Will Smith receives appreciation from Denzel Washington after grabbing SAG award for best actor

Will Smith is overjoyed after winning his first SAG award at the 28th Annual Screen Actor Guild Awards.

On Sunday, The Pursuit of Happyness star took home the award for outstanding performance by a male actor for his part in King Richard.

Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to appreciate his close relationship with "mentor" Denzel Washington.

"We've spent a lot of time together. So we've been talking, he's always been a mentor for me and he grabbed me and he said, 'This is your year,' " Smith told PEOPLE (the TV Show!) host Kay Adams after he won his award.

"He just hugged me and he said, 'I'm so happy for you. Just love who you're becoming,' " he said.

Continued Smith: "He knew me years ago, I would go to Denzel for advice so he's seen me through the years and he was just telling me how proud he is of who I've become and what I've become. He was saying that he felt like a weight was lifted off of his shoulders somehow."

Additionally, Smith got candid about the upward trajectory of his career as an actor, calling it "a beautiful time in my life."

"The combination of working on King Richard and the work I had to do as an actor, I was doing it while I was working on the book," he said backstage at the SAG Awards.

The 28th Annual SAG Awards are being broadcast live on TNT and TBS Sunday, Feb. 27.