Will Smith jokes he 'feels responsible for misinformation' amid coronavirus pandemic due to ‘I Am Legend’ film
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The coronavirus pandemic hits close to home for Will Smith for one unique reason.
The actor, 51, appeared on wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's "Red Talk" roundtable series on Wednesday to discuss the growing health crisis, where he made a subtle joke that it reminds him of a movie he previously starred in.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I wanted to do this because in 2008 I made 'I Am Legend' so I feel responsible for a lot of the misinformation," Smith said to his wife, daughter Willow, son Trey and mother-in-law Adrienne Banfield-Jones, who broke out in laughter.
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The movie follows the aftermath of a devastating plague and Smith's character is the last human survivor who goes on a mission to reverse the effects of it with his own blood.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Smith explained that the role required research, which opened his eyes up to just what can occur if and when a worldwide pandemic takes place.
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"My character was a virologist so I had an opportunity in my preparation for the role to go to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and there was a basic foundational comprehension of viruses and viral pathogens that I developed and it really changed my life and how I looked at the world. There's basic concepts that people do not understand," Smith continued.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The actor shared an example of how overcrowded hospitals are a big concern.
"Imagine our local hospital can handle 40 respiratory patients at one time and under normal circumstances, 40 respiratory patients for that hospital is a lot... If 50 people show up in that hospital at one time to get 40 beds, now you have 10 people in critical condition that aren't going to get help and your mortality rate shoots through the roof," the "Men In Black" actor continued. "That's the idea of overwhelming the system."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Saturday, March 7, 2020 file photo, a cleric, right, assists a medic treating a patient infected with the new coronavirus, at a hospital in Qom, about 80 miles (125 kilometers) south of the capital Tehran, Iran. (Mohammad Ali Marizad/Rasa News Agency via AP)
Pinkett-Smith and her family welcomed experts to the roundtable so the famous family could learn more about the risks of COVID-19.
One expert helped to define the term "pandemic" to Willow, 19, who admittedly didn't understand exactly what one is.
"What a pandemic is in terms of infectious diseases is when a worldwide outbreak of a new virus or a new bacteria that is going to affect people in every continent of the world," Dr. Michael Olsterholm.
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As of Thursday morning, the number of COVID-19 cases jumped to over 222,000 across the globe. The novel coronavirus may be able to live on surfaces, such as metal, glass or plastic, for up to nine days — if it resembles some of its other human coronavirus “cousins,” that is.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.