STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Watch Will Smith and the Cast of 'Collateral Beauty' Answer Life’s Most Important Question

The actors get deep.

Collateral Beauty, an inspirational film starring Will Smith, Naomie Harris, Helen Mirren, Jacob Latimore and more, opens with the question, "What is your why?" Several members of the cast sat down with us and revealed in detail just what that means to them and they got pretty introspective in their responses.

"To improve lives," Smith responded. "Probably the last 10 years of my life, I've been conscious of having a mission statement. Like, what am I doing? When I wake up in the morning, what am I doing? What am I trying to accomplish. I keep landing on 'improve lives.'"

His co-star, Naomie Harris, shared a similar sentiment, saying she wanted to be more fulfilled in a more rounded perspective.

"I think I'm aiming for fulfillment," she said. "It means so many different things in terms of my life, because, in my career, I'm very ambitious and I'm always looking to stretch myself and go further and achieve more and then in my personal life, I'm always looking to be a better human being and to connect more and to be more generous and caring. So, to be fulfilled in as many areas as I possibly can be."

Oscar-winning actress Helen Mirren saw art as an avenue towards achieving her "why."

"I've always felt that drama was an incredibly important part of human culture. I've always felt this," she said. "I was super serious about it when I was young. I was my character Bridgette... Incredibly serious about theater and about drama and how important it was to comment on and reflect society around this question and I still feel that... But, I will say that is my why. I think art, in general, is so important in human life."

Take a look at what the rest of the cast had to say in response to the question in the video, above.

Collateral Beauty is in theaters now.

BET.com is your No. 1 source for Black celebrity news, photos, exclusive videos and all the latest in the world of hip hop and R&B music. 

Latest News

Subscribe for BET Updates

Provide your email address to receive our newsletter.


By clicking Subscribe, you confirm that you have read and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. You also agree to receive marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers) and other information from BET and the Paramount family of companies. You understand that you can unsubscribe at any time.