captivating.
Will Smith seemed even more human when he approached me. He saw that I, with my stack of copies of the movie's poster, and the fellow fans around me, all had stuff we wanted him to sign. I was one of the first few he got to and he really was personable, kind, and funny. If you thought his goofy and energetic behavior was an "act," it was not! I know a lot of guys who were totally like Smith so I could really tell that that was his authentic self! It was amazing to see in-person!
Jaden Smith, on the other hand, was as cool as cucumber. Granted this was his second time acting with his old man on-screen, I just can't believe someone so young has practically gotten the hang of celebrity life at that point. Of course, when your dad is Will Smith and your mother is Jada Pinkett-Smith, you really have no choice but to get used to it. When he signed my posters, he acted so mature, so cool, and even a little bit suave that it actually made Will Smith seem more childish, lol!
That event really was a productive night for me as an autograph-hound. I didn't just get the Smiths' autographs, but also of the rest of the cast members as well. Sophie Okonedo, Glenn Morshower, Chris Geere, and more signed a lot of my posters. But out of all of them, Will Smith was the only one who signed all of my copies. He really is a genuinely nice guy! Seeing his autograph on all of my copies, I felt so proud to have been his fan for all these years!
Living in the limelight must be wild! At least, for me! Seeing how Will Smith grew up as a celebrity and now his son, Jaden, is leading that sort of lifestyle as well is just bonkers! But I did get their autographs so it's all good!
Please note: Our inventory is limited as we may have only received a few posters in total. Most of our items are obtained from film premieres, studios, and from autographed hounds such as the one in the story above.
