Will Smith Reveals Why Dubai Made Him Fearless: “Skydiving Here Changed My Life”

“When I land in Dubai, I wake up. I’m ready to create.”

Will Smith isn’t talking about a film shoot or a red-carpet moment. He’s talking about a feeling - one that, by his own admission, changed the way he looks at fear, creativity and life itself.

Speaking to Gulf News at Dubai’s Sustainable City ahead of the Middle East premiere of National Geographic’s Pole To Pole With Will Smith, the Oscar-winning actor reflected on why Dubai occupies a unique place in his personal journey.

This wasn’t Hollywood polish or celebrity soundbite energy. Smith spoke like an explorer - thoughtful, grounded, and deeply inspired.

One memory stood out above all others: skydiving in Dubai for the first time in his forties.

“I had always been fearful,” he said candidly. “I was trying to open myself up. That jump - it changed something inside me.”

For many, skydiving is a thrill-seeking bucket-list moment. For Smith, it became a psychological reset. A confrontation with fear - and a release from it.

Dubai, he explained, has never just been a destination. It has been a living experiment in possibility.

“I’ve been coming here for 30 years,” he said. “Since there were cranes on top of buildings. There’s something about the spirit of this place. Dubai feels like a second home to me.”

That spirit - bold, fast-moving, unapologetically ambitious - mirrors Smith’s own evolution. His Nat Geo series Pole To Pole captures that transformation, whether climbing the Himalayas or crawling at 14,000 feet while a 70-year-old woman walked past him with ease.

“It taught me how adaptable the human body is,” he said. “We’re capable of so much more than we think.”

But the real lesson, Smith believes, is emotional.

“Fear destroys your ability to experience beauty,” he said. “If you’re scared, you can’t experience the heights of anything - nature, relationships, life. Fear destroys happiness.”

Dubai’s influence, he says, lies in how it challenges that fear - not subtly, but directly.

The city’s audacity, its willingness to imagine what doesn’t yet exist, left a lasting impression on him. He openly acknowledged being inspired by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid’s vision, describing Dubai as a place that dares first and explains later.

That same energy is why Dubai increasingly attracts creators, innovators and entrepreneurs - whether they are artists, explorers or people exploring business setup in dubai as a gateway to global ambition.

Smith even touched on his spiritual connection to the region, joking - half seriously - about reincarnation.

“If it’s true, I definitely believe I lived in the Middle East,” he said. “I feel like I was in charge of something.”

When asked about his favourite cities in the world, his answer was instant.

“Miami and Dubai,” he said. “The moment I land here, I feel it. I walk upright. I feel alive.”

Watching him speak, it was clear this wasn’t about celebrity admiration for luxury. It was about energy - the kind that pushes you to leap, to climb, to confront fear instead of negotiating with it.

“Dubai is trying to build a new global city,” Smith said. “I love what’s coming to life here. I’ll be here for the rest of my life.”

And perhaps that’s the real reason Dubai keeps calling him back. Not as a backdrop - but as a catalyst.