Nothing like heartbreak and betrayal to jumpstart your superstardom!
Before Will Smith was the Fresh Prince, he was just 15 and brokenhearted!
The actor sat down with Benicio del Toro for Variety's "Actors on Actors" conversation, where he revealed the surprising reason he wanted to become famous.
“When I was 15, my girlfriend cheated on me,” the 47-year-old actor said. “And from that moment, in this bizarre psychological twist, I wanted to be the most famous entertainer on Earth.”
WATCH: Will Smith Reveals How He and Jada Pinkett Smith Have Stayed Together For 20 Years
So, thanks for cheating on Will Smith, whoever-you-are!
Meanwhile, the 47-year-old actor's priorities lie more in family life these days. At the premiere of his new movie, Concussion, in November, he opened up to ET about how his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith has lasted: perseverance.
“We've been married 20 years and we've been asking ourselves [what’s the secret to marriage] and really at the end of the day it’s just not quitting,” Smith revealed of his wife, whom he first started dating in 1995 and then married two years later. “You can’t expect it to be easy, it’s like our marriage was the most difficult, grueling, excruciating thing that we have ever taken on in our lives. And, you know, were just not quitters.”
WATCH: Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith Battle Divorce Rumors
While their marriage has often been scrutinized with divorce rumors, the trick, Smith explained, is not to work on your relationship, but to work on yourself.
“We only ever worked on ourselves individually," he said, "and then presented ourselves to one another better than we were previously.”
WATCH: Will Smith Calls Son Jaden an 'Artist'
Sound advice!
Watch more of ET's chat with Smith below.