Will Smith Let Out a Fart 'So Bad' the Men in Black Set Had to Be 'Evacuated' for 'Three Hours,' Says Director

Will Smith was getting high on it on set Men in blackaccording to the director of the film.

Barry Sonnenfeld, who directed the 1997 intergalactic action blockbuster, made a guest appearance on Let’s talk on camera with Kelly Ripa podcast on Wednesday, October 2. During their conversation, published the day after Sonnenfeld’s new book Best possible place, worst possible time published, shared a little-known fact about the Oscar winner, 56.

Sonnenfeld, 71, recalled that Smith and his co-star Tommy Lee Jones, who plays Agent K, were filming a scene in which the car they were traveling in transformed at super high speeds.

In order to get the shot, Jones, 78, and Smith, who plays Agent J, had to be “hermetically sealed” in the pod that was used as their mode of transport.

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black, 1997.

Columbia Pictures/ Everett

“There are locks to keep it from opening and falling,” Sonnenfeld told Ripa, 54. “I say, ‘Turn the camera,’ and I hear Will Smith say, ‘Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Tommy, I’m so sorry. Baz, bring the ladder.’ And you hear Tommy say, ‘It’s all right, Will. No worries, Will. Don’t worry, Will.’ ”

According to the director, he had no idea what prompted the apologies.

“So we race on the ladder. Yes, Tommy sticks out a leg as the ladder approaches, he races down the steps. And what happened is that Will Smith is a fart,” Sonnenfeld said.

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“Only some people are [farters].”

Still, being stuck “in a very small, airtight space with Will Smith farting” might not be the best place to be, Enchanted continued the director.

“You don’t even want to sit next to him at Disney Ranch,” Sonnenfeld said. “We evacuated the stage for about three hours. And it’s amazing. No, he’s, you know, a wonderful guy. It’s just, he Some farts, some don’t.”

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One thing Smith’s gas couldn’t override was the film’s success. Men in black grossed $584 million worldwide, becoming the third highest-grossing film of 1997.

Smith and Sonnenfeld continued to work together on The Wild Wild West (1999), Men in Black II (2002) and Men in Black 3 (2012).

Will Smith as William ‘Will’ Smith, Alfonso Ribeiro as Carlton Banks, Tatyana Ali as Ashley Banks.

Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Before becoming the A-list actor he is today, the “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” hitmaker got his start in music before making the switch to television in a 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

And although his The Fresh Prince The costars may not have fart stories like Sonnenfeld, but they have fond memories.

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Speaking to PEOPLE in June, Alfonso Ribeiro (who played Smith’s brash cousin Carlton Banks) called Smith his “brother” while sharing the impact they’ve made on each other’s lives.

“So many relationships were made then that still have an incredible impact on our lives today,” Ribeiro, 53, told PEOPLE. “It meant everything in the world. It changed all of our lives.”

Sonnenfeld’s book Best possible time, worst possible place includes multiple behind-the-scenes stories from the director’s career. It is published by Hachette Books and released on October 1st.

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Source: HIS Education