Will Smith was inspired to become a star by a girlfriend who cheated on him.

Will Smith

Will Smith

The 47-year-old actor - who is now happily married to actress Jada Pinkett-Smith - revealed being cheated on at the age of 15 left him determined to succeed in Hollywood.

He told Benecio del Toro in a new interview for Variety: "When I was 15, my girlfriend cheated on me. And from that moment, in this bizarre psychological twist, I wanted to be the most famous entertainer on Earth."

While Will suffered heartbreak in his youth, these days he could not be happier with his wife and says the key to a long lasting marriage is never giving up.

He explained previously: "We've been married 20 years and we've been asking ourselves [what's the secret to marriage] and really at the end of the day it's just not quitting, You can't expect it to be easy, it's like our marriage was the most difficult, excruciating thing that we have ever taken on in our lives. And, you know, were just not quitters.

"We only ever worked on ourselves individually and then presented ourselves to one another better than we were previously."