Will Smith Explains Why He Stayed Away From Films About Slavery Until ‘Emancipation’

After staying out of the spotlight for most of 2022 following the Oscar slap scandal, Will Smith has kicked his media appearances into high gear this past week. The actor is promoting his new Apple TV+ film, Emancipation. The film tells the story of the man in the widely recognized photo known as “Whipped Peter.” The photo showed the wounds on Peter’s back from being whipped and once it circulated throughout the country, it helped turn white Northerners against slavery. The film follows Peter as he flees a plantation and has to escape through dangerous swamps in Louisiana as cold-blooded hunters chase after him as he fights for his freedom.

Smith has historically not taken on any slavery roles throughout his career, and he told Complex during a brief conversation ahead of the movie’s release that the choice has been intentional. The actor said he didn’t want to show “Black folks in that light,” but felt like director Antoine Fuqua’s portrayal of this story was inspiring and had a meaning deeper than the suffering and degradation movies about slavery usually portray. 

“Antoine didn’t make a movie about slavery,” Smith said. “It’s a movie about freedom, it’s a movie about love, it’s a movie about family, it’s a movie about faith, it’s a movie about endurance and gratitude, and it’s a movie about the power of the spirit of the African-American.”

Image via Apple TV+

The actor has been banned from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years following the incident involving Chris Rock earlier this year, and that is a shame. This is by far one of the strongest performances Smith has delivered in the course of his career and one that is deserving of all the recognition Hollywood has to offer. At first, it was reported that Apple would delay the film’s release until 2023 after the Oscars controversy, but the company went ahead with the original plan—giving Smith a necessary opportunity to reconcile with his fans. 

Emancipation is currently playing in select theaters and hits Apple TV+ on Dec. 9. Check out our conversation with Will Smith below.

Image via Apple TV+

Will, this role had to be so grueling both mentally and physically. How do you get into the right headspace to play someone like Peter? 
You know, as an actor you do your research,  you learn the dialect, and you read everything you can read. But there’s a magic moment that you can’t manufacture, you can’t microwave, you just hope that the magic lightning strikes. That lightning of understanding. And it happened for me about six weeks out as we were preparing and the prop master was getting the size for the neck chains. I put the neck chains on and the wrists and so I have the chains on—it was the actual weight, the actual size—and he went to put the key in and the key didn’t work. 

And there were about 15 minutes where I was actually locked in the chains and my heart is going crazy and I’m sitting there and there are people running around trying to find another key to get me out. And it just dawned on me that Peter didn’t have that. There was nobody running around to get Peter out and in that moment, that 15 minutes, I just got under the acting lightning strike of understanding that I needed to begin my deeper comprehension of Peter, the man.

Image via Apple TV+

The Whipped Peter photo is so historical and everybody can recognize it but people maybe aren’t familiar with his story. There are some questions about whether people fought back or not during slavery, and this is a reminder that there were people who fought back. Why was it important for you to portray this kind of person? 
Yeah, it was critical for Antoine and I both, you know. The question was, “Could we make a movie set in this period that would be inspiring?” And in my career, it is a big part of why I avoided slavery, in general. I didn’t want Black folks—I didn’t want to show Black folks in that light. And then this film did something different. Antoine didn’t make a movie about slavery. It’s a movie about freedom, it’s a movie about love, it’s a movie about family, it’s a movie about faith, it’s a movie about endurance and gratitude, and it’s a movie about the power of the spirit of the African-American. 

It’s not a movie solely dropping you into degradation and pulling you through, you know, the valley of suffering. He didn’t shy away from that but it’s also a movie that you leave inspired, you leave informed, and hopefully across the board, will leave with another click of understanding, a seed of understanding that could blossom into empathy and compassion.

I know you have had screenings in D.C. and at Morehouse, and you have had people like Tyler Perry, Rihanna, and Dave Chappelle come out to support this movie. What does it mean for you to have your community show up for you at this time?
You know I really I don’t even take that as personal for me. It was like people were showing up for Peter, you know? It’s like Peter and I were together but it was like, Rihanna showed up and loved the movie. The support is for the story and the ideas and I’m very happy to have that support but I’m bowing down to Peter on this one, and the material is so critical and so important and Antoine put it together in a way that is so undeniable that I’m getting credit for it but I’m giving it over completely to Peter and giving it over completely to Antoine. My gratitude and thanks is to them.