London: Hollywood star Will Smith has credited Muhammad Ali changing his life after portraying the boxing champion in the 2001 biopic Ali.
Ali died on June 3 at the age of 74, following a 32-year battle with Parkinson's disease. His passing emerged days after he was admitted to a medical center in Phoenix, Arizona, for respiratory complications.
Smith, who earned his first ever Oscar nomination for his role as the outspoken sports star in Ali, took to Facebook to honour the man he had come to call a friend.
"You shook up the World! My Mentor & My Friend. You changed my Life. Rest in Peace," the 47-year-old actor wrote.
Smith also shared two photos of himself with the late legend, including one behind-the-scenes shot from the making of Ali.
Smith said channeling the heavyweight champion was "the greatest of all times. The champ looked at me and gave me the nod that I did a good job. I worked as hard as I could possibly have worked."
Last year, Smith presented the Muhammad Ali Legacy Award to Jack Nicklaus at Sports Illustrated magazine's annual Sportsperson of the Year dinner where he praised The Champ.
"But when we think about the legacy of Muhammad Ali, what he did in the ring is not what we think about," said Smith. "For nearly two years, I worked to transform myself into the man who changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali and shook up the world.
That's really what makes my job so beautiful as an actor," Smith continued. "For four or five months at a time, I get to wear people's lives, so I got to wear Muhammad Ali's greatness.
I got to study and feel and embody the soul of the man. From the foundations of Islam and the strength of his Muslim faith and his life to the beautiful wake that he always leaves in his magnificent path."
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