Since the early 2000s, producer and recording artist Pharrell Williams, known for hits with Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani, as well as his own chart-topper “Happy,” has been a major force in music.
At 51, Pharrell is also renowned for his youthful appearance. His secret to maintaining this youthful look is surprisingly simple and accessible for anyone to try at home.
“Believe it or not, exfoliation, man,” the 13-time Grammy winner told PEOPLE. “Exfoliation is the key.”
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So is it really that simple? Well, not exactly. There’s actually another ingredient that, for him, goes into looking forever young.
“Now, there is a routine, and you can find them online, but I think probably the most active portion of it all… No, it’s two. It’s exfoliating, but it’s also in here,” he said, pointing to his heart.
“It’s literally in here. That inner child, don’t ever silence it. Don’t ever [go], ‘Oh, I can’t do this anymore.’ No. That’s why you should absolutely do it right now. The people who want to put you in a box? They tried to do that to me too, and here we are.”
Pharrell’s new documentary, “Piece by Piece,” directed by Morgan Neville, hit theaters on October 11, as reported by PEOPLE.
Breaking from the traditional Behind the Music format, the film creatively tells its story with animated LEGO characters, living up to its title by constructing the narrative piece by piece.
Six or seven years ago when his agent suggested he do a documentary, Pharrell wasn’t really interested. Then his agent had another idea: “He was like, ‘Why don’t you just look at the [Lady] Gaga one [2017’s Gaga: Five Foot Two]? I mean, look how she did it.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, cool.’ And I saw it, and that was one of the things I was most impressed with when I did see it. I was like, ‘Oh, I saw her fingerprints all over this.'”
Pharrell just had two conditions. The first one: “I was like, ‘But I want to do it with Morgan Neville,’ because he had done 20 Feet from Stardom, and he had just done the Mr. Rogers [documentary], which was crazy,” Pharrell recalled. “And I was like, ‘Man, I can’t believe I get to work with the same guy.’ “
The second condition: “I said, ‘But I want to do it in LEGO.’ “
Pharrell’s project takes an innovative approach by using animated LEGO characters instead of traditional interviews, featuring custom LEGO representations of A-list friends like Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, JAY-Z, Snoop Dogg, and Busta Rhymes.
But why LEGOs? “Well, it’s what I always played with when I was young,” Pharrell explained. “It’s what I would get for Christmas. And then when [he and wife Helen Lasichanh] had our first [child], Rocket, I would always send him little LEGO sets or whatever, and pick them up from different places around the world.”
“And then right around that time [that he started thinking about the documentary], we had just had the triplets, and I knew that I wanted the triplets to hear and understand my story too. So, it just all made sense. You know what I mean? I wanted it so that they could see Dad tell his story.”
Piece by Piece is now playing in theaters.
