Now Will Smith is traveling through the past to his early twenties — at least through the magic of digital visual effects.
Astounding behind-the-scenes footage released Wednesday from his upcoming action thriller Gemini Man shows how the 50-year-old actor managed to play opposite a fresh-faced version of himself.
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The video opens with a clip from the film showing Will from behind.
'I think I know why he's as good as you,' Mary Elizabeth Winstead's character says on the soundtrack.
'He is you,' she adds as he turns around, revealing a version of the actor looking exactly like he did in his Fresh Prince days.
'What is so special about Gemini Man is at the center of it you have two characters played by one person,' says Will in an interview as his older character confronts his younger self on screen.
'You're looking at Will, who's looking at his younger self. That's a phenomenal experience for an audience,' says action film producer extraordinaire Jerry Bruckheimer.
'The concept of a man being chased by himself — that's a really compelling idea for a story,' says Oscar-winning director Ang Lee, best known for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Brokeback Mountain.
'Thanks to the technology, now it's possible.'
'Creating a digital human is one of the hardest things you can do in digital FX,' says VFX supervisor Bill Westenhofer.
'This is not de-aging, this is not face replacement, but what you see for junior is a completely digital creation, 100 percent driven by Will Smith's performance capture,' he says as various stages of the character design flash across the screen.
The flawless young version of Will is seen emoting as he also plays his grizzled older self.
'I couldn't have played Junior at 23 years old, but now I'm able to understand and capture both characters because of the amount of experience I've had as an actor,' he says.
'When you see the two Will Smiths, well that's something we've never seen before,' Lee says as Will brutally fights himself.
The Collateral Beauty star emphasized that the new technology would 'change how movies are made.'
The flawless young version of Will is seen emoting as he also plays his grizzled older self.
'I couldn't have played Junior at 23 years old, but now I'm able to understand and capture both characters because of the amount of experience I've had as an actor,' he says.
'When you see the two Will Smiths, well that's something we've never seen before,' Lee says as Will brutally fights himself.
The Collateral Beauty star emphasized that the new technology would 'change how movies are made.
