“Your Movies Are Only Popular in America”: Hailed for Saving Hollywood’s A**, When Tom Cruise Became Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Tool to Shake Off Will Smith

The iconic Will Smith has dominated the Hollywood entertainment industry with his top-notch, Oscar-winning performances. He is recognized as one of the most prominent actors in the world who, through his acting flair, not only reached the pinnacle of success but also made a haven in the hearts of millions. Nevertheless, the major chunk of his successful career is built on years of dedication and ambition of inscribing his name on Hollywood’s wall of fame. Apparently, the Pursuit of Happyness actor kick-started his journey toward his ambition by instilling the valuable counsel of none other than the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Way before making it big in Hollywood, Will Smith had aspirations of becoming more famous than Top Gun Maverick’s superstar, Tom Cruise, who is once hailed by Steven Spielberg for saving “Hollywood’s A**“. However, it was Arnold Schwarzenegger who gave Smith the direction to implement his dream of surpassing the fandom of the Jerry Maguire actor. 

Will Smith once received a word of advice from Arnold Schwarzenegger

In his autobiography, Will, the Fresh Prince penned an anecdote about the advice that he received from the bodybuilding legend. The Austrian gave his pearls of wisdom to the young Smith and encouraged him to look at the bigger picture. The Terminator actor stated, “You are not a movie star if your movies are only successful in America”.

Read More: 25-Year-Old Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Son Reveals Golden Words by His Father

In his counsel for Smith, the Austrian oak further conceded, “You are not a movie star until every person in every country on earth knows who you are”. The bodybuilder then enlightened the ‘King Richard’ actor in his yesteryears by adding, “You have to travel the globe, shake every hand, kiss every baby. Think of yourself as a politician running for Biggest Movie Star in the World”.

Clearly, the 7x Mr. Olympia champion played a major role in Smith’s vocation and his quest of becoming one of the most prolific stars in the world. It indeed was one valuable piece of advice from someone who already achieved global fame through his commendable flair in every field he set his foot into – that’s Arnold Schwarzenegger. Nevertheless, whenever he gets an opportunity, Mr. July goes above and beyond to express his gratitude for the bodybuilder.

Smith called Schwarzenegger’s advice ‘life-altering’

In his memoir, ‘King Richard’ actor mentioned that he once told the Austrian, “I want to be the biggest movie star in the world”. On this, the Terminator star advised him to anchor his focus on making a global brand identity. Nonetheless, Smith followed Schwarzenegger’s words religiously, and as Mr. July says, it was “life-altering”.

Smith started to travel around the globe for his work and refused to settle for anything less. He started his acting vocation with the NBC sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The next thing Hollywood knows is the success and off-the-charts reviews of Smith’s debut series. The Austrian’s wise words indeed helped the Fresh Prince to achieve a hoard full of recognition in the entertainment industry, don’t you agree?

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