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Will Smith took a real punch from co-star Michael Bentt (Sonny Liston). And nope, it wasn’t scripted. Smith recalled the moment during a chat on “Hot Ones” for First We Feast. It went down like this: “I was leaning back, and my trainer was trying to get me to get the angle of my spine forward. And in the second, I was just like, ‘You know what, commit.’” Well, Smith committed alright—right into Bentt’s fist. The punch came out of nowhere. Smith saw it at the last second and ducked, but it was too late. “He caught me with a right hand right on top of my head,” Smith recalled.
The impact was no joke. Rather than the usual head-snap, the punch sent Smith’s neck down into his spine. You know that jolt you get from licking a 9-volt battery? Yeah, Smith said it felt exactly like that. But his brain? It wasn’t processing the pain. Instead, all he could think was, “Where the f— are my keys? Where are my car keys?”
Let that sink in. Ali wasn’t just a role—it became a test of physical endurance for Smith. The punch had Smith questioning his life’s priorities at that moment, but it also made for one of the most intense experiences of his career. “That was the hardest I’ve ever been hit on a movie set,” Smith admitted. No kidding.
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