Will Smith Explains That He And Co-Star Ben Foster Didn’t Speak For Six Months Of Filming ‘Emancipation’

Will Smith’s latest drama, Emancipation, was released last week to mixed reviews. The film, which is based on a true story, follows Smith as an enslaved man in Louisiana in the 1860s who escapes his plantation.

Co-starring in the movie is Ben Foster, and despite being on set together for nearly half a year, Foster and Smith didn’t say a single word to each other while filming.

During a conversation on Red Table Talk, Smith remembered the first day on set. He was thanking the background actors, “I was giving my best Will Smith,” he recalled.

And then Foster walked up and didn’t say a single word to him, “I was like, ‘Oh, he must not have seen me.’ And then for six months, he didn’t speak to me,” Smith said.

In fact, not only did Ben not speak to him… he also refused to make eye contact with him. They both pretended like the other did not exist and seemed to have a literal unspoken understanding of how this kept them in character while filming.

When he did that first day, I was like, ‘Yep, got it. We’re not playin’, This is real. This is serious. We’re not fooling around with these ideas. And I really credit Ben for clicking me into the next gear of depth and focus.

They did eventually speak on the final day of shooting. Will remembers Ben walking up next to him and saying, “Nice to meet you. Ben.”

So what’s Ben’s side of the story? Pretty much the same thing, but instead of giving himself credit, he gave credit to Will.

The first day of set was staggering. I was walking past men in chains, and in situations of such tremendous violence. And then I felt him. I didn’t see him, I felt him. It was Will on set. But it wasn’t Will Smith as we know him. It was a man, and that man was vibrating. It’s animal stuff. It’s hard to explain. But I could feel the presence of this man who was digging deep. And I passed him, and I felt, well, I’m gonna give him his space.

You can currently stream the flick on AppleTV+.