Will Smith celebrates 30th anniversary of his first movie ‘Bad Boys’

Los Angeles, April 8: Hollywood star Will Smith is in a celebratory mood. The actor paid an homage to his film ‘Bad Boys’ as it clocked 30 years of its release. The ‘Men in Black’ star, 56, posted a joint Instagram post with co-star Martin Lawrence and the franchise’s official account, marking the 30th anniversary of the action franchise’s first film, reports ‘People’ magazine.

“30 years ago @jerrybruckheimer, Don Simpson and @michaelbay took a chance on us and Bad Boys was born!! Grateful for all the love y’all have shown us thru the years”, the Instagram caption read. As per ‘People’, Will Smith included several behind-the-scenes photos from the original film, including pictures alongside Lawrence, 59, as they smiled with one another on set. He also added photos of the film’s director, Michael Bay, and producer Jerry Bruckheimer.

Alongside photos of his co-star, Smith added snapshots of the behind-the-scenes with castmates, Michael Imperioli, Joe Pantoliano, Téa Leoni and Theresa Randle. Smith and Lawrence star as Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Bennett in the franchise. After the 1995 box office hit, three more films followed, ‘Bad Boys II’ in 2003, ‘Bad Boys for Life’ in 2020, and more recently, ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ in 2024. The franchise has earned $1.2 billion at the box office across all four films, as per Collider.

Last year, Smith detailed filming the first installment, and revealed the process behind his audition call. “I was 25 years old. Marty Mar was 29. Just two kids, who lucked out and got to live their dreams on the first try”, he wrote in the June 2024 Instagram caption, adding that Lawrence’s sister convinced her brother to ask Smith to audition for the role of Mike. “I was hooked. ‘Let’s go! When can I read the script?’ Marty Mar’s face scrunched up. ‘Nawww, you can’t big Willie. The script’s not there yet. You just gotta trust me and commit’”, he added.