Will Smith has revealed he has “absolutely” experienced racism and prejudice during his glittering career.

The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air star said racism is rare but when he comes into contact with it he gets away from those people as fast as possible.

Will sat down with Sir Michael Caine, Joel Edgerton, Samuel L Jackson, Benicio Del Toro and Mark Ruffalo for The Hollywood Reporter’s actor roundtable and said he had recently discussed the topic of prejudice with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

He said: “My wife and I were just having this conversation, and we were going to the dictionary for “prejudice” versus “racism”. Everybody is prejudiced. Everybody has their life experiences that make them prefer one thing over another — it makes them prefer blonde hair over a brunette; if you see somebody with dark skin walking down the street, you have a different reaction than you have [with] someone who is 5′ 1″ and white.

“But there is a connotation with racism of superiority – you feel that your race generally is superior. And I have to say, I live with constant prejudice, but racism is actually rare — someone who thinks their race is superior. I don’t want to work for them. I don’t want to work at that company. And the times I have come in contact with it, you get away from those people.”

Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith on the red carpet at the 2015 Latin Grammys
Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith (Al Powers/Invision)

Asked if he had come in contact with it, he said: “Oh, God, yes. Yeah, absolutely.”

However, Will said he felt he comes from a position of strength when it comes to squashing hate.

“As actors we have the ultimate power. Historically, story combined with imagery moves humanity forward. What we do — not that it’s a responsibility, but it is the ultimate forum for changing people’s hearts and minds. So when I’m choosing a movie, I understand the global power of being able to send imagery around the world.

“A large part of the way that America is viewed globally is from the historical imagery that we have sent around the world through cinema. Any time I put something in the world, I am always connecting to an idea. I’m always asking, ‘Why am I making this?’.”

Will also opened up about why he turned down a role in Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning film Django Unchained.

Asked if he was offered the film, Will replied: “I was trying to avoid that [topic]. It was about the creative direction of the story. To me, it’s as perfect a story as you could ever want – a guy that learns how to kill to retrieve his wife that has been taken as a slave. That idea is perfect.

“And it was just that Quentin and I couldn’t see [eye to eye]. I wanted to make the greatest love story that African-Americans had ever seen.”

Director Quentin Tarantino posing for photos while promoting Django Unchained in Cancun, Mexico
Django Unchained director Quentin Tarantino (Alexandre Meneghini/AP)

He added: “We talked, we met, we sat for hours and hours about it. I wanted to make that movie so badly, but I felt the only way was, it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story. I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence. So when I’m looking at that, it’s like: ‘No, no, no. It has to be for love.’

“We can’t look at what happens in Paris [the terrorist attacks] and want to f*** somebody up for that. Violence begets violence. So I just couldn’t connect to violence being the answer. Love had to be the answer.”

Will’s new movie Concussion arrives in UK cinemas on January 29, 2016.