Actors earn the right to tour the globe by staging fictitious exploits in some of the world’s most beautiful sites, but how familiar are these actors with their stage? Welcome to Earth, a National Geographic film just released on Disney +, chose to do exactly that, placing national treasure Will Smith in charge of traversing some of the planet’s most stunning and toughest terrains. “I have a confession to make,” Smith says in the teaser for the new series. “I’ve never climbed a mountain or swum in a lake,” says the narrator. Once upon a time, I was in a cave. I’m starting to think there’s something I’m missing.”
Perhaps an intriguing option for a series in which the star is tasked with mounting volcanic peaks, diving to twilight depths, and navigating their way off an Icelandic glacier utilizing wilderness skills. You might question how National Geographic’s insurance coverage could cover such an undertaking, but Smith was not alone.
A group of seasoned experts, several of whom are National Geographic Explorers, accompanied the self-described unskilled explorer on his journey. Without giving too much away, Smith is able to make it to the conclusion of the series without dying or being too overwhelmed because to their expertise and wisdom. However, Smith said, “I’m an actor — I fake for a living.”
We had the opportunity to sit down with two of the series’ explorers to learn more about their lives and experiences, as well as how it feels to utilize your job and passion to help less experienced explorers along the way.
First, we spoke with Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind explorer to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 2001. Weihenmayer joins Smith on a trip to Vanuatu, a South Pacific island, to encounter a sound that you can feel but not hear. We also chatted with Diva Amon, a marine scientist and National Geographic Emerging Explorer who has been to Antarctica and the Mariana Trench to study deep-sea ecosystems. Amon takes Smith on a submersible excursion to view “one of the most magnificent bioluminescent displays” she has seen in her 2,000 hours beneath the sea in her episode.
