Will Smithis celebrating his 50th birthday in a big way.
Smith live-streamed his big jump as part of an initiative to raise awareness and donations for Global Citizen’s education campaigns — the organization works to combat global poverty and hunger.
Wife and actressJada Pinkett-Smith, along with his children, sonsTreyandJadenand daughterWillow, were all present to witness the 1,000-foot jump over The Grand Canyon from a helicopter.
In the live stream, the actor admitted he was terrified of making the jump, saying, “I’ve had an interesting relationship with fear my whole life. [When I was younger, my family and I], we drove to the Grand Canyon and I remember having a deeply meaningful experience of how beautiful it was but I was terrified of walking to the edge. All my family walked up to the edge but I stayed back, too scared to take in the beauty. I’ve made it a point in my life to attack anything that I’m scared of.”
Will Smith/YouTube
“I hate being scared,” Smith added. “When the guys at Yes Theory challenged me [to bungee jump] I said, ‘Damn it,’ because I hate being scared.”
Several of his famous friends wished him a happy birthday in a video presented to him, includingTom Cruise, Thandie Newton, LeBron James and DJ Khaled to name a few.
As theMen in Blackactor prepared to board the helicopter, he shared a group hug with his family. A stunt coordinator took his blood pressure before getting on the helicopter.
“I got a little shakiness,” he admitted to her. “That’s completely normal. If you were not nervous, I’d be worried about you,” she told him. “In all the years I’ve known you, you are physically and mentally ready for this. So have fun.”
“Is there anything you wish to confess?” someone asked Smith jokingly before he entered the aircraft. Another person advised him to “commit” to the jump as soon as the countdown started.
“Never look down, never look down,” Smith yelled as the helicopter flew into the air.
Right before jumping from the helicopter, a volunteer asked him, “Having fun yet?” to which he responded, “Not yet!”
As the countdown ended, Smith jumped backward from the helicopter, the action caught on the live stream.
“This is gorgeous! This is gorgeous! Yo,” he yelled after his jump while hanging from a bungee cord. “This is almost… this is some of the most beautiful stuff I’ve ever seen in my life. Beautiful. Beautiful.”
Once he was back on the ground, Smith couldn’t stop raving about the experience, telling his family upon seeing them, “Nothing, nothing will ever be scarier than that. It goes from complete, absolute terror to the most magnificent bliss you’ve ever felt in your life.”
“It’s like the whole Grand Canyon is mine. It’s like no one will ever have that view,” he continued. “It’s almost like you need the terror to experience the bliss. It’s spectacular! I would definitely do it again! It’s spectacular.”
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Asked if he had any final thoughts, he joked, “The commitment is real, the commitment is real. It’s like you meet somebody, and you like her and she likes you and you hesitate. Don’t hesitate! Commit!”
The father of three shared a sweet photo of himself alongside his wife and kids on Instagram hours before his jump, writing, “My Squad holding me down for my big 5-0. We’re gonna start live streaming on my YouTube soon, link in bio#willsmiththejump.”
Smith auctioned the chance to watch the stunt play out live through Omaze last month in exchange for donations to the cause.
The actor previously posted a video of his first-ever bungee jump, when his team traveled to Africa’s famous Victoria Falls. The actor revealed he had always wanted to see the 355-foot waterfall in Zimbabwe since he was a child.
source: people.com
