Will Smith voices plans to enter political arena in ‘near future’

Will Smith has voiced his plans to enter the political arena in the “near future”.

Smith, 47, made the announcement during his first ever podcast interview where he talked about wanting to be “useful to people in this lifetime” – which is something he said his grandmother always hoped he would do.

Speaking to Scott Feinberg for the Hollywood Reporter, he said: "I’m a climber, so if I see a mountain, I have to climb it. I’m not a camper; I don’t like hanging in one place too long. So I think, at this point, I’m elevating my ability to be useful in the world. I think that that’s what my grandmother always hoped, that I would make myself useful to people in this lifetime.

"I’m working really hard and my storytelling is elevating, my ability to be eloquent with my body and with my voice and to deliver ideas as an actor is elevating.

“And, you know, as I look at the political landscape, I think that there might be a future out there for me. They might need me out there. This is the first year that I’ve been incensed to a level that I can’t sleep, you know? So I’m feeling that at some point, in the near future, I will have to lend my voice to the conversation in a somewhat different way."

The actor - who also discussed his latest role as Nigerian-born forensic pathologist Bennet Omalu in Concussion - said he doesn't see himself as being very talented.

“I don’t consider myself particularly talented – I consider myself slightly above average in talent – but nobody’s going to outwork me,” he said. “I am the most ridiculous hard working, you know, I’ll take a slight talent and add the skill to it and make it look magnificent, you know?”

The Men in Black actor isn’t the first celebrity of late to announce political plans.

Kanye West revealed his plans to run for presidency at the MTV VMA's just days before Lindsay Lohan also expressed a desire to join the race for the Whitehouse.