Jaden Smith seems to have slowed down on taking on acting roles in recent years. Instead, his focus appears to have shifted a lot more towards his music career. This is somewhat in keeping with the pattern that his father followed as well, with Will Smith having also juggled between singing and acting.
The younger Smith was introduced to the world of Hollywood when he passed a rigorous audition for a part in his father’s movie, The Pursuit of Happyness in 2006. This collaboration was a resounding success, although failure would later follow when they both starred together again in After Earth.
The disappointment and criticism that came as a result was so bad for the budding actor, that he at one point sought to be emancipated from his parents. Luckily for Will and Jada Pinkett Smith, these attempts were not successful.
Before the disaster that was After Earth, however, Jaden Smith had continued acting with a role in the David Scarpa and Scott Derrickson sci-fi film The Day the Earth Stood Still.
The movie featured Keanu Reeves in the main role. The Matrix star had very good words to say about working with the fledgling actor.
What Was The Movie The Day The Earth Stood Still About?
The Day the Earth Stood Still was loosely based on a similarly-titled movie that was released in 1951. Plans for this remake had been going on since the early ‘90s.
The main role was written specifically for Keanu Reeves, who had worked with the producing studio in the 1994 action film, Speed.
According to Rotten Tomatoes, The Day the Earth Stood Still followed the story of “Klaatu, an extraterrestrial visitor to planet Earth, [who] becomes the herald of upheaval on a global scale. As the world's governments and scientists race to understand what is happening and how to stop it, Dr. Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly) and her stepson come to understand the chilling ramifications behind Klaatu's statement that he is a ‘friend to the Earth.”
With Reeves starring as Klaatu, Requiem for a Dream star Jennifer Connelly played an astrobiologist called Helen Benson, who is recruited by the government to study the alien visitor. Jaden Smith featured as Jacob Benson, her 8-year-old stepson. John Cleese, Jon Hamm, Kathy Bates and Robert Knepper were all part of the cast line-up as well.
What Did Keanu Reeves Say About Working With Jaden Smith?
Shortly after the release of The Day the Earth Stood Still, Keanu Reeves granted an interview to the film journalist Rob Carnevale.
In this conversation, he spoke on a wide range of topics, including his experience working in the Scott Derrickson film, and getting the opportunity to collaborate with Jaden Smith.
Reeves revealed that he was drawn to the story as much by its social commentary potential as he was by the simple intrigue of playing an alien.
“I figure it was just the story itself [that drew me to the film], much like Scott [Derrickson],” he said. “The Earth is at a kind of crisis point, a crossroads, and humanity as well. I thought that would be a good place to start and I thought it would be fun to play an alien.”
As far as what it was like to work with Smith, Reeves raved about the youngster’s commitment and positive personality on set.
“He’s a good kid and he’s very professional, so I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary to bond with him just because he was a young actor,” he observed.
Jaden Smith Found It “Cool” To Work With Keanu Reeves
As he hails from one of the elite Hollywood families, it is hard to imagine Jaden Smith being starstruck. Nonetheless, he was completely in thrall of Keanu Reeves while working alongside him in The Day the Earth Stood Still.
In a later interview of his own, the question was put to him and he said: “He is a really cool guy and a great actor and he is very, very funny. He always had a lot of jokes and also made me feel welcome.”
Like Reeves, Smith was also drawn to the story written by David Scarpa because of the alien and other sci-fi elements. “I think science fiction is cool because it's fake,” he continued in the interview.
“I love aliens and creepy, scary stuff, those are the type of movies I really like best. I loved the movie Alien and I liked The Lord Of The Rings.
Smith followed up his performance in The Day the Earth Stood Still with a star turn in The Karate Kid, which earned him multiple awards. He last featured in a dramatic, live-action role on the big screen in 2020, as Daryn in the romantic drama Life in a Year by Mitja Okorn.