The year was 1996. Will Smith, ascendant from the smashing success of Independence Day, and Tommy Lee Jones, recovering from Batman Forever, got into a hermetically sealed cockpit to film one of the more iconic moments from Men in Black when Smith let out an unforgettably bad fart.

The “Men in Black” director joked about having to pause filming for hours after the actor caused a stink on set with co-star Tommy Lee Jones.

Will Smith is one of the most legendary actors in the world, but according to filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld, he’s known for something else as well. During a recent appearance on Kelly Ripa’s podcast Let’s Talk Off Camera (via EW),

Will Smith accidentally deployed a biological stink bomb during the making of “Men in Black,” according to director Barry Sonnenfeld. During Wednesday’s episode of the podcast “Let’s Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa,

Will Smith farted "so bad," he cleared a movie set for three hours, according to 'Men in Black' director Barry Sonnenfeld.

“There are locks to prevent it from opening and falling,” Sonnenfeld told Ripa, 54. “I say, ‘Roll camera,’ and I hear Will Smith go, ‘Oh Jesus, so sorry. Tommy, so sorry. Baz, get the ladder.’ And you hear Tommy saying, ‘That’s fine, Will. No worries, Will. Don’t worry, Will.’ ”

"You really don't wanna be inside a very small hermetically sealed space with a Will Smith fart," the filmmaker said.

Men in Black” director Barry Sonnenfeld appeared on the "Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa" podcast and revealed the set of the 1997 action comedy once had to be evacuated “for about three hours” because Will Smith farted.

Director Barry Sonnenfeld has revealed that star Will Smith once shut down filming on Men In Black by unleashing a bit of a Noisy Cricket of his own on the movie’s set. Was that too oblique? It’s possible that was too oblique: The man farted,