Will says filming that scene with his real son was a turning point. 'When I walked into that bathroom, it was like the ghost jumped in me,' Will says. One place that really touched Will was a subway bathroom in Oakland, California, where Chris and his son sometimes spent the night on the floor. Will and Chris toured San Francisco together, revisiting the places Chris was forced to survive in with his son. But at the same time, how big you could be.'

'Like when I met Nelson Mandela and there's this weird thing that washes over you of how small you are. 'It feels the same way that I felt with Nelson Mandela,' Will says. Will says he felt especially connected to his character because he's a father himself. 'The promise of America is such a great idea because this is the only country in the world that Chris Gardner could exist.' it's the idea of why I think America is such a great country,' Will says. Still, Chris dreams of a better life for his son.and then he makes it happen.

A chance meeting on the street with a successful stockbroker inspires him, and with the odds stacked against him, Chris talks his way into an unpaid internship with a brokerage firm.įorced to lead a double life, Chris works on Wall Street by day and is homeless by night. Will plays Chris Gardner, a single parent who insists on raising his son while he struggles to make ends meet. Will stars in the film with his real-life 8-year-old son, Jaden. What would you do? Will Smith's new movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, is based on the astounding true story of a homeless, single father. You've been evicted, and you have nowhere for your child to sleep.

The pursuit of happiness real story