Will Smith Admits “Martin” Was Funnier Than “Fresh Prince”
Will Smith says that he used to study Martin Lawrence in “pure jealousy” of how funny he could be. While sitting down with his Bad Boys: Ride or Die co-star for an interview on Night Cap with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson, Smith discussed which of their two classic sitcoms was funnier. Smith famously starred on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air from 1990 to 1996 while Lawrence starred on his iconic self-titled show from 1992 to 1997.
“Martin was hands down funnier than me,” Smith said. “Like, I used to study this dude in pure jealousy at the level of comedic genius that he could portray. I’m an actor that needs a script. Martin, you can just roll and say, ‘go,’ just let it rip and make it up and different takes and all of that, just how he’ll use his body and he’ll look and notice something in the room and grab it and use it in the next– it’s a level of comedic genius that is stunning to me.” From there, Lawrence thanked him for the kind words.
Will Smith & Martin Lawrence Walk Red Carpet For “Bad Boys: Ride Or Die” Screening
MEXICO CITY, MEXICO – JUNE 1: Will Smith and Martin Lawrence pose during the red carpet for the movie ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ at Cinepolis Parque Toreo on June 1, 2024, in Naucalpan de Juarez, Mexico. (Photo by Angel Delgado/Getty Images)
Smith’s praise of Lawrence comes as the two are promoting their newest film together, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The movie hit theaters on this Friday, June 7. In addition to the two comedic legends, it stars Joe Pantoliano, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Rhea Seehorn, Melanie Liburd, Tiffany Haddish, and DJ Khaled.
Will Smith Reflects On “Martin” & “Fresh Prince”
Check out Smith’s comments on working with Lawrence above. Be on the lookout for further updates on Will Smith on HotNewHipHop.
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Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor’s degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends.
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