‘Emancipation’: Will Smith Recalls the ‘Magic Moment’ He Became Peter as He Accidentally Got Locked in Prop Chains
Already hailed as one of the best performances of his career, Emancipation sees Will Smith as “Whipped Peter.” The actor deems the role the most challenging and rewarding of his career. And while filming Emancipation, Smith actually became locked in chains — an incident he says was vital to understanding life as an enslaved person.
Will Smith stars in Antoine Fuqua’s ‘Emancipation’
Largely based on a historical photo, Emancipation follows one man’s journey to freedom. Known as “Whipped Peter,” the photo’s subject sits with his bare back in full view, the scars of his enslavement gnarling and puckering his skin in ridges and folds. The image saw mass distribution nationwide and stirred Northerners’ opposition to slavery. Emancipation imagines what Whipped Peter must have endured during his escape from the South and what his quest for freedom and family might have entailed.
As such, the film was shot in the South, beginning in Georgia. However, citing the state’s new voting laws, Emancipation exited Georgia (at the cost of $15 million) in 2021 and relocated to the swamps of Louisiana. In the Bayou State, the production endured a hurricane, a tornado, extreme heat, and COVID-19. Despite being scheduled to film until October, Emancipation finally wrapped in January 2022 because of the disasters.
Will Smith explains his ‘magic moment’ while filming ‘Emancipation’
Discussing his role in Emancipation, Will Smith tells Vanity Fair that “getting into the character of Peter was grueling — physically, emotionally and mentally — in every way.”
Therapists, spiritual teachers, and a pastor supported Smith and the rest of the Emancipation cast and crew on the set. Director Antoine Fuqua experienced PTSD after filming. And Smith reportedly offered extras additional money because he felt so bad they had to lie in the sun. There’s no mistaking that filming Emancipation was brutal.
Recalling one of his most traumatic moments, Smith details in an interview with Complex an accident he says caused his “magic moment.” While getting fitted for Peter’s neck chains, Smith found himself trapped in the shackles when the key failed. The actor describes his heart racing while everyone was searching for another key, and at that moment, Smith says, “it just dawned on me that Peter didn’t have that … There was nobody running around to get Peter out.”
That realization stuck with Smith, who says that after that incident, he better understood “Peter the man.”
Looking back, the actor tells Vanity Fair that “to understand and dissect what is going on in the heart and mind of a man who has endured what he has endured — and survived — is a gift.”
And it is a gift Smith wants to share. He says he hopes Emancipation will “bridge the gap between people” and help everyone discover the “greatest version of ourselves.”
“This is a movie about freedom,” Smith says. “It’s about faith, endurance, and love — a whole lot of things that the world needs more of right now.”
The infamous 2022 Oscars slap ruined Smith’s 2023 award chances
Despite the role being heralded as a career-best for Will Smith, the 2023 Oscars ceremony will not include him. Following the incident where Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, the Academy Award-winning actor has been banned from the Oscars for 10 years — something Complex calls “a shame” because Smith’s Emancipation performance “[deserves] all the recognition Hollywood has to offer.”
The slap has been a hot topic while promoting Emancipation, which premiered on Apple TV+ on December 9. Smith has generally avoided the subject but speaks of his character’s “inner emancipation,” telling BET, “that was a big part of what I wanted to study. I would say Peter has been a great friend in my heart these last few months.”
