Will Smith has accomplished a lot in his life. From starring in his hit eponymous TV show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, to making big screen blockbusters, and giving fans hit music, he’s been a part of pop culture for nearly 40 years. In fact, he’s now starring in a new documentary series that recently hit the 2026 TV schedule, Pole to Pole with Will Smith, which sees him literally have adventures from the North to South Pole. One of those outings led to him nearly dying while scuba diving in the Arctic, and his story about the wild experience has made me laugh almost as much as it’s absolutely terrified me.
What Happened When Will Smith Almost Died While Scuba Diving In The Arctic?
Sometimes, the combination of hard work and a lot of luck will lead to people’s wildest dreams coming true, and for Will Smith that’s meant everything from winning the first Grammy for Best Rap Performance (with DJ Jazzy Jeff for “Parents Just Don’t Understand”), leading some of the best ‘90s movies like Men in Black, and giving fans amazing performances in films such as Independence Day, Bad Boys, Ali, I Am Legend, and King Richard, which won him an Oscar.
As the star noted recently when speaking about Pole to Pole (which you can watch with a Disney+ subscription) on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, he’d gotten to the point in life where he’d made his money and “achieved his dreams” and needed something else, which he “knew” would be found by going through some of his “deepest fears.” This led to Smith taking on the challenge of the new series, but part of his time at the North Pole led to a truly terrifying incident while scuba diving. As he said:
We went scuba diving at the North Pole, right? So we did a dive under the ice. So you go under the ice, and the ice can be up to like 10 feet thick. So we’re under, we went out about 40 yards away… It’s like an upside-down ice mountain range, right? So we went under, and I start hearing, ‘Abort dive! Abort dive! Abort!’ And I’m like, ‘Oh no,’ right? So I went to ascend and hit ice.
Already he’s in territory where I would be deep into several things I really DO NOT LIKE. Being in the ocean, being under a large chunk of ice, having a breathing apparatus that covers most of my face, wearing a full-body wetsuit, doing all of that while suddenly being in a life-threatening situation…I could go on, but instead I’ll let the “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” rapper hilariously explain what happened when this nightmare went from bad to much worse:
I was like, ‘Oh no, Will, calm down. Calm down.’ So you have a tether on, and you have to pull yourself back to the hole, right? I grabbed and accidentally pulled my mask off. The oxygen, and I was like [feigns gasping for air] . And I put my mask back on my face, and I was like, ‘Oh, no!’ And I was like, ‘Will, calm down.’ And 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 behavior from here on out!’
Preach! Look, I think it’s probable that everyone who’s stepped out so far from their comfort zone and accidentally found danger has had prayers like this, Smith’s just happened to focus on only doing “Black stuff” going forward if he got out of this scary situation. For you, this might mean sticking with “teacher stuff” or “Midwestern behavior,” but the meaning is still the same. It’s a stress-induced promise to stick with what you know, so that you, hopefully, never go through something like the bad spot you find yourself in, again.
I’ve said several of these prayers myself, and will likely laugh now every time I find myself in dubious circumstances and start making deals with God to stick with “Black stuff” next time I get an adventurous urge. Luckily, things turned out alright:
So I’m laying there, and then I feel myself just start floating, like someone had grabbed my tether up top and just started pulling. And, when I realized I was good, I just relaxed. And I looked around, and when I tell you, the sun is coming through the ice and it went from terror to the most spiritual, beautiful thing. And I was just like, ‘Whoever’s up there, don’t let go of my tether!
I don’t even know what to say, really, except that it might be good news for Smith that no one can tell if you’ve peed on yourself once you’ve been in the ocean.
