Will Smith was honored during the 2023 African American Film Critics Awards (AAFCA) on Wednesday (March 1). Accepting the Beacon Award, the acclaimed actor took the stage and delivered his first in-person speech since the Oscars slap controversy in 2022.
According to Variety, Smith was introduced by his Emancipation costar Charmaine Bingwa and AAFCA cofounder Gil L. Robinson. Director Antoine Fuqua was recognized alongside Smith for the historically-based film.
“Emancipation was the individual most difficult film of my entire career. It was all outdoors, that is true,” shared Smith. He continued to detail a story about an intense moment on set.
“It was the second day of shooting and 110 degrees… I was in a scene with one of the white actors. The actor decided to ad-lib. So we’re doing the scene. I did my line. He did his line. And then — ad lib — he spit in the middle of my chest,” Smith said as the crowd groaned. “[T]he actor felt that the ad-lib had gone well. So we do take two. I do my line. He does his line — and spits in the middle of my chest again… In the distance, I hear a voice. And Antoine says, ‘Hey, let’s do a take without the spit.’ And in that moment, I knew that God was real.”
His speech was wrapped with gratitude expressed for Gil and AAFCA, as well as Apple.
“I want to thank Gil and AAFCA. I want to thank all of you in this room for doing what you do, keeping our stories alive. I want to thank Apple, because the budget was one thing. And then the budget was another thing. And then the budget was another thing. And Apple never flinched,” Smith said. “It was the first time I had heard from a studio that the story was more important than how much it costs to get it done… They make iPhones. They can do it.”
For his dramatized portrayal of “Whipped Peter,” the 54-year-old was also awarded Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the 2023 NAACP Image Awards.
“WOW!! NAACP!! I am absolutely humbled by this!! I want to share this with my entire #Emancipation family – @antoinefuqua, @charmainebingwa, Ben, Bob, Jon the whole team at Westbrook and Apple TV… I am so proud of the work we put into this film,” he wrote on Instagram.
View the full list of 2023 AAFCA winners below:
Best Picture
The Woman King
Best Director
Gina Prince-Bythewood
The Woman King
Best Actor
Jeremy Pope
The Inspection
Best Actress:
Danielle Deadwyler
Till
Best Supporting Actor
Brian Tyree Henry
Causeway
Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Emerging Face
Jaylin Hall
Till & Bruiser
Emerging Filmmaker
Carey Williams
Emergency
Best Independent Feature
Nanny
Best Animated Feature
Wendell & Wild
Best Documentary
Sidney
Best Ensemble
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Best Writing
Rian Johnson
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery)
Best International Feature:
Saint Omer
Best Song
“Lift Me Up”
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Best Live Action Short
We Cry Together
Best Animated Short
New Moon
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT HONOREES
Impact Award
Till
The Innovator Award
Composer Michael Abels
Nope
Building Change Award
Production Designer Hannah Beachler
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
The Beacon Award
Antoine Fuqua and Will Smith
Emancipation
The Ashley Boone Award
Producer, Nate Moore
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever