Will Smith

See also William Smith and Will Smith (disambiguation) for other people with similar names.

Will Smith in the 2005 romantic comedy Hitch.

Willard Christopher Smith, Jr. (born September 25, 1968) is an Academy Award nominated American actor and a multiple Grammy winning hip hop artist. He is one of a small group of people who have enjoyed huge success in the three major entertainment media in the United States: film, television, and the music industry.

Biography

Will Smith was born and raised in Philadelphia. Through his cut-up behavior, he had already obtained the nickname "fresh prince" in high school. He is a graduate of Overbrook High School. He decided to skip college to pursue a career as an MC.

He 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. The duo 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). During this period, his hair was cut into a fade.

Smith was nearing bankruptcy when in 1990, 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.

Although he made a notable dramatic film debut in Six Degrees of Separation (in which he played against type as a gay con man) while still appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith's film career took off with his role in Bad Boys (1995) along with co-star Martin Lawrence.

After The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ended in 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's deadpan Agent K. Smith's acting in Men in Black won critical praise. 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.

Lead roles in Enemy of the State, Wild Wild West, Ali, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II and I, Robot then followed. His most recent film is 2005's Hitch.Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali.

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 ala "Summertime." The single stayed atop the charts for months and returned Smith to the forefront of Hip Hop.

Also, on February 6, 2005 he appeared at Super Bowl XXXIX most likely to root on his hometown team, the Philadelphia Eagles.

On July 2, 2005, Smith served as host for the Live 8 concert in his native Philadelphia before an enormous crowd, and later performed a set with DJ Jazzy Jeff.

On June 28, 2005, he and his wife (Jada Pinkett-Smith) hosted the BET Awards '05 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA

Smith married Sharee Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher III, also known as "Trey", but divorced in 1995. Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998) and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000). Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. He has been consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40.

Will Smith has been criticized for his lip service to his home town of Philadelphia, PA. Several of his songs talk about parts of Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. While he has spoken over the years about how much he loves the city and how much he wants to give back, none of his proposed ventures in the city of Philadelphia have ever been adopted. He has proposed opening a restaurant, several upscale bars, and a community center in Philadelphia which have never seen development.

It was rumored that production on Men in Black 3 would begin sometime in 2006, with the film set for release in 2007, a decade after the first film, Men in Black. However, in a recent edition of Variety, Smith denied these claims.

Will Smith is also planned to star in a feature film remake television series of It Takes a Thief.

He recently bought a vacation home in Stockholm, Sweden.

It is stated that Will Smith will star in the sequel to Enemy of the State

He had to learn how to solve a Rubik's Cube in Pursuit of Happyness, and was taught by cube champions Tyson Mao and his brother Toby.

Trivia

* Will Smith is an enthusiast for the game of chess.
* He says he has a very healthy relationship with God, due to a Christian upbringing, and has always lived a very moral life. He is strongly opposed to the beliefs of fundamentalist Christians; for example, he criticises them in the track "Ms. Holy Roller." He also draws attention to the similarities between extremist Christians and the Islamic terrorists who committed 9/11.
* He is a fan of the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork[1] Links page of Jada's Wicked Wisdom Band; he also currently owns a home in Sweden.
* Turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West, then after watching Keanu Reeves' performance, didn't think he would've been smart enough as an actor to have played the role at the time.
* Considers Wild Wild West the worst movie he starred in and admits passing on The Matrix to be a big mistake.
* Will Smith is one of only two hip-hop artists to receive an Academy Award nomination in an acting category (Best Actor, Ali, 2001). [The other is Queen Latifah (Best Supporting Actress, Chicago, 2002)]
* Speaks fluent Spanish
* Height: 6'2"(187cm) He has been this tall since he was the age of 13.
* Had a line in Voices That Care, a 1991 Gulf War song by a supergroup of other popular celebrities, where he rapped a few lines.
* Originally rejected the lead role in Men in Black (1997), but wife Jada Pinkett Smith coaxed him into accepting it
* After rapper Bow Wow called Will Smith a bubble gum rapper due to his softer, more gentle approach to hip-hop, Will responded saying "I don't have to respond to an immature, spoiled child." As of April 6, 2006, Bow Wow and Will Smith sat down and talked out their differences. Bow Wow and Smith have officially placed the feud in the past.
* Known for his profanity-free lyrics, Will Smith has dropped "fuck" (although it was bleeped out) in only one of his songs, "Tell Me Why" (From his album Lost & Found). He also used "bitch" in "You Saw My Blinker" off his album Homebase during his Fresh Prince years. He also used the swear "pissed" in 'Wave Em Off' on his album Lost and Found
* Goes with his mother once a year every year to Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, Arizona for a week, calling it his "mother-son bonding time."
* Favorite NBA team is the LA Lakers and holds a regular season ticket.
* Was considered for the role of John Smith in the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Brad Pitt eventually received the role.
* Remains good friends with Tatyana Ali, his former co-star on "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air".
* There is a character in an Australian soap opera, Home and Away, named after him. The actor playing this character is white.
* Went on a strict workout routine to gain weight for his role in Ali.
* Names Harrison Ford his inspiration for getting into acting. Also names Star Wars his favorite film of all time.
* His catch phrase is "Awww, hell no." Most of his films have that line somewhere in the story.
* Was considered for the role of Willy Wonka in the remake of the film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
* He presented the "best actress" trophy to Bollywood actress Rani Mukerji at the 51st Filmfare Awards, when he went to visit India.
* Smith and his family reside in Star Island in Miami, Florida.
* Like Smith, Hitch co-star Kevin James starred in a sitcom named for royalty, The King of Queens. Smith is also a big fan of The King of Queens, and he selected James for the role of Albert in Hitch.
*Will's favorite comic book hero is Spider-Man
*Will is also an admirer of fictional action hero John Shaft.This was also referenced in The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air.
*Appears as himself in Kevin Smith's Jersey Girl delivering the Silent Bob speech that appears in nearly all Kevin Smith movies. Ironically, the lead character in the movie is only in the position he is in because he said "Will Smith is just a rapper".
*Smith refused to kiss a male in the movie "Six Degrees of Separation". It only appears that they kissed with the use of a sliding camera trick along with sound effects.
*Smith was the model for the NPC Agent Marco in the MMORPG MapleStory, quite obviously due to his role in Men in Black.
*After graduating high school, Smith was offered a scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Instead, he chose to pursue his musical career.

