At 23 years old Will Smith's son Jaden is officially well into adulthood, but fans have been treated to a 15-year throwback thanks to resurfaced footage of him presenting an award at the Oscars.
The actor and rapper appeared in his first film, The Pursuit of Happyness, alongside his dad in 2006, when he was just six years old.
Having officially established a career in the film industry, the young boy took to the stage at the Oscars the following year with Little Miss Sunshine star and fellow child actor Abigail Breslin to present the award for best short film.
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Footage from the event shows the two now-adult celebrities making their way over to the microphone before engaging in some classic on-stage banter. After being asked by Abigail whether he had a 'good time' working with his dad, Jaden joked he didn't because he'd been duped into making the film under the premise it was going to be a comedy.
The Karate Kid star then went on to ask Abigail what her dad did for a living, to which she responded: "He's a computer systems analyst and support technicians consultant."
When asked to clarify what he actually did, Abigail hit with the punch line, "I have no idea."
Jaden managed to get in one more laugh from the audience before the winner of the award was announced, joking that he'd probably not read the right line when he prematurely moved to try and deliver a second award.
The young actors have been hailed as 'so cute' after footage of their performance resurfaced online, with one viewer noting the Oscars would be 'so much more hilarious' if the awards were presented by child actors.
"Jaden is adorable," another fan commented, while a third wrote: "He was soooo cute."
Smith described how his son ended up starring in The Pursuit of Happyness during his self-titled memoir released in 2021, explaining the director had been 'struggling to cast the perfect actor to play [his] son'.
With the director having seen 'nearly 500 kids', Will and Jada Pinkett Smith agreed to allow their son to audition for the film.
Director Gabriele Muccino is said to have wanted Jaden for the role, but was forbidden from asking Smith by the studio.
Per Insider, Smith explained: "The studio also felt that it would seem like nepotism, and just put us in the hole from the first announcement. At Gabriele's pleasing, they agreed to allow him to put Jaden and me on camera as a chemistry test."
Jaden was said to have auditioned an 'unprecedented' nine times for the film, but he continued to prove himself to be the 'right actor for the role' and ultimately ended up being cast alongside his dad.
Topics: Will Smith, Celebrity, Oscars, YouTube, Viral
Emily Brown