Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2013

Hollywood actors will sometimes bring their kids to work to give them a fun day watching mommy and daddy play make believe on the other side of the camera. For Jaden Smith, the visit to the set placed him in front of the cameras.

At the age of 7, he won critical praise for his turn as the son of a struggling businessman played by his father Will Smith in 2006’s The Pursuit of Happyness. Then he starred in the 2010 remake of The Karate Kid, this time without dad. “I felt jealous when I saw Jaden working with Jackie Chan,” Will recalled during a recent trip to Tokyo. “I said, ‘That’s my boy!’”

Wanting to work together as a family again, the duo called M. Night Shyamalan to wish him a happy birthday and brought up an idea for a story set 100 years in the future. The result of that call is After Earth, a sci-fi epic that reunites the father and son on screen. “Jaden is 14 now, so he has learned to control his emotions,” the proud father says. “He has grown as an actor.” The new movie also allowed the younger Smith to see his father in a new light. “When I was little, I didn’t really understand what my dad’s work is,” Jaden said. “Now I see how serious and passionate he is. Movies last forever, so he wants to get the scene perfect.”

After Earth opens in Japan June 21.