Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968)
is an American actor,
film producer and
rapper. He is one of a small group of people who have enjoyed success in three major entertainment
media in the United States.
Newsweek has called him the most powerful actor on the planet.
Smith has been nominated for a
Golden Globe, two
Academy Awards, and has won multiple
Grammys.
Smith rose to fame as a rapper under the name the
Fresh Prince in the late 1980s. Smith's most notable television role was that of
William "Will" Smith in
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. In his film work, his notable roles include
Agent J in
Men in Black and its
sequel,
Men in Black II, Detective Del Spooner in
I, Robot,
Muhammad Ali in
Ali, Detective Mike Lowrey in
Bad Boys and its sequel,
Bad Boys II, as well as his role in the blockbuster
Independence Day and more recently as
Chris Gardner in
The Pursuit of Happyness with his son
Jaden Smith and as Robert Neville in
I Am Legend with his daughter
Willow Smith. He is the only actor in history to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office as well as being the only actor to have eight consecutive films open at #1 on the domestic box office as a Lead Actor. If Lakeview Terrace is included (a film which he only produced) he has 9 consecutive films opening at #1.
Life and career
Early life and education
Smith, an
African American,
[Will Smith: So perfect it's disgusting] was born and raised in
West Philadelphia and
Germantown in
Northwest Philadelphia. His mother, Caroline (
née Bright), was a school administrator who worked for the Philadelphia school board, and his father, Willard Christopher Smith, Sr., was a refrigeration engineer.
[Will Smith Biography (1968-)] He was raised
Baptist.
[www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ent/movies/5377381.html] His parents divorced when he was thirteen.
Smith's charming and sly demeanor in school resulted in the nickname "Prince", which eventually turned into the "Fresh Prince". While still in his teens, Smith began rapping and eventually began collaborating with
Jeff Townes (a.k.a.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff), whom he met at a party. He attended
Overbrook High School in
West Philadelphia.
D.J. Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince was born with Smith handling the rhymes and Townes overseeing the mastery of mixing and scratchingndash the combination was a pop and hip-hop hit during the 1980s and early 1990s.
While it is widely reported that Smith turned down a scholarship to attend the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he never applied to MIT,
although he was admitted to a "pre-engineering program" there.
According to Smith, "My mother, who worked for the
School Board of Philadelphia, had a friend who was the admissions officer at MIT. I had pretty high
SAT scores and
they needed black kids, so I probably could have gotten in. But I had no intention of going to college."
Career
Smith started as the
MC of the hip-hop duo
DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend
Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as
turntablist and
producer as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "
Parents Just Don't Understand" and "
Summertime." They gained critical acclaim for winning the first ever Grammy in the Rap category (1988). He had a line in "
Voices That Care", a 1991
Gulf War song by a celebrity group. Smith spent money freely during his early career and underpaid his income taxes. The
Internal Revenue Service eventually assessed a $2.8 million tax debt against Smith, took many of his possessions, and
garnished his income.
Smith was nearly bankrupt in 1990 when the
NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a
sitcom,
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. The show was successful and launched his acting career. Smith set himself the goal of becoming "'the biggest movie star in the world'," studying
box office successes' common characteristics.
Although he made a notable dramatic film debut in
Six Degrees of Separation while still appearing in
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith's film career took off with his role in the
buddy cop action film Bad Boys (1995) along with co-star
Martin Lawrence.
After
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ended May 20, 1996, Smith began a successful solo music career while simultaneously starring in a series of films. The first two films were hugely successful summer blockbusters:
Independence Day (1996), in which he played a fearless and confident fighter pilot, and
Men in Black (1997), where he played the comic and confident
Agent J against
Tommy Lee Jones' deadpan
Agent K. Smith's acting in
Men in Black won critical praise. He originally rejected the lead role in
Men in Black, but wife
Jada Pinkett Smith coaxed him into acceptance. The two films established Smith's commercial reputation as a
bankable star whose appeal across age, race, and gender lines could "open" a film at the box office, a reputation Smith would begin to term a "Big Willie Weekend". In 1998 he starred with Gene Hackman in
Enemy of the State which had a seemingly far-fetched plot at the time but has become more and more plausible as the 'surveillance society' becomes more of a reality. Smith turned down the role of
Neo in
The Matrix in favor of
Wild Wild West. Despite the failure of
Wild Wild West, Smith has said that he harbors no regrets about his decision, asserting that
Keanu Reeves's performance as Neo was superior to what Smith would have achieved.
