‘Slow Horses’ Writer Will Smith Drops Sly Joke About Actor Who Shares His Name at Emmy Awards

Will Smith walked onto the stage at the Emmy Awards on Sunday night. Still, any tension associated with that name and the awards stage was quickly assuaged when he opened his mouth to accept the outstanding writing for a drama series award.

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“First of all, relax. Despite my name, I come in peace,” Smith, who is not the famous actor, but the showrunner for the Apple TV hit series Slow Horses, told the crowd at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. The crowd laughed at the callback to one of the most notorious moments in recent awards show history.

Many will recall what has been dubbed “the slap,” when the actor Will Smith, of Men in Black and King Richard fame, walked onto the stage during Chris Rock’s presentation and slapped him across the face. This attack on live TV, which shocked the show’s guests and those watching worldwide, was spurred by a joke Rock made about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s bald head; the actor and talk show host and wife of the actor Will Smith, has alopecia.

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The callback from the lesser-known Will Smith, the British Emmy-winning writer, received a surprised roar of laughter from the Emmys’ audience. Smith’s series is now in its fourth season following a breakthrough third season. He went on to thank author Mick Herron, whose thriller novel Slough House series of books is the source for the series from European TV exec Jay Hunt, his team of writers, “and most of all, Gary Oldman and all of the actors” on Slow Horses also got a mention.

Smith is a comedian who worked on several seasons of Veep , for which he wrote 9 episodes, and The Thick of It , the other political satire from across the pond from showrunner Armondo Ianucci. He’s also worked in Avenue 5 and Back and Damned.

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