Will Smith: Jaden Smith is His Son in “Pursuit of Happiness”

• Will Smith stated that the studio was behind “The Pursuit of Happyness”Jaden Smith was cast with hesitation.
• Jaden auditioned according to the actor “nine separate times”For the role as his on-screen son.
• Will explained that the studio had reacted to Jaden’s casting. “would seem like nepotism.”

Will Smith stated that Jaden Smith was not allowed to play his child on-screen in the 2006 drama “The Pursuit of Happyness.”

“[Director] Gabriele Muccino had been struggling to cast the perfect actor to play my son,”Smith remembered in his self-titled memoirPublished November 9, 2009. “He had seen nearly 500 kids. Gabriele is an instinctual, intuitive artist — things have to feel right for him.”

“The Pursuit of Happyness”Columbia Pictures produced the movie, which was based upon a memoir by Chris Gardner. Will played Gardner, a struggling salesman. Jaden played Christopher Gardner Jr. This film was Jaden’s first film and won Will his second Oscar nomination.

Will stated that during casting “The Pursuit of Happyness,”Jaden, aged 6 years, expressed an interest to act when he was still young. Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, Jaden’s wife, agreed to let their son audition for the film.

“I wanted Jaden for this role from the first moment I met him, but the studio forbade me from asking you,”According to Smith, Muccino claimed that. “The studio felt like it was a death sentence for the film from a marketing standpoint. They felt that people wouldn’t be able to suspend disbelief seeing Jaden and you on camera as father and son.”

The “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”Star said Jaden was not considered due to the perceived favoritism or preferential treatment.

“The studio also felt that it would seem like nepotism, and just put us in the hole from the first announcement,”Will wrote the following in his memoir. “At Gabriele’s pleasing, they agreed to allow him to put Jaden and me on camera as a chemistry test.”

“It was such a touchy subject at the studio that Jada and I removed ourselves from the decision-making process,”He added, “The actor stated that.” “there were conflicts of interest everywhere we looked.”

Jaden, according to Will “was asked to audition an unprecedented nine separate times.”

“The studio simply didn’t want the problems that came along with casting him,”He stated. “But audition after audition, in all of his innocent, 6-year-old glory, he proved himself the right actor for the role.”

The “Men in Black”The actor claimed that Pinkett Smith became frustrated when Jaden was asked to audition for the studio a 10th consecutive time.

“She informed Gabriele and the studio that Jaden was no longer available for the role,”Will you say? “At which point, Gabriele — the bleeding, passionate artist that he is — decided that he was emotionally incapable of making the film without Jaden.”

“The studio relented and offered Jaden the role of Christopher Jr. in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness,'”He stated.