In the first look of the show, Will Smith can be seen opening up about his mental health struggles.
Trigger Warning: This story mentions suicide that may be distressing to some readers.
Will Smith is one of the big names in Hollywood and he's acted in several box office hits, which is why one would think his life is easy, but in a new docu-series centered around the actor, he talks about his life, and how hard it has been for him.
Smith opened up about his struggles in the first trailer of Will Smith: The Best Shape of My Life, a six-part fitness docu-series. In the two-minute clip, Smith admits that the thought of taking his own life had crossed his mind at some point, during a certain phase in his life.
The YouTube Originals series is all about the Men in Black actor's efforts to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks and get into the best shape of his life. Though the series was shot while he was working on his upcoming memoir Will, it also delves into the actor's life and mental health, per The Hollywood Reporter.
The Smith in the trailer is raw and real; there's no pretending to be someone else.
"When I started this show, I thought I was getting into the best shape of my life physically, but mentally, I was somewhere else. I ended up discovering a whole lot of hidden things about myself," he says.
Even though Smith challenged himself to get in shape by pushing himself through a strenuous physical regimen, he realized that being healthy is not just about physical health. ABC News reports that, at one point, he even declared, "I don't want to do any of this. I'm finished with the Best Shape of My Life."
In the trailer where he is both seen writing his book and sweating it out at the gym, he spoke about how the process of penning the memoir is "exposing my life and so many things that people don’t know about me." He goes on to add as his family sits around him, "the only time in my life that I ever considered suicide."
He then adds, "Now I'm about to show the world how little I know about myself." He shared that he's not the actor people think he is, and added that the indifferent celebrity persona was simply because he didn't know how else to deal with his mental battles and insecurities off camera.
"What you've come to understand as Will Smith — the alien-annihilating MC, bigger-than-life movie star — is largely a construction. A carefully crafted and honed character designed to protect myself. To hide myself from the world," said Smith.
The much-anticipated docu-series is produced by Smith and Pinkett Smith's Westbrook Media. The first two episodes of The Best Shape of My Life will debut November 8, just a day before his memoir hits the stores. The other four episodes will release daily on Will Smith’s official YouTube channel.
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Cover Image Source: YouTube | Will Smith (Will Smith: The Best Shape Of My Life | Official Trailer)
