Will Smith Shares 31st Birthday Tribute for Son Trey: 'I Met God in Your Eyes'

The Academy Award-winner shared touching video to celebrate the birth of his eldest child

Will Smith is looking back to when he first became a father.

On Saturday, the Academy Award-winner, 55, celebrated his eldest child Trey Smith's 31st birthday with a heartfelt video on Instagram where he discussed the arrival of his son more than three decades ago.

Alongside the clip, Will wrote a heartfelt caption: "Happy Bday, T-Ball. You are responsible for some of the highest experiences of my life," he began, adding, "You introduced me to the true definition of Love! I met God in your eyes."

Will's video, which appeared to be of footage from when he was creating the audiobook for his 2021 memoir, Will, showed the actor reflecting on the day Trey was born before reciting lyrics from his 1997 hit "Just the Two of Us."

"Willard Carroll Smith III was born on November 11, 1992. From birth we called him Trey, 'cause he was the third Willard Smith," Will said at the beginning of the video.

He then launched into lyrics from the first verse of Big Willie Style track, including the lines: "That night I don't think one wink I slept. As I slipped out my bed, to your crib I crept. Touched your head gently, felt my heart melt. 'Cause I know I loved you more than life itself. Then to my knees, and I begged the Lord please. Let me be a good daddy, all he needs. Love, knowledge, discipline too. I pledge my life to you."

Related: Will Smith Realized He Wanted to Be on Camera While Making the 'Parents Just Don't Understand' Music Video

"That's the public depiction of Trey's birth and my introduction to fatherhood," Will added in the video. "But that first night was far more emotionally tumultuous than my poetic verse suggests."

The actor then explained that he was "overwhelmed with the immensity" of the responsibility ahead of him, and how he fell to his knees and prayed to God for help in being "a good daddy."

"Could I put food on the table and keep the lights on without fail? Would I be strong enough to fend off someone who came to kill him? It's 3 a.m., I'm on my knees, I'm just a little boy. I never wanted my daddy so bad in my life," Will said in the clip.

"And then, something clicked. Deep in a place where nothing had ever clicked before. A decision. An iron-clad conviction. I wiped my tears, I stood up, I gently touched Trey's head," he added. "And I knew there were only two possibilities, I was gonna be the best father this planet had ever seen. Or two, I was gonna be dead."

Related: Will Smith's 3 Children: All About Jaden, Willow and Trey

Several friends and fans reacted to Will's heartfelt Instagram message to his son in the comments section, including Chance the Rapper, Busta Rhymes and DJ Jazzy Jeff, the latter of whom wrote "Happy birthday nephew."

"THIS IS SO POWERFUL!! LOVE THIS," Rhymes wrote.

Will shares Trey with ex-wife Sheree Zampino, who also uploaded an Instagram tribute for her son. "Happy 31st Birthday my LOVE," she wrote alongside a photograph that showed her son in focus while she, who was next to him, and another man in the background were both slightly blurred.

Along with Trey, the Emancipation actor also shares two other children, son Jaden, 25, and daughter Willow, 23, with Jada Pinkett Smith.

Pinkett Smith, 52, also shared a birthday message for Will's eldest on Instagram, writing "Happy Birthday @treysmith0011!!!!" she wrote, adding, "You are one of the most incredible human beings I know and I love you beyond anything you could ever imagine😘❣️🎉"

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