Will Smith was born on September 25, 1968, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was brought up in the family of school teacher Caroline and engineer Willard Christopher. When he was thirteen years old, his parents decided to break up. Later and in adulthood, the actor had to face a divorce: in 1995, he divorced his first wife, Cheri Zempino. He was married to her for three years, and they have a common child, Willard Christopher Smith III, who stayed with Sheri after the divorce. Later, Will Smith decided to tie fate with his friend Jada Pinkett. The second wife gave him a son, Jaden, and a daughter, Willow. The actor has already managed to act in movies with his children.
Musical career
Even as a teenager, Will was interested in music, in particular rap. Together with their friend Jeff Townes (DJ Jazzy Jeff) and later with Clarence Holmes, they formed their group DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. The group enjoyed great popularity among teenagers, performing humorous sketches in the rap style, and in 1988 even won a Grammy. Will Smith was so successful in the group that he even turned down a college scholarship upon graduation.
Film career
Will Smith’s popularity among young people attracted the attention of NBC producers and in 1990 he was offered a contract on the sitcom Fresh Prince with Bel-Air. In the sitcom, Will Smith played the role of a teenager similar to himself under his stage name – The Fresh Prince. The television series, thanks in large part to Smith’s comic talent, enjoyed great popularity among the American audience and is considered the beginning of his acting career. When the sitcom was closed in 1996, Will Smith continued to rap as a solo artist.
In 1995, Will Smith starred in the action movie Bad Boys (1995). The film’s budget was only $ 23 million. A little later, Orange News recognized Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as the best on-screen pair of police officers.
In 1996, he was invited to play in the film “Independence Day”, where he played the dramatic role of a fighter pilot in the fight against alien invaders. This tape became a blockbuster and cemented his reputation not only as a comic but as a dramatic actor.
Smith’s next famous role was the role of Agent Jay in the comic film “Men in Black” (1997), the theme for which he played topped the British charts.
1998 saw the release of another successful action movie featuring Smith, Enemy of the State. Earlier this year, his song “Gettin ‘Jiggy wit It” (based on Sister Sledge’s disco hit “He’s The Greatest Dancer”) topped the Billboard Hot 100.
In the late 1990s, Will Smith turned down the lead role in The Matrix to star in the cowboy comedy Wild, Wild West. The film failed miserably, but the soundtrack for it again topped the American charts. Despite the film’s failure at the box office, Will never regretted his decision, claiming that Keanu Reeves’ performance as Neo was excellent.
In the early 2000s, Smith focused on more serious film work. For his role as Mohammed Ali in the biopic of the same name in 2001, he was nominated for an Oscar; his second nomination for this award was in 2006.
In 2002-2003 he starred in the sequels Men in Black 2 and Bad Boys 2. A year later, Will again appeared in the guise of a policeman – this time in the movie “I, Robot”. He also took part in the scoring of the cartoon “The Underwater Lads”.
In 2005, the comedy “Rules of Removal: The Hitch Method” was released, which tells about a cunning and dexterous doctor-matchmaker who can make any woman fall in love with you.
Another role that earned Will Smith an Oscar nomination was that of Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006) based on the memoir, but he again did not receive an award. In the film, Smith starred with his son Jaden.
In 2008, he starred in the movie “Seven Lives”, where he played Tim Thomas and played the main role – a lone superhero – in the movie “Hancock”.
In May 2012, after a four-year hiatus, the sequel Men in Black 3 was released. The film was well appreciated by both ordinary viewers and film critics, in contrast to the previous part.
In 2013, M. Night Shyamalan’s new film “After Our Era” was released, where Will Smith and his son Jaden again got the main roles.
In 2016, he played Deadshot in the superhero action movie Suicide Squad. In the same year, he starred in the drama “Phantom Beauty”, playing the head of a New York advertising agency, who falls into a deep depression after a personal tragedy.
On January 21, 2016, Will Smith decided to join the boycott of the Academy Awards, which his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith announced earlier.
In July 2017, it became known that Smith will play the role of Gene in the adaptation of the 1992 animated film Aladdin.
Will Smith now
In early 2020, the long-awaited premiere of the comedy Bad Boys Forever took place, in which Will Smith re-entered the main cast. The film showed good box office receipts, after which information appeared about the beginning of the creation of the fourth part of the franchise.
Now the work on the sports drama “King Richard” has been completed, which was about the father of the famous tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. Will Smith portrayed the main character on the screen.
Filmography
1995 – The Bad Boys
1996 – Independence Day
1997 – Men in Black
1998 – “Enemy of the State”
2001 – Ali
2004 – “I, Robot”
2005 – “Rule of Removal: The Hitch Method”
2006 – The Pursuit of Happiness
2007 – I Am Legend
2008 – Seven Lives
2013 – “After our era”
2014 – “Focus”
2015 – The Defender
2016 – “Suicide Squad”
2017 – “Brightness”
2019 – Aladdin
2019 – Gemini
2020 – Bad Boys Forever
