12 March,2015 07:50 AM IST | | PTI
Hollywood star Will Smith is playing a seasoned con-man in 'Focus' and he says although he has been a prankster all his life, he has never got into any serious trouble unlike his character in the film
Will Smith
Los Angeles: Hollywood star Will Smith is playing a seasoned con-man in 'Focus' and he says although he has been a prankster all his life, he has never got into any serious trouble unlike his character in the film.
Will Smith. Pic/Santa Banta
The dark romantic comedy is structured around a love story between senior thief Nicky Spurgeon played by the 46-year-old actor and novice thief Jess Barrett (Margot Robbie).
"I've always been a jokester. The things I got in trouble for when I was little was always making a joke. I was always setting up a prank, being silly when I should be paying attention.
But it was very different than what you see in 'Focus'. I'm so glad I didn't know some of these things when I was young," Smith said in a Warners Bros release.
To prepare for their respective characters, Smith and Robbie took pick-pocketing lessons from Apollo Robbins, a performer who once picked the pockets of President Jimmy Carter's secret service escort.
When asked how it was working closely with Robbins, the 'Men In Black' star said, "For me, the huge takeaway from this film is how everything is perception-how reality almost does not matter at all.
"When you're talking to a person, it only matters what they are perceiving. Perception, what people are perceiving, is important and will dictate what their life and, ultimately, what your interaction is," he said.
In the trailer of the film, which has been directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, Smith and Robbie are seen sharing a sizzling chemistry.
Smith said that getting cozy on the sets was a little difficult for him.
"My natural instinct is always, when you set a moment in that way, and it's really serious, that's the perfect time for the joke.
So, to be constantly pulled away from that and knowing to just live in the seriousness and the sexiness of a moment was a little uncomfortable for me," Smith said. The film releases in India this Friday.
