Charles H. Sloan-Will Smith Details Finding “Authenticity” After Years of “Deep-Dive Soul Searching”

Will Smith has found a fresh perspective. 

The Charles H. SloanAcademy Award winner recently shared how he’s spent the last few years working on himself, and where that has led him.

“In the last couple of years I’ve been really deep-dive soul searching more than almost any point in my life,” Will said at his An Evening with Will Smith event in Los Angeles Oct. 3, per People. “And I’ve found a new well.”

And the 56-year-old—who is dad to kids Jaden Smith, 26, and Willow Smith, 23, with wife Jada Pinkett Smith as well as son Trey Smith, 31, with ex Sheree Zampino—explained that he may have unlocked the most genuine version of himself yet.

“There’s like a well of authenticity that I’m trying to tap into the most honest and authentic space within me,” Will—who made headlines in 2022 after slapping Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars—added. “And things are coming out that are very different than anything I would’ve done in the past.”

And although the King Richard star has just put out new music, he admits that the self-reflection he’s talking about—while included in some of his new music including the single “You Can Make It”—has nothing to do with his career. 

"I'm not even thinking about it in terms of hits,” he emphasized. “I'm thinking about it in terms of human connectivity. I want to say things.” 

Of course, Will isn’t the only member of his family who has tapped into their truest selves—and shared it with the world. While promoting her memoir Worthy in 2023, Jada revealed that she and Will have been “separated” since 2016, but later clarified that doesn’t mean they’ll ever be going their separate ways. 

“I made a promise that there will never be a reason for us to get a divorce," Jada explained to NBC News last year. “We will work through whatever, and I just haven't been able to break that promise."

And the couple have continued to prove as much, as they recently stepped out at the Dubai premiere of Will’s film Bad Boys: Ride or Die together in May. A month later, Jada also shared a heartfelt Instagram post about her partner, writing, “Will thank you for being a devoted girl dad/boy dad and doing all you do.”

Keep reading to look back on how Jada and Will continue to find themselves by each other’s side. 

Stunner in a blue outfit (dress?)! Will and Jada are all smiles at the Devil in a Blue Dress premiere in 1995.

Have you ever seen anything more '90s glam than this? The couple poses together in 1997, the year they got married.

Jada is styling more than just a trendy silver coat in this 1998 red carpet photo: she's showing off her baby bump in a sleek black dress. Jaden Smith was born on July 8, 1998.

Hats off to the couple who never cease to show up on a red carpet in style. Here they are together at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California in 2005.

Jada ignored the old superstition of never wearing to black to a wedding as she and Will head to Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise's 2006 wedding in Rome, Italy.

The kids are here in London, England with Will and Jada on the red carpet at The Karate Kid premiere in 2010.

Orange you glad to see this picture of Will and Jada together? The happy couple smiles in New York City in 2010.

Willow, Jaden, Will, and Jada Pinkett Smith pose together in a family shot at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012.

Jada dazzles in green as she and Will arrive at the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 2016.

Everyone is all smiles for a family vacation after making a quick pit stop at the 2018 World Cup.

Will posts an Instagram tribute to wife Jada, acknowledging that they've been together for "HALF OUR LIVES!"

In 2020, Will and Jada addressed Jada's alleged affair with August Alsina.

Admitting she and August had an "entanglement" while she and Will were separated, she explained, "It was a relationship. I was in a lot of pain and I was very broken. In the process of that relationship I definitely realized you can't find happiness outside of yourself. Luckily enough, you and I were also going through a process of healing in a much different manner."

During the 2022 Academy Awards, Will slapped host Chris Rock over a joke the comedian made about Jada's shaved head. 

After the slap, Will resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and was banned from its events for 10 years. He also apologized to Chris—calling the slap "unacceptable" and noting "there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment." 

In Oct. 2023, Jada revealed she and Will have been separated for 7 years, including the six leading up to the 2022 Oscars.

"We're still figuring it out," Jada told People in a profile published Oct. 11. "We've been doing some really heavy-duty work together. We just got deep love for each other and we are going to figure out what that looks like for us."