[Smith has no Matrix Regrets] Smith then went on to gain leading roles in several box office successes including
Men in Black II,
Bad Boys II,
Hitch, and
I, Robot.
Smith is one of only two hip-hop artists to receive an
Oscar nomination in an acting categoryspecify (
Best Actor,
Ali, 2001), for his portrayal of the boxer
Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay, in the
biopic. He was again nominated for Best Actor
Oscar for his role in another true-life movie,
The Pursuit of Happyness, where he played
Chris Gardner in his rags-to-riches story.
Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith created the
UPN (later
CW) sitcom
All of Us, which was loosely based on their lives. The show debuted on UPN in September 2003 and aired there for three seasons before moving to The CW in October 2006 for one more season. The CW cancelled
All of Us in May 2007.
Smith appeared as himself in
Jersey Girl delivering the
Silent Bob speech that appears in nearly all
Kevin Smith movies. The lead character's situation is due to the claim, "Will Smith is just a rapper."
Smith also released a string of hit singles, often associated with his most recent film, throughout the late 1990s. The most notable of these were his #1 hit theme song "
Men in Black", the #1 hit "
Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" (which made
jiggy a
catchphrase for a while in 1998), and a cover of "
Just the Two of Us", an affectionate message to his young son. His first two solo albums went
platinum, but his third, on
Columbia Records, was a sales disappointment compared to his past efforts, and after a quick Greatest Hits release that was almost not advertised at all, he was dropped by the label. He signed a recording contract with
Interscope Records and released the successful
Lost & Found in 2005. The album was propelled solely on the smash hit single, "Switch", which appealed to the mainstream a la "Summertime". The single stayed atop the charts for months and returned Smith to the forefront of hip-hop.
In 2005, Smith was entered into the
Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record breaking three premieres in a 24-hour time span.
On July 2, 2005, Smith served as host for the
Live 8 concert in his native Philadelphia in front of an enormous crowd, and later performed a set with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith appeared at
Nickelodeon Kid's Choice awards in 2005 performing "Switch", as well as the
Black Entertainment Television awards in 2005. He appeared in the second game of the NBA Finals (San Antonio vs. Detroit) performing "Switch" in 2005. Smith also made a special appearance in the reality talent contest show "
Indian Idol", when he visited India.
Smith was considered for the role of John Smith in the movie
Mr. and Mrs. Smith;
Brad Pitt eventually received the role.
[Who was considered for Mr. & Mrs. Smith?] He was also considered for the role of
Willy Wonka in the remake of the film
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
[Who was considered for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?] He has planned to star in a feature film remake of the television series
It Takes a Thief.
Smith was recognized on December 10, 2007, at
Grauman's Chinese Theater on
Hollywood Blvd. Smith left an imprint of his hands and feet outside the world renowned theater in front of many fans.
[HHWorlds.com - Will Smith Immortalized At Grauman's Chinese Theater]
Smith appeared in the film
I Am Legend, released December 14, 2007. Despite marginally positive reviews,
[Rotten Tomatoes: I Am Legend] its opening was the largest ever for a film released in the United States during December. Smith himself has said that he considers the film to be "aggressively unique".
[Will Smith: He is a legend video interview with stv.tv, December 2007] Smith is developing a film entitled
The Last Pharaoh, which he will star as
Taharqa.
stated that if a film were to ever be made about his life, he would have Smith play his part, because "he has the ears". Obama stated that the two have discussed a possibility of a film based on the 2008 election.
