Will Smith reveals how to find “lasting happiness” on NELK Boys podcast

YouTubers NELK Boys have offered insight into Hollywood after having Will Smith appear as a guest on their podcast.

In a collision of entertainment industries, the Full Send Podcast saw Smith open up with NELK and share insight into the film industry, his life, and the key to discovering “lasting happiness.”

One of the first questions the YouTubers asked the “superstar” was how the age of streaming had affected television and movies, with Smith admitting “a lot more is at stake now.”

“You have to go bigger to get people to leave their houses now and go to the movie theatre,” Smith said, explaining that the risk of going “bigger” meant failing could potentially “bankrupt whole companies.”

“It’s more critical that you have a hit now,” the actor confessed, claiming the difference between films going to the theatre and those found on streaming platforms was “huge”.

(Smith enters the podcast at 20:59)

When asked how Smith navigated finding joy following his success as an actor in the film industry, he explained the “material world” was not capable of providing any “lasting happiness.”

“It’s an absolute abyss when you realize that there’s nothing left in this world to reach for to make you happy,” Smith claimed.

He then presented two options that followed after the “abyss,” stating “You either die” or “Realize that the final frontier is getting your inner house in order.”

Smith advised the NELK Boys to “do everything” they wanted and “exhaust the joy of this world” to reach that point in which the “final frontier” was necessary; “I really wish everybody could have all their material dreams in order to realize that that’s just not it.”

Describing his own advice as “sappy”, Smith stated that in the end “loving people is the only thing to do here.” He then went on to discuss his various roles throughout the years and revealed his only regret was not taking on the role of Neo in The Matrix.

However, the NELK Boys didn’t ask Smith about the infamous slap during the Oscars, leaving many viewers unimpressed with the “lame” podcast episode.

“[NELK] built this brand of a certain type of mentality and a certain type of content. The reason they got in that room with him in the first place is the content they [used] to make that we all loved to watch. I get things change over time but to completely abandon the [moral] compass that got you where you are is something else.”

Nonetheless, others praised NELK Boys for pitching questions that inspired “deep” answers from the actor. One user wrote, “Respect for Will responding to Brad’s deep question about happiness in a detailed and nuanced way. That is a gem of a podcast moment right there.”