Will Smith felt trapped by fame and wanted to conquer his fears when he turned 50.
The Men in Black star celebrate his milestone birthday in September (18), and began sharing his adventures on Instagram and Facebook as he completed a bucket list of dangerous stunts.
During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show on Friday (10May19), Will candidly revealed that he felt restricted by his Hollywood career, and felt that he couldn’t do what he wanted because of his fame.
“I have kids so I can’t do that, or I’m famous so I can’t say that, or people look at me so I can’t behave like that,” he explained. “So, part of the bucket list was to give myself the freedom to do all the things that I had put in my mind that I couldn’t do. I’m not being adventurous and I’ve always wanted to be that.”
While being blessed with a hugely successful career and a beautiful family, the star said he was still living in fear.
“A huge part of my childhood was marked by fear and a huge part of my drive in life was marked by fear. You can generate great things, you can succeed and win, but you can never really be happy if you’re scared,” Will shared.
The Aladdin star posted his adventures on his Facebook Watch show Will Smith’s Bucket List, and kicked off the series with a skydiving trip featuring his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, and his sons Trey, 26, and Jaden, 20.
Back in September, the Oscar-nominated actor bungee jumped out of a helicopter over the Grand Canyon, and admitted he was terrified.
“I’ve had an interesting relationship with fear my whole life. I’ve made it a point in my life to attack anything that I’m scared of. I hate being scared,” he confessed.