On
December 1,
2008,
TV Guide reported that Smith has been selected as one of America’s top ten most fascinating people of 2008 for a
Barbara Walters ABC special that aired on
December 4,
2008.
[Barbara Walters Gets Up Close with 2008's Most Fascinating People" TV Guide. December 1, 2008. Retrieved on December 3 2008.]
Personal life
Smith married Sheree Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher III, also known as "
Trey", but divorced in 1995. Trey appeared in his father's music video for the 1998 single "Just The Two Of Us". Smith married actress
Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have had two children:
Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998), his co-star in
The Pursuit of Happyness, and
Willow Camille Reign, who appeared as his daughter in "I Am Legend" (born 2000). Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc.,
[Treyball Development] a
Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son.
Smith has been consistently listed in
Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40. Smith and his family reside on
Star Island (Florida) in
Miami, Florida and in Los Angeles,
Stockholm, Sweden and
Philadelphia. Smith donated a large amount of money to assist
Katrina victims. Smith donated $4,600 to the presidential campaign of
Democrat Barack Obama.
Smith has said he has studied multiple religions including
Scientology and he has said many complimentary things about Scientology and other faiths. He and his wife are close friends of prominent Scientologists
Tom Cruise and
Katie Holmes, which has led to rumors that Smith is also a Scientologist. Although Smith has said, "I just think a lot of the ideas in Scientology are brilliant and revolutionary and non-religious."
and, "Ninety-eight percent of the principles in Scientology are identical to the principles of the
Bible.... I don't think that because the word someone uses for spirit is '
thetan' that the definition becomes any different",
he has denied having joined the Scientology Church, saying "I am a Christian. I am a student of all religions, and I respect all people and all paths."
After Jada made the film
Collateral with Cruise in 2004, the couple donated
USD$20,000 to Scientology's literacy campaign, called HELP, The Hollywood Education and Literacy Program, which is the basis for Scientology's home-schooling system.
After finishing work on the film
Hancock, Smith gave crew members gift cards for a
Scientology personality test at any Church of Scientology center as a wrap present, despite the fact that initial personality tests given by the organization are usually free.
The tax returns from his charitable organization, The Will Smith Foundation, indicate that in 2007, the Foundation donated $122,500 to the Church of Scientology.
[Will Smith Gives 1.3 Million to Charity Fox News, December 17, 2008]
Discography
Filmography
Seven Pounds
| Ben Thomas
| Producer
|
Box office grosses
| Year |
| Title |
| Budget |
| Gross (US) |
| Gross (Worldwide inc US) |
| 1993 | Made in America | N/A | $44,942,695 | $104,942,695
|
| 1993 | Six Degrees of Separation | N/A | $6,410,676 [Lifetime Gross, Will Smith Boxofficemojo.com] | N/A
|
| 1995 | Bad Boys | $23m | $65,807,024 | $141,407,024
|
| 1996 | Independence Day | $75m | $306,169,268 | $816,969,268
|
| 1997 | Men in Black | $90m | $250,690,539 | $589,390,539
|
| 1998 | Enemy of the State | $90m | $111,549,836 | $250,649,836
|
| 1999 | Wild Wild West | $170m | $113,745,408 | $222,105,681
|
| 2000 | The Legend of Bagger Vance | $80m | $30,695,227 | $39,459,427
|
| 2001 | Ali | $107m | $58,183,966 | $87,713,825
|
| 2002 | Men in Black II | $140m | $190,418,803 | $441,818,803
|
| 2003 | Bad Boys II | $130m | $138,396,624 | $273,339,556
|
| 2004 | I, Robot | $120m | $144,801,023 | $347,234,916
|
| 2004 | Shark Tale | $75m | $160,861,908 | $367,275,019
|
| 2005 | Hitch | $70m | $179,495,555 | $368,100,420
|
| 2006 | The Pursuit of Happyness | $55m | $163,566,459 | $307,069,059
|
| 2007 | I Am Legend | $150m | $256,393,010 | $584,137,442
|
| 2008 | Hancock | $150m | $227,946,274 | $624,029,371
|
Further reading
