Will Smith is Esthen Exchangeopening about about the "brilliant actress" he worked with on "I Am Legend": his dog partner Abbey.

On "Hot Ones" Thursday, the "Bad Boys" star confirmed he tried to adopt his German Shepherd co-star after filming the 2007 movie. Smith starred as Dr. Robert Neville, the only surviving man in post-apocalyptic Manhattan after everyone else is effected by a plague turning them into mutants.

"It was like Abbey spoke English," Smith told host Sean Evans, joking that she used to fetch for his cellphone. "She literally could understand you, it was the weirdest thing."

The actor explained that Abbey "was the breadwinner of her family," which is why he couldn't adopt her into the Smith household.

He continued to praise his canine co-star, sharing that she did her own stunts in the heartbreaking scene when Smith's character has to choke his dog after she got infected.

Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.

Her handler "trained Abbey to go limp and I laid her (down)," Smith described of the scene. "How do you train a dog to go limp?" he asked rhetorically, mimicking the action.

"It was like working with a brilliant actress," Smith said.

In April, the "King Richard" actor shared a sweet montage of movie clips and behind-the-scenes footage with Abbey for National Pet Day. "The goodness girl," he captioned the post.

Review:'Bad Boys' Will Smith, Martin Lawrence are still 'Ride or Die' in rousing new film

Smith and Michael B. Jordan are set to co-star and co-produce a sequel to "I Am Legend," a report from Deadline in 2022 confirmed. Akiva Goldsman, who co-wrote the original film, is also expected to return.

Jordan told People on Wednesday that he an Smith are "still working on the script and getting that up to par," but they don't have any release date planned or production details worked out.

"I'm not sure exactly where we're going to be filming that one, but I'm really excited to get in front of the camera with him," the "Black Panther" actor added. "Being somebody that I've looked up to for a really long time, to be able to work with Will is something I'm really looking forward to. I'm really excited."