Will Smith says success in life is down to his faith

Will Smith speaks with DeVon Franklin in an interview posted to YouTube on Nov. 16, 2021.(Photo: YouTube/OfficialDeVonFranklin)

Actor Will Smith has credited his faith with getting him to where he is today.

Smith, who is back in movie theatres with his latest film "King Richard", discussed his faith during a sitdown interview with preacher and producer DeVon Franklin. 

He was asked by Franklin whether he was a "man of faith" like the character he portrays in the movie, Richard Dove Williams Jr, father of legendary tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. 

In reply, Smith said all of his life success was down to his faith. 

"You can't get where I get if you don't love the Lord, you don't get to sit how I sit, move how I move if you don't love the Lord. You'd be seeing a whole lot of other repercussions," he said candidly.

In the past, Smith has talked about the importance of his deeply religious grandmother to his own spiritual development. Her influence on his faith came up again in the interview with Franklin.

"You and I have talked about my relationship my grandmother," Smith said.

"So that concept of faith and that power of faith, I might be going a little too deep here, but there's a distinction. There's faith in God and then there's knowledge of God."

He talked about how he could see that same faith in the Williams family, and especially in the person of Oracene Price, mother and coach of Venus and Serena. 

"So there's revelation. Some people have had revelation," Smith continued.

"So when you have to have faith, faith is before you've had revelation. You have to have faith. That's what Mrs. Oracene [had]. She's so solid that she is completely, thoroughly and totally certain. She doesn't walk in doubt.

"She said, 'In order to doubt, that means you don't trust God.' She said, 'There was never a moment of doubt. When we set out as a family, we knew we were going to do what was ordained.'"

Smith added, "It was this family around this belief, and they trusted God. And they believed that their devotion would be rewarded and they never wavered."