Will Smith says ‘fantasy life’ as actor caused him to feel ‘more self-loathing’

The actor wanted to pass on ‘the fruits of my journey’ to those who might need it in 2022 (Picture: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic)

Will Smith has revealed that his ‘fantasy life’ as an actor has caused him to feel ‘more guilt, shame and self-loathing’.

The US actor, who has spoken openly about his mental health, shared a clip of the recording for the audiobook of his memoir Will as he wished fans well in 2022.

He said he hoped to pass on ‘the fruits of my journey’ to those who need it moving into the new year.

The 60-second video showed snapshots from Smith’s career including the filming of action film Bad Boys and red-carpet events.

Referencing the theme tune of sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, in which he starred, he reads: ‘Now I know y’all were thinking that I was gonna start this book off with, ‘In west Philadelphia born and raised…’

‘I was tempted, I mean how could I not be?

Will Smith gave a peek at the recording for his audiobook (Picture: Instagram/willsmith)

‘I’m a make-believer, and not just any old make-believer. I’m a legendary bad-boy man-in-black kind of make believer.

‘I’m a movie star, my impulse is always to clear up the truth in my mind, to make it better.’

He continues: ‘My fantasy life, while in some ways protecting me, also caused me to feel more guilt and shame and self-loathing.

‘All fantasies eventually fail. No matter how hard you fight, the truth is undefeated. Reality remains the undisputed champ.’

The actor did a reading event for his autobiography at a West End theatre in London in November (Picture: Getty)

The star’s caption beneath the video (Picture: Instagram/willsmith)

Captioning the Instagram video, he wrote: ‘When I talk about certain things in my memoir, I’m not talking about theory. I’m talking about experience.

‘I’ve learned, fought, suffered, and reflected and now hope the fruits of my journey will be the lessons I pass on to those who need it as we move into a new year.

‘Happy New Year y’all! :-)’

The star has been a fixture on the interview rounds recently, sharing snippets from his juicy memoir, while also plugging his King Richard film – for which he’s an early favourite for a best actor Oscar nod – and a YouTube series detailing his fitness journey.

Smith, who stars as the father of Serena and Venus Williams, with King Richard co-stars Jon Bernthal (left), Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton (right) (Picture: PA)

While we’ve been living for the book’s extracts, which detail everything from his sex life with wife Jada Pinkett Smith to his heartbreaking family discussions with children Jaden, Trey and Willow, some haven’t been as impressed by his appearances.

In fact, a savage  was set up by an unhappy fan recently, .

It surpassed the 20,000 mark within two weeks and at the time of publication sits at almost 24,000.