Toward Fatherhood

strghtandnrrw:

Will Smith’s father abandoned him and his mother when he was a child. Once Will was finally getting into show business and making a name for himself, his father tried to sneak his way back in like nothing happened.

Will co-wrote this episode, and James Avery (Uncle Phil) said “this scene was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to shoot in my life. Every emotion, every word.. that was Will.”

Will was actually supposed to play it off and then walk away, but he ad libbed the scene instead. The hug at the end is completely genuine, and this was a stepping stone in Will’s career where he started to take on the “do what feels, sounds, and looks right” approach to his acting.