Will Smith Reminisces About Emotional First Day with Martin Lawrence on Bad Boys: Ride or Die: ‘I Love You, Brother’

Will Smith is reflecting on a special moment with Martin Lawrence.

On Monday, June 3, Smith, 55, shared during a New York City screening of Bad Boys: Ride or Die that the pair had an emotional exchange on the first day of shooting which “set the tone” for their experience on set together. 

“You know, we’re producing and starring and that’s a little extra burden, right? So, you know, on the first day we’re running around and uh, Martin just stopped,” Smith recalled at the screening, led by NBA star Carmelo Anthony and The Kid Mero for their Wave Sports + Entertainment Original podcast 7PM in Brooklyn.

“He said, ‘Hey, hey, hold on, hold on. I said, ‘Hey, what’s up?’ And he just looked, he said, ‘I love you brother.’ And I was like, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah. All love brother, all love.’ I’m ‘No, no, no, no, no, no.’ He said, ‘You know, I love you, brother.’ “

Smith added that the comments by Lawrence, 59, came at a time when “I, emotionally, I couldn’t have it at that moment.”  

“But I was like, you know, ‘I love you too, man,’ ” he continued. “And he just hugged me and he said, ‘We gonna have fun making this movie.’ It’s like, we not rushing through this one. You know? And it was like, he just set the tone.”

Smith and Lawrence announced the fourth movie in the Bad Boys franchise was going ahead in a video on Instagram in January 2023. The confirmation came after rumors that production for the film had been canceled over Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March 2022. 

In an Ebony interview that summer, Lawrence shared his hopes for the Bad Boys sequel to continue despite the controversy over the incident, telling the publication he’s “got one more” installment “at least” to go in the franchise.

Smith and Lawrence previously stepped out with their families and producer Jerry Bruckheimer at the movie’s premiere in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 30. On the red carpet, both men told PEOPLE about quirks that get on each others’ nerves.

“He likes to rehearse all the time,” Lawrence said of Smith.

“It’s not a hate, but there’s a fun quirk that makes me laugh about Martin all the time. He never takes two sips out of a water bottle,” Smith added of his costar and longtime friend. “He drinks the whole water bottle in one go, every time. It’s like, ‘Yo, man!’ “

Smith and Lawrence play Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Bennett in the Bad Boys movies, which date back to the 1995 original. The original film was directed by Michael Bay, who also paired up with the two stars for 2003’s Bad Boys II.

Alexander Ludwig, Vanessa Hudgens, Eric Dane, Tasha Smith, Ioan Gruffudd, Paola Nuñez, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd and Tiffany Haddish also appear in the new film.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die is in theaters June 7.