Jaden Smith: Dad Will Smith is "really just cool"

Father-son acting duo Will and Jaden Smith will appear on screen in the sci-fi adventure "After Earth," and in anticipation of the film's release (it opens Friday), the two opened up to New York Magazine about family life and working together.

In the interview, Smith said his 14-year-old son's decision to become an actor was made on his own.

"It may seem like we have pushed our kids into the business, but that is absolutely insane," the actor, 44, told the magazine. "I would never, ever, push somebody to have their face on a poster that's going be everywhere in the world. He is making a choice from the informed."

"It's less scary to me than if he wanted to be a dentist in that I couldn't help with what he'd chosen," he continued. "I have relationships with some of the biggest filmmakers and actors and producers on Earth. So I can be a huge help."

Smith added that his daughter, Willow, 12, recently changed her mind about pursuing a singing career.

"Willow chose singing and then un-chose it," he revealed. "She said, 'Daddy, I want to go to school with my friends during the week, and I want to hang out with them on the weekends.' At the peak of 'Whip My Hair,' she's like, 'Daddy, I'm done.' I was like, 'Wow, wow, wow. No, baby, I got 'Annie' [the upcoming movie remake, co-produced by Jay-Z], you know. It'll be New York, you'll be with Beyonce. You can bring your friends.' And she said, 'Daddy, I got a better idea. How about I just be 12?' At the end of the day, it has to be their choice." ("Beasts of the Southern Wild" star Quvenzhane Wallis, 9, has since signed on for the title role in "Annie.")

This is the second time the Smiths have starred in a movie together (the first was "The Pursuit of Happyness"), and they say they'd do another. But despite working together in Hollywood, Jaden says their father-son relationship is a normal one.

"He's, like, really just cool," he said of his dad. "He lets us have our freedom as long as we can control our freedom."