American actor, producer, and rapper Will Smith, who has won four Grammy Awards, released an image on his Instagram that he appears with the political leader and philanthropist, Nelson Mandela, and shared a birthday message to bring honor to him.
Smith, who had busted into tears when he first met Mandela, described him as one of the greatest heroes of his life, and narrated a story between the two:
“I was so inspired! I told him I wanted to quit my job. I wanted to follow him and go out into the streets. I wanted to fight!
He smiled and said, ‘No. You have to understand the power of what it is that you do. You must understand the hope that is cultivated by the art that you create.’ He told me not to force it. And that when it was time, the call will speak to me.’”
Mandela, with his clan name Madiba, regarded as an icon of democracy and social justice and influenced many people all around the world with his activism. As one of these people Will Smith added:
“As I look at our world Today, I am deeply impelled to Action. ‘The call’ has spoken to me and I will humbly, gratefully and aggressively respond.”
Then, the ‘Focus’ actor celebrated Mandela’s birthday:
“Happy Bday, Madiba!”
As known, Mandela passed away died on 5 December 2013, at the age of 95, of prolonged respiratory infection.
Below you can find the mentioned Instagram post.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith) on

