Will Smith Says He 'Fell in Love' with His 'Six Degrees of Separation' Co-Star Stockard Channing

Will Smith is getting candid in his new memoir, Will.

In the book, the actor says he “fell in love” with Stockard Channing, who starred opposite him in Six Degrees of Separation, during his first marriage.

Click inside to find out what he said…

Will and his then-wife Sheree Zampino had just welcomed their son Trey when the film began production, and the actor remained in character even not on the set of the movie.

“Sheree and I were in the first few months of our marriage with a brand-new baby and for Sheree, I can imagine that this experience was unsettling to say the least,” Will wrote. “She’d married a guy named Will Smith and now she was living with a guy named Paul Poitier,” his character’s name in the movie. “And to make matters worse, during shooting I fell in love with Stockard Channing.”

He continued, “After the film wrapped, Sheree and Trey and I moved back to L.A. Our marriage was off to a rocky start. I found myself desperately yearning to see and speak to Stockard.”

Will had previously discussed his feelings for Stockard in an interview with Esquire in February 2015.

“With Six Degrees of Separation, I got a taste early of the dangers of going too far for a character,” he told the outlet. “My character was in love with Stockard Channing‘s character. And I actually fell in love with Stockard Channing.”

“So the movie was over and I went home, and I was dying to see Stockard. I was like, ‘Oh no! What have I done?’ That was my last experience with Method acting, where you’re reprogramming your mind. You’re actually playing around with your psychology. You teach yourself to like things and to dislike things,” he added. “It is a really dangerous place when you get good at it. But once I had that experience, I was like,’ No more Method acting.’ I was spending—for Six Degrees, I wanted to perform well so badly that I was spending six and seven and eight days in character before shooting, and you have to be careful with that.”

Will‘s memoir is set to go on sale on November 9, 2021, and is available for preorder on the actor’s website.

He recently opened up about his mental health in a candid new interview.