The now popular, wealthy, and widely sought-after Hollywood actor Will Smith became famous back in the 80s, only at that time he was not an actor, but a singer-rapper who received a Grammy award for his musical achievements. The beginning of his acting career was the television series “The Prince of Beverly Hills”, in which he played the main role. Such a debut was so successful that the series became famous in many countries – in the United States itself, it was broadcast for six whole years. During this time, the novice actor receives a lot of lucrative offers.
His subsequent work was the low-budget film “Bad Boys”, which was released in 1995 and becomes for Will a ticket to the world of Hollywood blockbusters, where he gets only the main roles. These films are very quickly gaining worldwide popularity. And thanks to two films – “Independence Day” and “Men in Black”, viewers were able to appreciate the actor’s genuine optimism, and his heroism in times of danger that is approaching from beyond the borders of their native land. Also, the actor at one time was offered to star in the sensational at that time “Matrix”, but Smith preferred the film “Wild West”, which turned out to be a failure and did not bring glory to either Will himself or the director of the picture.
Childhood and youth
The actor was born on September 25, 1968, and became the second child of four. Will’s father ran a refrigerator company and his mother taught the children at school. The parents’ marriage bond collapsed when the teenager was 13 years old. During his school years, the actor received the nickname Prince. Peers could not help but notice his charm, charisma, and talent to extricate himself from any adversity thanks to the hanging tongue. Will was a diligent student, devoted a lot of time to study, and spent the rest on earnings. In Philadelphia, where Smith was born, black people lived in poverty, in addition, addicted to drugs. Will set himself the task of not wasting his youth and pulling his family out of the bottom. The future star graduated with honors from high school, which allowed him to receive a scholarship offer at the University of Technology of Massachusetts. However, Smith refused and relied on show business. We can say that this played a key role in the development of his career. A guy with a DJ named Jeff Townson, his friend, created the duo “DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince”. Smith rapped and wrote the lyrics for the tracks on his own. The beginnings of friends did not go unnoticed, and the composition “Parents Just Don’t Understand” became a real legend among the listeners. 1988 was a unique year in his career, as the two rappers were the first to win a Grammy. In the late eighties, the guys’ careers began to decline, so Smith decided to go into business and put his savings into cars. Will’s idea did not bring income, but on the contrary, drove him into debt.
Achievements and public recognition
Will Smith has many honorary awards in his arsenal, including four MTV awards. He also won numerous nominations such as Best Kiss, Best Fight, and Best Music, and the way he played the boxer Muhammad Ali brought the actor the most prestigious Hollywood award – the Oscar. One of his works, The Pursuit of Happiness, was also nominated for an Oscar, but this time it was not Smith who won the prize. Among his achievements are two Golden Globe awards and two Golden Raspberry anti-awards for his participation in the Wild West film (awards for the worst songs and the most unsuccessful on-screen couple). But the actor does not consider this a defeat, since, based on a personal negative experience, he always moves only forward. This is probably why Will Smith is ranked first in Forbes magazine, which has published a list of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood. Subsequent films with Smith’s participation (you can see them here) only add to his popularity and new fans, and also have multimillion box office receipts during the rental.
