Despite being the most charismatic guy in the room, Will Smith has never been a big fan of onscreen intimate sequences and even called it the worst part of their job. And one of his awkward moments involving a romantic scene onscreen took place while kissing Rosario Dawson in the movie Seven Pounds, as the Men in Black star was anxious during the whole thing.
However, getting through this sequence was more difficult than usual for the actor, as despite working together previously, Dawson could observe a change in her co-star.
Rosario Dawson tried to calm Will Smith while filming their kissing sequence
Rosario Dawson wasn’t new to working alongside Will Smith, as she was previously involved in Smith’s Men in Black 2. However, even though it seemed that their reunion on the sets of Seven Pounds would go smoother following their work experience together, it wasn’t the case for the duo. Rosario Dawson claimed that she could observe a substantial change in Smith compared to their previous film and following Smith’s nervousness, they had a problem filming the kissing sequence. The actress tried to calm the situation for her costar and break his nervousness. She explained,
“Here is the guy who was pushing our kiss to like the end and the end and the end of the schedule. So the point was like, ‘OK, I know I don’t smell bad… I know I brushed my teeth…I did the deodorant!’ You are just nervous. You’re nervous about kissing me. Don’t worry baby, I’ll be gentle,”
But things would eventually work out after the Emancipation star would bring his wife Jada Pinkett Smith on the sets, who would give him a word of encouragement to break his nervousness.
Will Smith doesn’t want his costars to feel uncomfortable around him
Reflecting on the situation, Will Smith later confirmed the story to be true, as he explained the reason behind his nervousness while filming the romantic sequence with Rosario Dawson. The actor revealed that he likes to be respectful with his costars. And while filming an onscreen intimate sequence, the actor doesn’t want to come off like he is using this opportunity and wants his costars to be comfortable around him. He explained,
“So it’s like, for me, my worst nightmare is for an actress to come on my set and feel like I’m taking this as an opportunity to get a little quickie feel, you know, some legal cheating going on. I just need, specifically, women to be comfortable around me,”
Despite having a few nervous moments during the production, both Dawson and Smith delivered exceptional performances in their roles, with the film ending up making around $169 million at the box office.
Seven Pounds is available to stream on Apple TV.
Source: Access Hollywood
