7 Facts About Generation Star Justice Smith — Including That He Drives His Mom's Old Honda

With a unique name like Justice, one might expect there to be an exciting story behind the choice. But the Detective Pikachu actor admitted in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel that his mom partially wanted to name him Justice as a joke.

"She thought it was funny," he told Jimmy. "Both my parents are singers, and she thought I was going to be a singer, too, and she wanted to name me something unique like 'Water' or 'Wood' or something like that. I'm happy that she didn't name me Wood!"

His mom clearly had some pretty big dreams for her son, since she thought the name would sound pretty legendary in a crowd. "She was like, 'Oh! I got it. I'm going to name him Justice, so that way when he becomes a singer, and the audience is waiting for him, they'll chant, 'We want Justice! We want Justice!'" he said.

Justice grew up in Anaheim, CA, which is home to the Disneyland theme park. As a teen, Justice already knew he wanted to be an actor, and hoped to work as a character actor at Disneyland over the summer. He even applied for a job there, but was rejected.

He told Jimmy Kimmel that instead of Disneyland, he worked at Knott's Berry Farm, which he jokingly called "Bootleg Disneyland." He wasn't interested in being one of the cowboy or pioneer characters at the park, and instead took visitors' tickets at the park entrance.

Getting mistaken as actor Will Smith's son has become commonplace for Justice since he's made a name for himself in Hollywood. In addition to sharing the same last name, Justice's name begins with a J, just like Will Smith's actual son, Jaden Smith, whom Justice costarred with on The Get Down. Justice told Jimmy Kimmel that he's faced accusations of nepotism because people have thought that he's the Fresh Prince's son, and even once had an Uber driver who thought he was part of their superstar family.

Justice is often associated with his Generation character Chester's outgoing personality and eye-catching outfits, but Justice said he didn't share Chester's confidence in what he wore during high school. "I was a little more meek," he told Entertainment Tonight of his style in high school. "I was experimenting. I didn't really know who I was, and I was trying to figure it out."

In 2020, Justice spoke about his queer identity for the first time on social media as well as his relationship with Nicholas L. Ashe, an actor who worked alongside him in the film Queen Sugar. They've since parted ways but have nothing but love for each other, with Justice saying in a 2021 interview that the relationship "really opened [him] up as a person."

It's not uncommon for budding Hollywood stars to have to dress themselves sans stylist in the early years of their careers. That was the case for Justice at his first red carpet experience, the 2015 MTV Movie Awards. Without a stylist, Justice had to search through his closet for a red-carpet-worthy outfit. "I wore a suit that I found in the back of my closet and some dirty tennis shoes," he told BuzzFeed. "It's on the internet; it is disgraceful."

Justice might be growing in celebrity status, but he's not into being flashy. The Paper Towns actor relies on his mom's silver Honda Accord. It was his first car when he originally started driving and has lasted him all these years.