Ben Fosterdidn’t formally introduce himself to costarWill Smithuntil his last day of filming.
“In my mind, I was giving my best ‘Will Smith,’ " the actor says, “and Ben just walked past me and didn’t say nothing. I was like, ‘Oh, he must not have seen me.’ Then for six months he didn’t speak to me. He didn’t make eye contact with me. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t acknowledge me for six months.”
Ben Foster and Will Smith.Steve Granitz/FilmMagic
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“But what he did that first day,” Will continues, “I was like, ‘Yup. Got it: We’re not playing. This is real; this is serious. We’re not fooling around with these ideas.’ I really credit Ben for clicking me into the next gear of depth and focus.”
On the final day of the shoot, Foster finally broke character and introduced himself to Will. The moment came after director Fuqua confirmed “we got it” and wrapped the film’s production, giving Foster the all-clear to call off his methods.
“Then I look over at Ben, it’s his last day, he says, ‘Nice to meet you. Ben,’ " Will recalls with a smile as he laughs with his kids.
At the Los Angeles premiere ofEmancipationon Nov. 30, Foster told PEOPLE, “[I’ve] been a fan ofWill Smithfor a long time, so it was an honor to work with him and he’s done some of the finest work, I believe, of his career.”
He added of Will’s star power: “It’s like, how do you describe a sunset? How do you describe the stars? Some people just have the thing. But what I saw was him going deeper than I’ve ever seen before.”
Will Smith’s Red Table Talk Takeoverwith Willow, Jaden and Trey is available to stream starting Wednesday at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on Facebook Watch.
source: people.com
