Meet Mr Nice Guy: the hilarious Will Smith

A-listers don’t get much bigger – and reportedly, much friendlier - than the academy award nominated Will Smith. King of comedy blockbusters, wholesome father figure and all round Nice Guy, Will has the reputation for being one of the easiest stars to interview (and to top it all off, he is not bad to look at either.) So when we heard that he was going to be in town promoting his latest film Seven Pounds, I had to go and find out for myself. Was this really the Nicest Guy in Showbiz?

The cold weather clearly hadn’t deterred the hundreds of screaming fans who had all come out to catch a glimpse of their hero, and when I arrived in Leicester Square, I was greeted by defeaning chants of “WE WANT WILL! WE WANT WILL!”. (For any onlookers who didn’t know what was going on, the 15ft high illuminous lettering reading “WILL SMITH” probably would have given them a slight indication… )

As a reward to his loyal fans, Will arrived bang on time to the premiere (as Nice Guys do) and was instantly all smiles and waves. Although he was pushed for time, he of course had time for a quick chat with yours truly (which obviously raised him even further up the Nice Guy ranks in my estimations.)

I asked him what he made of the crazed reception he was getting on the red carpet. “Man, this is fantastic!” he exclaimed, “I mean, look at all these people out here. Look at this!” He then proceeded to turn around and wave at all the fans, who responded with an ear splitting scream. “You see that?” he laughed turning back to me. “Now that’s beautiful.”

I was instantly, incredibly star-struck.

He was warm, charming and even more hilarious than I’d expected – even mock complaining about the size of the giant lettering spelling out his name to the whole of Leicester Square; “I wanted my name written 40 metres high, not 4!”

He told me how excited he was about the “huge historical moment” that will be the inauguration of Barack Obama next week, which he plans to attend. “It’s going to be emotional,” he added.

Then after a couple of words about the film, and his upcoming projects – where he revealed that he’s recently been in talks with Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle - Will was off doing what he does best: entertaining the crowds, signing a zillion autographs and having pictures taken with fans despite the freezing temperatures.

Wow. Will Smith really is a Nice Guy. Now excuse me, but I’m off to buy an ‘I heart Will Smith’ T-Shirt and join the ‘Big Willie’ fan club.