In 1997, Will Smith solidified his turn from TV actor and rapper to movie star in Men in Black opposite Tommy Lee Jones. That film was one of Smith’s first blockbusters as a leading man, but he left another impression on director Barry Sonnenfeld. According to Sonnenfeld, one fart from Smith was enough to make the entire crew temporarily evacuate the Men in Black set.
Sonnenfeld shared the anecdote while he was a guest on Kelly Rippa’s SirusXM podcast, Let’s Talk Off Camera. During the scene where Smith’s Agent J and Jones’ Agent K were driving upside down the Midtown tunnel, they had to be hermetically sealed into the fake car on set. That’s when Smith accidentally let a fart rip while he and Jones were stuck inside.
“I hear Will Smith go, ‘Oh, Jesus, so sorry. Tommy, so sorry. Baz, get the ladder,'” recalled Sonnenfeld. “And you hear Tommy saying, ‘That’s fine, Will. No worries, Will. Don’t worry, Will.'”
While Jones was gracious with his co-star, Sonnenfeld said that the actor raced down the stairs once he was freed. That led to the entire stage being evacuated for three hours.
“What happened was, Will Smith is a farter,” said Sonnenfeld. “It’s just some people are, and you really don’t want to be inside a very small hermetically sealed space with a Will Smith fart. You don’t even want to be sitting next to him at the Disney ranch… He’s a lovely guy, just he farts. Some do, some don’t.”‘
Sonnenfeld went on to make two additional Men in Black films with Smith and Jones, in addition to Wild Wild West with Smith. The director shared his story about Smith to promote his new book, Best Possible Place, Worst Possible Time, which is out this week.
