In the run-up to Wednesday’s Los Angeles premiere of Emancipation Will Smith has addressed the notorious Oscar slap in his first late night interview, telling The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, “That’s not who I want to be.”

“That was a horrific night, as you can imagine,” said Smith, who slapped presenter Chris Rock live on stage at the Academy Awards last March and went on to win the lead actor for King Richard. “There’s many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day I lost it, you know.”

He continued, ”You just never know what somebody’s going through… I was going through something that night, you know, not that that justifies my behavior at all… The thing that was most painful to me is I took my hard and made it hard other people… Hurt people hurt people.”

Reflecting on the possible causes of the incident Smith added, “It was a lot of things, you know. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know. All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That’s not who I want to be.”

Smith, who has been filming more episodes of the National Geographic show Limitless produced by Darren Aronofsky, has been returning to social media here and there.

However Hollywood awards strategists who have spoken to Screen said they believe it is too soon for Smith to attempt a come-back as a leading man at the centre of an awards campaign.

Speaking to Fox 5 prior to The Daily Show appearance the actor said while he realised audiences might not be ready to see him starring as a runaway slave in Emancipation, he hoped his actions would not impact the prospects of the film, director Antoine Fuqua, cinematographer Robert Richardson and the team on the Apple film.

Apple has remained quiet on Smith and the film’s awards prospects, yet it clearly believes it has a strong contender in its awards chest and screened the film with NAACP in Washington in October.

Smith is banned from attending the Oscars or any Academy events or programmes in person or virtually for 10 years (until April 7, 2032, when he will be 64), which means he will not attend the 95th annual ceremony on March 12 2023 to present the best lead actress award, in line with tradition. However he remains eligible for Oscars consideration and could in theory earn a nomination.

AE News