Style & Culture

On Location: Explorer Dwayne Fields on Traveling to Iceland with Will Smith for ‘Welcome to Earth’

Lifting the curtain on the destinations behind the season's most exciting new releases.
aerial view of red kayak on water
Disney 

Ever wonder what it might be like to rappel into the hole of a glacier in Iceland alongside Will Smith? Polar explorer Dwayne Fields doesn't have to guess. As part of the new Disney+ series Welcome to Earth, hosted by none other than actor and rapper Smith himself, National Geographic explorers like Fields joined the star on adventures to far-flung destinations like the South Pacific island of Vanuatu and the Namibian desert, in Smith's effort to challenge himself and learn about their natural mysteries.

And don't think Smith is an observer on these outings: When the show hits the streaming platform on December 8, audiences will see him visit the bottom of the ocean with marine biologist Diva Amon; descend into an active volcano with blind explorer Erik Weihenmayer; and, you guessed it, traverse an Icelandic glacier alongside Fields. Suffice to say, it's the perfect antidote to the year-and-a-half many of us have clocked on our couches. 

The sixth episode of Welcome to Earth follows Dwayne Fields and Will Smith to Iceland.

Disney

To get the behind-the-scenes intel on that glacier moment and so much more, we sat down with Fields, who joins Smith on the show's sixth episode. Below, he shares the most impressive spots they visited while filming, how he became an explorer in the first place, and why he's still pinching himself that the trip with Smith was real.

Would you ever have believed that, one, explorer would be your job title and, two, that you'd end up in Iceland with Will Smith?

When I was younger, I thought I was going to end up with one of four jobs: a taxi driver; a farmer; I'd operate a pushcart, like my cousins did to earn money; or I'd do something with mechanics. Those were the only jobs I saw around me as a kid in Jamaica.

But like you, like every other person [reading] this, when we're born, we're all explorers. We're all inquisitive about the world. When I was six years old, I moved to London and I was trying to fit in, so I left that side of me behind. I stopped being inquisitive. I gave up on who I was through my teenage years, all the way into my early 20s—until I decided, after an incident that nearly cost me my life, that I would be myself. I wouldn't do things to play to the crowd or to please my peers. [That led to] looking back through my life and saying, Well, Dwayne, who are you and when were you happiest? And that happened to be when I was four, five, six years old playing in the woods near my house in Jamaica. And I thought, that's what you need to pursue as an adult.

Fields while filming in the Studlagil Basalt Canyon

Disney

Fields and Smith atop Iceland's Breiðamerkurjökull glacier

Disney

What was it like traveling with Will? Were there any memorable moments you two shared?

I didn't believe this was happening until maybe 10 seconds after I gave this guy a massive high five and he gave me a massive hug [while on location]. I kind of paused and looked at him, just to make sure. And that's when I realized, this is really happening: It's Will Smith, you're taking him on this whirlwind expedition, and you're going to see some awesome stuff. In all honesty, in that moment Will was just another person. He was warm, he was welcoming, he shared his own stories and experiences. It was just me and a friend out on a walk, out on an expedition, out for an experience. 

He was such a good person to work with because he did exactly what I hope every single person that I bring on an expedition would do. He came with an open mind. He was willing to learn and he was so curious about everything. He didn't hide the fact that he had some anxieties. There were moments, like when we stood at the edge of [Studlagil] Basalt Canyon, and the river that was flowing through was flowing fast—you can see whitewater rapids further down. I could tell he was anxious, but he's got this way of just pausing, taking a breath, and then it's, Let's go. When you're an explorer, you don't want somebody who's going to say, “I'm not doing that because I'm frightened or because it makes me anxious.” You want someone that's gonna say, “It makes me anxious but I'm willing to try.”

The worlds of travel show hosts and explorers are not, typically, very inclusive or representative spaces. Why do you think it's important that viewers get to see you and Will exploring together?

Let's be honest, it's highly unlikely you'll see two Black guys on a show that involves exploration. It just doesn't happen. So it's great that [viewers] get to see that, but it's also great that they get to see people like Diva [Amon], people like Eric [Weihenmayer], people like Albert [Lin], and Christina [Mittermeier], because I'm hoping that every single person that watches this series will see us, and they might take something from Diva's experience or they might take something from Eric's. Eric is visually impaired, and he is not your “normal” explorer. Albert is an amputee, he's not your “normal” explorer. And goodness knows my face isn't the face of a “normal” explorer. So I'm hopeful that some people [see us and] think, I can do it too. 

Smith and Fields after a kayaking excursion in Iceland

Disney

Your Welcome to Earth episode was filmed across Iceland, from the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier in Vatnajökull National Park to Stuðlagil Canyon in Egilsstadir. Where should readers make a point to visit?

Iceland is a stunning place. You've got the black sand beaches that seem to go on forever. You've got the hot vents, the volcanic vents, and those are places that anyone can visit. It's an introduction to a completely different world. The Blue Lagoon is the most beautiful place—you get the sense of a glacier moving, as the faces of glaciers fall away and drift past you. You feel like you're watching something immense and, in fact, you are. It's such an alive and dynamic place. 

Now that the show has wrapped filming: Are there any destinations or experiences that you're still waiting to check off your personal wish list?

I have this fascination with the Gobi Desert now. It's one of those places that's magical, it's ever changing. It's got so many different environments in this one huge region. The people there are so unique. I just have this need to go and visit. I want to go to every single continent and walk through every desert to see how people live. I want to visit every jungle. I want to go to Antarctica, where I'm going next year with a group of young people. I want to see the entire planet because I know I will love everywhere, and I want to introduce more people to more places. I think an explorer's job is to go and see and feel and get a sense of a place, and bring that information back to others.