Will Smith Dives at Tiger Beach to Overcome Fear of Sharks
The famous actor can now check shark diving off his bucket list.
He’s been the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and fought aliens in Hollywood blockbusters, but Will Smith recently took on a new role as shark diver in the latest episode of his Facebook Watch series, Will Smith’s Bucket List. The series, which releases a new episode each week, focuses on Smith’s travels around the world as he overcomes one fear after another.
In this episode, Smith looks fear in the face as it swims right past him, 20 feet below at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. And yes, he does come face-to-face with several tiger sharks — and lives to tell the tale.
Shark whisperer Cristina Zenato is on site to sympathize with her fellow member of the “Jaws generation,” those who unfortunately have been conditioned by the media to think all sharks are monsters. She also shares why sharks are important, and the ecological advantages for keeping them around. Unfortunately, 100 million sharks are hunted and killed each year.
The episode takes you through Smith's journey from a Discover Scuba Course at Stuart Cove’s Dive Bahamas to that final dive at Tiger Beach.
Although he seems to be enjoying his time underwater on his training dives, Smith goes back and forth about whether he should just end the show now and not dive with the sharks.
At one point before the dive, Smith, looking rather worried on camera, even says, "I legitimately do not feel good about this. I'm an action hero and a movie star, this is my action-hero scared face."
The moment Will Smith comes face-to-face with a tiger shark.
Courtesy Facebook/Will Smith
When Smith and crew arrive at Tiger Beach, a group of lemon sharks sits at the top of the water. The divers, consisting of Smith’s friends and shark experts, are instructed to "jump through” the lemons to get to the bottom, which will be filled with tiger sharks.
Before jumping in, Smith talks at length about facing fears and states, "I don't want to be scared of anything, and how you get over it is to confront the fear.” He goes on to share that "you don't want to do it in dumb ways. We’ve got some of the foremost experts in the world to help us develop the knowledge to not die today.”
Another member of his crew offers words of encouragement that Smith then repeats to affirm his mission of the Bucket List series: “‘You understand what you confront.’ I like that one; that's why I'm doing the bucket list.”
Next we see Smith entering the water, and he looks quite comfortable with the tiger sharks circling and swimming right up to him. At one point he even appears to meditate underwater.
Upon ascending and coming up the dive ladder, Smith proclaims, "Nothing in life will ever feel like that.”
It’s safe to say Smith conquered his fears and has a deeper appreciation for sharks now. Watch the full video above to see exactly what it took for Smith to overcome his fear.