Back to the NFL Newsfeed

Will Smith Comments on Head Trauma in Football at 'Concussion' Premiere

The upcoming film Concussion focuses on head injuries in the sport of football, and the movie's star, Will Smith, revealed prior to Tuesday's premiere how much being part of the project taught him about the subject matter.

Smith plays the role of Dr. Bennet Omalu, who is credited as the first person to publish findings of chronic traumatic encephalopathy—or CTE—in the brains of football players.

According to the Press Association (h/t BT.com), the 47-year-old actor was largely unaware of how big an issue head trauma has become in football, but the topic hit home since his son, Jaden Smith, played the sport in high school:

I felt like I had to deliver the information because I'm a football dad and I did not know, I did not know when I watched my son play football in high school for those four years, I did not know there was a potential long-term neurological issue.