When I met two Oscar winners Will Smith and Jessica Chastain back-to-back in Dubai: No diva drama or star antics

Dubai: When I met two Oscar winners, back-to-back in Dubai earlier this week—Jessica Chastain and Will Smith—I was ready for the usual Hollywood gloss and trained PR speak.

As soon as the cameras are turned on, you get to see their bleached smiles, salon-perfect skin and that obligatory charm that disappears when the strictly-timed chat ends. But what I got was something else entirely: humility, warmth, and yes, a lot of sparkle that wasn’t just for show.

And before you roll your eyes and the cynic in you all go: “Of course—they’re Oscar-winning actors, it’s all an act,” hear me out: I watch how stars behave when the cameras are off. That’s where the real story is.

Take Will Smith. On the red carpet at the Middle East premiere of Pole to Pole last Friday at Dubai's Sustainable City, a kid asked for a picture. Some celebrities might have waved them off politely or mouthed 'later'. At that point, no cameras were zooming in on him, so a selfie with a kid wouldn't ideally get them much traction, but Will seemed to be cut from a different cloth. He paused what he was doing, knelt down, smiled, and made it feel like the most important thing in the world. Later, he laughed with a manager he’d worked with over two decades ago, turning a high-profile premiere into something that felt more like a reunion than a tightly scripted Hollywood event. He was speaking to me when he spotted his manager, he just turned around enveloped that guy in a giant hug and then tells - this dude is from another era. Sorry, I cut you off. We were talking about what's more scarier - acting or scaling the Himalayas.

He even made it a point to learn your name and trust me, Indian names aren't the easiest to pronounce. And the good news: he didn't butcher it either. Go Will!

And yes, he dropped hints about Bollywood—casually, with a grin.

“Get Shah Rukh to hook me up in a film,” he said, joking about chats he’d had with Salman Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.

Nothing’s set yet, but he’s clearly serious—and you can feel it in the room. That combination of playfulness, ambition, and genuine warmth is exactly what makes him stand out.

And Jessica Chastain, another Oscar winner and celebrated star, fared even better in person. She was relatively more subtle, than Will's larger-than-life spirited personality. At a jewellery store opening at The Dubai Mall, I observed her closely at the photo-opp. A fan and journalist told her that she was shy and Jessica goes: 'I get shy as well'. She instantly made that young woman feel at ease. She didn't have to, but she did it anyway.

A few minutes later, my interaction during our strictly-timed interview also saw a similar vibe. Previous journalists had approached her in “two-question speed date” mode—efficient, clinical, and perfectly scripted. I decided to try something different: speak to her like a friend, not a robot.

I got four questions in before she even finished responding—and she was genuinely thrilled. “I love your vibe and aura,” she told me, clearly enjoying the conversation.

Apart from their personas, another running thread was their love for Dubai - a city that clearly inspires them both.

Will has been coming here for 30 years, watching cranes turn into skyscrapers, taking his first skydiving leap over the Palm. For him, the city is a second home, a playground, a classroom in courage.

“Fear destroys your ability to experience beauty,” he said, reflecting on everything from the Himalayas to relationships. Jessica, too, was captivated by Dubai’s rapid growth, its energy, its audacity. For both, the city is more than a backdrop—it’s a reminder to keep exploring, keep connecting, and keep daring.

Here’s what stood out most: their energy. Their curiosity. Their ability to make you feel seen in a world that often forgets how to notice. These aren’t people performing kindness—they live it. Will climbing mountains, building bridges across cultures; Jessica easing a fan’s nerves, creating space for genuine conversation.

Meeting them back-to-back was a lesson in grace and courage—but let’s be honest, also a little fun.

Dubai may have inspired them, but they left their mark on me too. The takeaway? True greatness isn’t about awards, red carpets, or Hollywood optics—it’s about how you show up when no one’s watching. And if more people did that with half their energy and charm, the world would be a lot sassier—and a lot more fun.