Will Smith really jumped headfirst into turning 50 on Tuesday.
The actor marked his milestone birthday by bungee jumping from a helicopter in northern Arizona.
The stunt, which was livestreamed on his YouTube channel, was billed as a leap “in the heart of the Grand Canyon.”
READ MORE: Will Smith to jump out of a helicopter for his 50th birthday
However, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor did not jump at Grand Canyon National Park. He jumped over a smaller gorge on the Navajo Nation.
Smith jumped in front of relatives and friends, including Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Alfonso Ribeiro, who played Carlton Banks, and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as well as his three children, Jaden, Willow and Trey Smith.
Smith jumped 550 feet and was held by 200 feet of active cord, according to bungee experts in his video.
READ MORE: Jaden Smith doesn’t ‘categorize’ himself as ‘human’
Smith described the experience as going “from pure terror to absolute bliss.”
Fans took to Twitter to celebrate Smith’s birthday and congratulate him on the jump.
https://twitter.com/OsasCruz/status/1044856769934225408
https://twitter.com/p_y_tia/status/1044932832701927426
https://twitter.com/Tim_Pilcher/status/1044727641834688513
Get daily National news
https://twitter.com/S4ILOR_M4RS/status/1044732543617171456
https://twitter.com/HillaryC06/status/1044728014322327552
https://twitter.com/DREDAYZofficial/status/1044727838010724352
READ MORE: Will Smith recreates son Jaden Smith’s ‘Icon’ music video
“Nothing will ever be scarier than that,” he told his family when he came back to the ground. “It goes from complete absolute terror to the most magnificent bliss you’ve ever felt in your life …The whole Grand Canyon is mine.”
“There’s an idea bubbling in my mind that fear is a cage and it traps you,” he said. “My father passed a little over a year ago, and there’s something about the confrontation with death that makes you live life more freely.”
“Life is hard. You might get hurt. Your heart might get broken,” he shared. “But you still gotta commit…Don’t hesitate — GO.”
READ MORE: Jaden Smith says Four Seasons Toronto ‘spiked’ his pancakes with cheese
In a YouTube video posted earlier this month, Smith recalled visiting the Grand Canyon as a child but being terrified to walk up to the edge.
The event also raised money for charity with an online lottery for a chance to watch the jump in person.
He completed the stunt to raise awareness and donations for international advocacy organization Global Citizen’s education campaigns, through a contest in which one winning fan and a guest would attend “The Jump” in person with him.
Watch Smith’s jump in the video above.
—With files from the Associated Press
Comments