Hollywood top actor Willard Christopher Smith, popularly called as Will Smith has embraced Islam after completing the Muhammad Ali biopic. Smith was introduced to Islam while learning about the legendary boxers life. Director of the American Muslim Association of North America, Sofian Zakkout says, “Islam is Alis religion of choice. Muhammad Ali is one of the best examples of Muslims in this country. He has been a wonderful spokesperson for the religion and if Will Smith can continue Muhammad Alis work, that would be wonderful.” Islam is a peaceful religion and if good people such as Muhammad and Will can carry that message, then it would be wonderful. It would be a positive message for peaceful Muslims all over the world,” added Sofian. Smith appeared at the “America: A Tribute to Heroes” telethon in September alongside Ali defending Islam in the wake of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Born on September 25, 1968,Smith started his life as the main character in NBCs The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air series. Later, he ventured into movies where the critics took note of him in Six Degree of Separation (1993), Bad Boys (1995) and Independence Day (1996). For eight years, Will Smith refused to take on the role of Muhammad Ali, saying he didnt believe he was up to the job of playing the man he calls, the greatest figure over the last 100 years. Intellectually, I didnt feel that I possessed what it took to become Muhammad Ali,. Smith told Primetimes special correspondent Tavis Smiley. I absolutely, positively did not want to be the dude that messed up the Muhammad Ali story. Ali and his family even personally asked Smith to take the part. But it was the films director, Michael Mann, who finally convinced Smith that hed be able to capture every aspect of Ali in the bio-pic. I even thought he was me, said Ali of Smiths performance. He said, Were going to find the greatest trainers in the world to teach you how to fight, Smith recalled. Were going to understand every second of Muhammad Alis life. Were going to understand what he ate, how he viewed the world, how his mother felt about him, how his father felt about him. With Manns plan laid out, Smith said he could really see the road. It was a rough, jagged, uphill road in the rain, but he brought it to light so that I could at least see what the road was. It was at that point, Smith said, that a weird confidence came over him. I felt confident that this was the role that I was born to play. For almost two years, Smith trained his body, rehearsed his voice, and tried to encapsulate the soul of Ali, who changed his name from Cassius Clay when he converted to Islam. I picked up the spiritual aspects fairly easily, said Smith. I understand the basic tenets of Islam, and I had an Islamic instructor. The most difficult parts, he said, were the physical training and learning Alis dialect. Smith spent years training to play Ali. Throughout the making of the film, Smith felt Alis imposing presence and the pressure to get it right. He asked Ali to give him three months before watching him rehearse. He didnt let Ali down. He is a perfect actor, the 59-year-old said. I even thought he was me. Ali said he still hasnt seen the movie in its entirety, because he wanted to see it with a crowd. I am waiting to be surprised, he said. Waiting to feel the effect of it, to see how people feel. Like Ali, who has been a champion of civil rights and who served time in prison for refusing to be drafted during Vietnam, Smith said he has a moral code he lives by and political views he feels strongly about. I try to speak my points of view about black America, and how I feel about black men and the role that black men should play in their lives with their children and in their lives with their women, he said. Smith found a new issue to act on while filming Ali in Africa and discovered that almost everything he had been taught about the continent was wrong. The best and the worst of everything in the world exists in Africa. And people think that its just animals walking down the street, Smith said. I was shocked to see a 40-story building in Africa. I was shocked to see girls rolling in BMWs and I was shocked to hear rap music. I just didnt know. Smith, who bought a house in Johannesburg, is now talking about spending the year in Africa with his wife, actress Jada Pinkett, and their children. He said he doesnt want his kids to be completely mis-educated about their heritage, like he was. When Ali opens in the theatres, Smith will reach the end of the journey he began two years ago. But he says the trip he made through the life and times of The Greatest will last him forever.Im profoundly changed, he said. Theres a bitter-sweet emotion that I feel from playing this role. I want the world to be different because I was here. However lofty or crazy or delusional that may sound, I want peoples lives to be better because I was here. Smith, who first made a name for himself as a rapper, has worked his way up the Hollywood pay scale with films like Independence Day and Men in Black and now earns $20-million a movie. Now that hes finished Ali, hes not sure whats next. Its quite highly possible that I have peaked, he said. I mean, I just cant imagine what else I could do beyond this. Its really a bitter- sweet kind of feeling.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Mar 2014 08:04:34 +0000
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