Will Smith Recalls Narrowly Escaping Death in Terrifying Arctic Dive Mishap

Hollywood star Will Smith has detailed a harrowing brush with mortality during the filming of his National Geographic travel series, Welcome to Earth. The incident, which occurred during a scuba dive beneath the thick ice of the Arctic, saw the actor trapped underwater in a life-or-death scenario that shifted from sheer terror to profound awe in moments.

Smith recounted the near-fatal experience on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, describing a planned dive under ice that could be up to ten feet thick. The dive hole, a single point of entry and exit, was their only lifeline to the surface.

“We’re under, and it’s like an upside-down ice mountain range,” Smith described. “We went out about 40 yards from the hole, and then I start hearing through my comms, ‘Abort dive! Abort dive! Abort!’”

The emergency signal triggered an immediate need to surface, but in the disorienting, frozen landscape, Smith made a critical error. “I went to ascend and just… hit solid ice,” he said. “That’s the moment your brain just flips. I was like, ‘Oh no. Will, calm down. Calm down.’”

Protocol in such a situation is to use a safety tether to pull oneself back to the dive hole. In his panicked state, Smith’s attempt to save himself backfired spectacularly. “I grabbed for my tether and accidentally pulled my mask completely off,” he admitted.

Blinded, disoriented, and with his oxygen supply compromised in the freezing water, Smith fought against primal panic. “I was fumbling, immediately trying to get the mask back on my face,” he recalled. With dark humor, he shared the bargain he struck in his mind: “I was like, ‘If I get out of here, I’m only gonna do Black stuff from here on out!’ I promise, Lord! African American behaviour from here on out!”

Just as he managed to reseal his mask, he felt a decisive tug. “Somebody up top had grabbed my tether and started pulling me,” Smith said. “And when I realized I was good, I just relaxed. I looked around, and when I tell you—the sun was coming through the ice… It went from absolute terror to the most spiritual, beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

He added with a laugh, “I was just praying, ‘Whoever’s up there, don’t let go of my tether!’”

From Arctic Ice to Amazonian Rivers: A Series of Extreme Encounters

Following the “rough” Arctic ordeal, Smith transitioned to another perilous adventure for the series: hunting anacondas in the Amazon. His description provided a stark contrast in environments but similar intensity.

“We were with indigenous guides,” Smith told Fallon. “They didn’t even have clothes on—their whole name and address was hanging out! We’re going down the river, they spot an anaconda, and just jump out of the boat into the water and swim right for it.”

He clarified that the daring capture was part of a vital conservation effort. “They suspected illegal dumping in the river. Anaconda scales bioaccumulate toxins, so they could test a single scale for evidence to use in court,” Smith explained, still amazed by the locals’ fearless expertise. “It was really wild. And I’m just there thinking, ‘I don’t know why they needed me for this part!’”

The twin stories underscore the extreme risks Smith undertook for Welcome to Earth, a series designed to explore the planet’s most uncharted wonders. The Arctic dive, in particular, stands as a stark reminder of the thin line between breathtaking beauty and mortal danger in Earth’s final frontiers—a line Smith found himself straddling in one heart-stopping minute beneath the ice.

 

 

Our Pashto-Dari Website

  Donate Here