Will Smith Reveals He Once Considered Suicide In Heartbreaking Trailer Of 'The Best Shape Of My Life'

Trigger Warning: This story contains mentions of suicide that may be distressing to some readers.

The first trailer of Will Smith: The Best Shape of My Life, a six-part fitness docu-series centered on the actor, was recently released and has gone viral ever since. In the two-minute clip, the actor also shares that he contemplated death by suicide during a certain phase in his life.

The YouTube Originals series documents the Pursuit of Happyness actor's efforts to lose 20 pounds in 20 weeks and get into the best shape of his life. While the series was shot as he was working on his upcoming memoir Will, it is also a deep dive into the Hollywood A-lister's life and mental health as an entertainer, as per The Hollywood Reporter.

The trailer is as real as it gets and Smith can be seen saying, "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." Putting himself through a strenuous physical regimen to gain back his desired physical form after battling the mental and physical fatigue of the pandemic, he contemplates the mechanism behind his success. He unravels the man behind the sought-after star with the help of his family and loved ones. In the trailer where he is both seen writing his book and sweating it out at the gym, he also says 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 goes on to add, "Now I'm about to show the world how little I know about myself." He adds how his invincible action star public persona has been a defensive mechanism to fight his mental battles and insecurities off the 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," adds Smith candidly in a way we've never seen him before, in a way so real that makes us fall in love with him even more. 

It is not the first time Smith has been seen in a YouTube Originals series. Before The Best Shape Of My Life, his first project was Will Smith: The Jump, which was released in 2018. The project traced Smith's journey as he accepted the challenge to bungee jump from a helicopter over the Grand Canyon on his 50th birthday, and all for charity. The project was a massive success and raked in nearly 18 million views in the first 48 hours alone. 

The docuseries is produced by Smith and Pinkett Smith's Westbrook Media. The first two episodes of The Best Shape of My Life will debut Monday, 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. Watch this space for more on the same. Meanwhile, here's the must-watch trailer!

If you are having thoughts about taking your own life or know of anyone who is, please contact The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-SUICIDE (784-2433).