the real chris gardner from pursuit of happiness

'And that, unfortunately, has stayed with me 'til this day,' Chris says.ĭespite his challenges at home, Chris credits his mother's spirit for getting him through. Chris says he was kicked out of the house into the cold Wisconsin night, dripping wet and naked. One Christmas when Chris was about 16, he says he was taking a bath when his stepfather burst in with a 12-gauge shotgun. His mother was in prison twice-once for alleged welfare fraud, another time for allegedly attempting to burn down her husband's house.Ĭhris says his stepfather was an abusive alcoholic who terrorized his family. Chris grew up on the north side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spent the first few years of his life in a foster home. 'But then the other side, the yin and the yang, to all things is that you have the power for it to be different.'įrom the moment he was born, Chris Gardner's childhood was anything but a fairy tale. 'I laid there with my son and just imagined the sense of failure that you would feel as a parent, you know? And to feel like you're failing like that,' Will says.

Will says filming that scene with his real son was a turning point. 'When I walked into that bathroom, it was like the ghost jumped in me,' Will says. One place that really touched Will was a subway bathroom in Oakland, California, where Chris and his son sometimes spent the night on the floor. Will and Chris toured San Francisco together, revisiting the places Chris was forced to survive in with his son. But at the same time, how big you could be.' 'Like when I met Nelson Mandela and there's this weird thing that washes over you of how small you are. 'It feels the same way that I felt with Nelson Mandela,' Will says. Will says he felt especially connected to his character because he's a father himself. 'The promise of America is such a great idea because this is the only country in the world that Chris Gardner could exist.' it's the idea of why I think America is such a great country,' Will says. Still, Chris dreams of a better life for his son.and then he makes it happen. A chance meeting on the street with a successful stockbroker inspires him, and with the odds stacked against him, Chris talks his way into an unpaid internship with a brokerage firm.įorced to lead a double life, Chris works on Wall Street by day and is homeless by night. Will plays Chris Gardner, a single parent who insists on raising his son while he struggles to make ends meet. Will stars in the film with his real-life 8-year-old son, Jaden.

What would you do? Will Smith's new movie, The Pursuit of Happyness, is based on the astounding true story of a homeless, single father. You've been evicted, and you have nowhere for your child to sleep.

The real chris gardner from pursuit of happiness