Will Smith at the I, Robot Premiere

So rapper-turned-actor Will Smith, whose new action movie "I, Robot" debuts this Friday, picks up the phone a few weeks back and dials Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations.

This is no joke, even though Smith is known for his humor.

"I just basically offered my services," he told Reuters in a recent interview. "I don't know what I can do. I just know that America is a better place than the reputation we're getting internationally right now."

Smith's wisecracking has made action movies like "Men in Black" huge box office hits and 1990s sitcom "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" a television sensation. His music, whether singles like "Getting Jiggy Wit It" or CDs such as 1999's "Willennium," come packed with Smith's own style, not to mention smile.

But this time, Will Smith is serious.

"I don't even know what it is, but I just know that there is influence that I can have, and I want to find a direction." He puts special emphasis and energy into "find a direction."

Smith said he's been hanging, recently, with Tom Cruise and U2 singer Bono who often lend their support to causes far outside their creative realm.

He doesn't want to go into politics. It is "too confining." He doesn't want a formal job, either. Whatever it is, he said, he would work through the private sector.

"Acting," he said. "is kind of a stepping stone to whatever that greater purpose is."

At age 35, with a wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and kids, life is changing. Not coincidentally, Smith said his work is changing too, and his fans can see that in "I, Robot," which opens Friday in roughly 3,400 U.S. and Canadian theaters.

THINKING MAN'S ACTION FLICK

The sci-fi thriller blends parts of writer Isaac Asimov's book of the same name with a murder mystery about a Detective Spooner of the Chicago police department who, in 2035, suspects a robot of murdering the scientist who created all robots.

The robotic models of mechanics and software perform mostly household functions like cooking and cleaning, and according to laws Asimov laid out, they cannot hurt humans. Their inability to do harm is written into their computer code.

But Spooner (Smith) distrusts all robots. Also, he is a survivor of a tragic car accident, and he lives with guilt from having survived. Spooner is not the in-charge, happy-go-lucky character Smith normally plays in movies like "Bad Boys" or "Men in Black." Spooner is angry, conflicted, confused.

Smith called Spooner's story in "I, Robot" a "wonderful, emotional journey you don't find in summer action movies."

There is a deeper level to the movie, too. Humans in 2035 treat robots like second-class citizens because they do the jobs no one else will.

In some cases, robots are reduced to slaves, and often it is African-American Spooner who has the least regard for them.

Those themes are for audiences who like to think. For fans who just want to see Smith crack jokes, flex muscles and blast robots, there is plenty of that, too.

Smith divides "I, Robot" into a "big story" of jokes, gunplay and action, and a "little story" of Spooner's journey.

"The big story is robots taking over the world ... but the little story is why people love a movie," Smith said, "And the little story is a guy who experienced a traumatic situation and is trying to come to grips with the way the world is."

For nearly two decades, Smith has lived a big story in rap music and in hit movies like "Independence Day" and with an Oscar nomination for "Ali." Now, it appears, the time is right for him to begin a newer, little story.
-Reuters