Will Smith and Martin Lawrence Faked an Argument So Well They Terrified a Young Actor — ‘That Kid Was Shook For Real’
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence appeared in all three of the Bad Boys trilogy films as cop partners who often bicker and argue. However, in real life, the two are very close, but they quickly fall back into their on-screen roles. They once terrified a new actor so much that they claim, “that kid was shook for real.”
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence ad-libbed their most famous scene from ‘Bad Boys II’
One of the most memorable scenes from Bad Boys II was when Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) harass the young man that has come to take Marcus’ daughter on her first date. The two men threaten Reggie (Dennis Greene) and search him for drugs.
Lowrey claims to be recently released from prison and waves a gun around, pointing it at his partner and the 15-year-old boy. Smith and Lawrence revealed to BET that they ad-libbed much of the scene. However, critic Roger Ebert believes that the filmmakers and actors took the scene too far.
“The needless cruelty of this scene took me out of the movie and into the minds of its makers,” Ebert wrote about the 2003 film. “What were they thinking? Have they so lost touch with human nature that they think audiences will like this scene?”
However, audiences didn’t always agree with the critic. Many fans believe the scene is hilarious, even if far-fetched.
Smith and Lawrence admit that the actor was truly scared during ‘Bad Boys II’
Director Michael Bay worried that Dennis Greene couldn’t portray the emotions he was looking for Reggie’s character. So, he had Smith and Lawrence set the boy up without telling him.
“He was a young actor,” Smith told The Breakfast Club radio. “He had never done anything. It was his first role. So, Michael Bay was concerned that he wouldn’t be able to perform the level of discomfort that we needed for the scene.”
The director asked the veteran actors to pretend they were not getting along. Smith sat down with the young actor, and Lawrence complained about Smith stepping on his lines.
“Me and Martin start arguing in front of the kid,” Smith admitted. “This kid is sitting here, terrified.”
When he saw how terrified the actor was, the director immediately yelled, “action,” which is how the scene was born.
“That kid was shook for real,” Smith admitted.
A fourth installment was ordered after ‘Bad Boys for Life’ received positive reviews
Although Bad Boys for Life came 17 years after the sequel, there won’t be as large of a gap between the third and fourth movies.
Sony hired screenwriter Chris Bremner to begin creating a fourth movie within 24 hours after Bad Boys for Life hit theaters, according to Collider. There is no release window yet, but fans can rejoice in the fact that it won’t be another 17 years before they see Smith and Lawrence reunited this time.
