Will Smith learns to 'quiet the warrior' in new phase of life

Things started to come into focus for Will Smith when After Earth bombed.

Once the biggest movie star in the world, his $130 million sci-fi spectacle After Earth opened in June 2013 to a lousy $27.5 million and would only go on to make up less than half of its production budget, domestically, by the end of its run. For a man who once defined himself by his box-office star power, the blow was crushing.

"From the time I was in my early 20s, I had this goal that 'I want to be the biggest movie star in the world,'" says Smith, lowering his voice to a faux-macho level when he utters the words "movie star".