Discography

Albums

With DJ Jazzy Jeff (and The Fresh Prince)

* Rock the House (1987) #83 U.S. Certified Gold 560,000 Copies
* He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper (1988) #4 U.S. 3X Platinum
* And in this Corner... (1989) #39 U.S. [Certified Gold]
* Homebase (1991) #12 U.S. [Certified Platinum]
* Code Red (1993) #64 U.S. [Certified Gold]
* Greatest Hits (1998) (uncertified) (230,000 Copies)

Solo

* Big Willie Style (1997) #8 U.S., #9 UK (U.S. Sales - 9 million)
* Willennium (1999) #5 U.S., #10 UK (U.S. Sales - 2 million)
* Born to Reign (2002) #13 U.S., #24 UK [Certified Gold]
* Greatest Hits (2002) (uncertified 350,000 copies)
* Lost & Found (2005) #6 U.S., #15 UK [Certified Gold]Total album sales: 25 million

Filmography

Will Smith listens intently to a reporter's questions at the media scrum for the 2006 Time 100, as covered by blog Rocketboom.

* Where the Day Takes You (1992)
* Made in America (1993)
* Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
* Bad Boys (1995)
* Independence Day (1996)
* Men in Black (1997)
* Enemy of the State (1998)
* Torrance Rises (1999) (short subject)
* Wild Wild West (1999)
* Men in Black: Alien Attack (2000) (short subject)
* Welcome to Hollywood (2000) (documentary)
* The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
* Ali (2001)
* Men in Black II (2002)
* Bad Boys II (2003)
* A Closer Walk (2004) (documentary) (narrator)
* Jersey Girl (2004) (cameo)
* I, Robot (2004)
* Shark Tale (2004) (voice)
* There's a God on the Mic (2005) (documentary)
* Hitch (2005) (also producer)
* Pursuit of Happyness (2006) (In theaters December 15, 2006) (also producer)
* Time Share (2006) (currently announced start of production) (also producer)
* Tonight, He Comes (2006/2007) (currently announced start of production)

Salary History

* Where the Day Takes You (1992) $50,000
* Made in America (1993) $100,000
* Six Degrees of Separation (1993) $500,000
* Bad Boys (1995) $2,000,000
* Independence Day (1996) $5,000,000
* Men in Black (1997) $5,000,000
* Enemy of the State (1998) $14,000,000
* Wild Wild West (1999) $7,000,000
* The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000) $10,000,000
* Ali (2001) $20,000,000
* Men in Black II (2002) $20,000,000 + 10% of the gross
* Bad Boys II (2003) $20,000,000 + 20% of the gross
* I, Robot (2004) $28,000,000 + 10 - 20% of the gross
* Shark Tale (2004) $15,000,000
* Hitch (2005) $20,000,000Total salary gross of listed films: $170,000,000Total Salary from Music Career: $35,000,000Total Movie Salary: $234,000,000

References

External links

*
*Official site

Will Smith: Encyclopedia BETA

Contents