“Everybody’s 40s are funky”: Denzel Washington Warned Will Smith To Stop Caring About Dwindling Movie Career
Although some might think Will Smith’s career is done for after he hit the comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars in early 2022, the actor’s star power started declining way before that. Smith has been in the business for nearly three decades now. He started out when he was in his early 20s with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and now that he is in his mid-50s, the worry about his dwindling career is among the fears that keep him up at night. While many actors manage to maintain their star power and transcend the limitations of age, Smith worried if he will also manage to do the same and embrace everything with time.
The Aladdin actor has been worried about this for quite some time now and thus turned to his friends who are also industry veterans to find a solution for his problem. Therefore, in such a time of need, the actor turned to the sage Denzel Washington for some wisdom.
Will Smith turned to Denzel Washington for some advice
The success that Will Smith experienced throughout his life, cannot be recreated. His name alone was enough to make a movie a box-office hit but as the youthful charm withered away with time, so did his stardom. Although the actor still had millions of admirers around the globe and enjoyed a stardom like no other. The amount he was used to started declining, which started to bother him. Since then, the actor has opened up on multiple occasions about how he feels about his dwindling popularity.
Thus, the actor turned to the legend, Denzel Washinton himself in hopes of an answer. In a cover for GQ, Smith revealed,
“I was probably 48 or something like that and I called Denzel,”
And the Malcolm X actor replied,
“’Listen. You’ve got to think of it as the funky 40s. Everybody’s 40s are funky. ‘”
He reassured Smith that he isn’t the only one walking down this road, and advised him to stop caring for it. He also further instructed the actor to wait until his 50s, that’s when the real party begins. Who would have thought, in order to no longer be pestered by this thought, he simply had to put a halt to thinking about it altogether. And lo and behold, the actor won his first Oscar at the age of 53.
Denzel Washington consoled Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock
Just after the moment that shocked the entire internet, as well as the people attending the Oscars, took place, Denzel Washington stepped forward to talk some sense into Will Smith. He is his guardian angel, in its truest sense, Washington has always been there for his friend through thick and thin, and that was proved after the infamous incident that took place at the Oscars. He was seen consoling the actor and helping him calm down, during the commercial break.
The actor since then broke his silence about the happening at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Leadership Summit after a mere few weeks. He said,
“Well, there’s a saying, ‘When the devil ignores you, then you know you’re doing something wrong.’ The devil goes, ‘Oh no, leave him alone, he’s my favorite.’ Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe it’s because he’s trying to do something right. And for whatever reason the devil got ahold of that circumstance that night,”
Washinton believes, although his actions were wrong his heart was in the right place and will continue to stay beside him even in the toughest of times.
Also Read: Mila Kunis Claimed Humiliating Will Smith Following Chris Rock Oscars Slap Was a “No Brainer”
Source: GQ
