Back before he made a name for himself in Hollywood, Will Smith found himself to be broke after not paying his taxes.

The I Am Legend actor recalled a low point in his life that saw him borrow a hefty sum of $10,000 from a local drug dealer who happened to be his friend at the time, per Daily Mail.

Smith hosted an intimate evening with fans at London’s Savoy Theatre on Thursday, November 18, to celebrate the release of his autobiography Will.

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During his heartfelt talk with actor Idris Elba, the 53-year-old revealed how he lost everything in the early days of his fame for simply not paying his taxes.

"I'm not sure what the Government is like with taxes in the UK, but in the US, they take it seriously," he said. "So Uncle Sam wanted his money… I didn't forget, I just didn't pay."

Will revealed he had to sell the new mansion, cars, and beloved motorcycle he'd bought not long after winning his first Grammy alongside DJ Jazzy Jeff.

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"I had to sell everything and I knew whatever my new life was going to be, I could feel it was going to be in Los Angeles," he recalled. "So I borrowed $10,000 from a friend of mine who was a purveyor of neighborhood pharmaceuticals."

Elba joked in reference to his iconic character in The Wire who was a drug kingpin: "Was his name Stringer Bell?"

Smith went on: "I borrowed $10,000 and I moved to Los Angeles and one time we were doing shows and I was trying to drum up some cash so we were in Detroit and we were doing a show. I had met a guy named Benny Medina. You remember Arsenio Hall? I started to go there because everybody was on Arsenio Hall."

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Soon after the ordeal, Smith found himself at a birthday party for legendary music producer Quincy Jones.

It was at this blowout that Jones forced Smith to audition for a script he'd been working on - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - in the middle of the party in front of the NBC boss.

Needless to say, Smith smashed the audition, got the part and his life changed forever.

Featured image credit: REUTERS / Alamy

Will Smith says he borrowed $10,000 from a drug dealer to launch his acting career