Will Smith
Birthdate: September 25, 1968 (57 Years Old)
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Will Smith (birthname: Willard Carroll Smith) had a long reign as the so-called “King of Summer” in the movie box office from 1995 (with Bad Boys’ $141.4 million return) to 2012 (with Men in Black 3’s return of $654.2 million), as well as being the first rap artist to make a complete transition to becoming one of the biggest movie stars of his generation. Smith’s feature was in the cast of co-writer/director Marc Rocco’s drama for New Line Cinema, Where the Day Takes You (1992), with Sean Astin, Lara Flynn Boyle, Balthazar Getty, Ricki Lake, James LeGros, and Dermot Mulroney.
Smith played opposite Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson in Warner Bros.’s $104-million-grossing comedy, Made in America (1993), with Nia Long, Jennifer Tilly, and Paul Rodriguez, under Richard Benjamin’s direction. Smith had his acting breakthrough in one of his most interesting roles in director Fred Schepisi’s big-screen adaptation for MGM of John Guare’s contemporary masterpiece, Six Degrees of Separation (1993), starring Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland, Mary Beth Hurt, Bruce Davison, Ian McKellan.
Will Smith gained box-office royalty as Det. Mike Lowrey, opposite co-star Martin Lawrence, in Columbia/Sony Pictures Releasing’s blockbuster buddy cop movie, Bad Boys, with Téa Leoni, Tcheky Karyo, Theresa Randle, and Marg Helgenberger, under Michael Bay’s direction. Smith solidified his “King of Summer” status by leading the sprawling cast of 20th Century Fox’s $817-million-grossing sci-fi epic, Independence Day (1996), directed and co-written (with producer Dean Devlin) by Roland Emmerich, with Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Randy Quaid, Vivica A. Fox, Robert Loggia, and Harvey Fierstein.
Smith continued his run of box-office smashes with Columbia/Sony’s franchise-launcher, Men in Black (1997), co-starring Tommy Lee Jones, and directed by Barry Sonnenfeld; Smith returned with co-star Jones and director Sonnenfeld in the sequel, Men in Black II (2002); and then Smith completed the series with Smith and director Sonnenfeld (and added co-star Josh Brolin) in Men in Black 3 (2012), with the three movies returning a total gross of nearly $1.7 billion.
Will Smith then starred in Enemy of the State (1998), director Tony Scott’s stylish political thriller for Touchstone Pictures ($250 million gross), with Gene Hackman, Jon Voight, Regina King, Loren Dean, Barry Pepper, and Gabriel Byrne. Smith expanded his action-comedy palette and reunited with director Barry Sonnenfeld for the steampunk-style remake from Warner Bros., Wild Wild West (1999), with Kevin Kline, Kenneth Branagh, Salma Hayek, and Ted Levine.
Smith continued in period form with DreamWorks Pictures/20th Century Fox’s baseball-themed The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000), directed by Robert Redford and co-starring Matt Damon and Charlize Theron. Smith went from baseball to boxing to portray Muhammad Ali for Michael Mann’s biopic, Ali (2001), with Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles, Ron Silver, Jeffrey Wright, and Mykelti Williamson and earned Smith his first Best Actor Oscar nomination.
Will Smith successfully reunited with co-star Martin Lawrence and director Michael Bay for another round in the wild, stunt-filled Bad Boys II (2003), written by Ron Shelton and Jerry Stahl, with Jorge Molla and Gabrielle Union. Smith was both star and executive producer for the first time with 20th Century Fox’s $353-million-grossing I, Robot (2004), based on a premise from sci-fi master Isaac Asimov, with Bridget Moynihan, Bruce Greenwood, and James Cromwell under Alex Proyas’ direction.
Smith took on his first voice role in an animated feature with DreamWorks Animation’s $375-million-grossing Shark Tale (2004), co-starring the voices of Robert De Niro, Renée Zellweger, Angelina Jolie, Jack Black, and Martin Scorsese. Smith then starred in one of his few rom-coms, Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures’ Hitch (2005), with Eva Mendes, Kevin James, and Adam Arkin, under Andy Tennant’s direction.
Will Smith landed his second Best Actor Oscar nomination with the biopic based on Chris Gardner’s and Quincy Troupe’s book, The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), co-starring Thandiwe Newton and Jaden Smith, and grossed $307 million for Columbia/Sony. Smith returned to his favorite genre—science fiction—with the Richard Matheson adaptation directed by Francis Lawrence, I Am Legend (2007), earning a strong $585 million for Warner Bros.
Smith played the unconventional superhero, Hancock (2008), directed by Peter Berg and co-written by Vy Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan, for Columbia/Sony (a terrific $629 million global gross), with Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, and Eddie Marsan. Smith worked again with director Gabriele Muccino as star of Columbia/Sony’s inspirational drama earning $169 million, Seven Pounds (2008), co-starring Rosario Dawson, Michael Ealy, Barry Pepper, and Woody Harrelson.
Will Smith proved again to be the king of sci-fi as star/producer/story writer of director/co-writer/co-producer M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth (2013), with Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, and earning $244 million for Columbia/Sony. Smith starred as a con artist with Margot Robbie as a femme fatale in the Glenn Ficarra and John Requa-directed Focus (2015), taking in $158 million for Warner Bros.
Smith returned to his regular home at Columbia/Sony and the sports-themed biopic genre with a starring role in director-writer Peter Landesman’s Concussion (2015), with Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Arliss Howard, Paul Reiser, Luke Wilson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, David Morse, and Albert Brooks. Smith came aboard his first comic book superhero movie with Jared Leto, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, and Viola Davis as co-stars in DC Comics Films’ and Warner Bros.’ $749-million-grossing Suicide Squad (2016), written and directed by David Ayer.
Will Smith led the impressive cast of the Warner Bros.-released fantasy drama, Collateral Beauty (2016), co-starring Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Michael Peña, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, and Kate Winslet, under David Frankel’s direction. Will Smith took on one of his rare voice roles in the critically-praised but commercially disappointing animated spy comedy from Blue Sky Studios, Spies in Disguise (2019), with the voice cast of Tom Holland, Rashida Jones, Ben Mendelsohn, Reba McEntire, Rachel Brosnahan, and Karen Gillan, and released by 20th Century Fox.
Smith’s first Disney movie and first Guy Ritchie movie was as the Genie in Aladdin (2019), with the diverse cast of Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, and Navid Negahban, and which racked up booty of over $1 billion for the Mouse House. Smith reunited with his Bad Boys producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, and played twin roles for director Ang Lee in the long-in-development sci-fi thriller, Gemini Man (2019), with Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, and Benedict Wong, but losing money ($173.5 million returns on $138 million costs) for distributor Paramount.
Smith stayed with Bruckheimer for a reunion with co-star Martin Lawrence on the successful ($426.5 million) franchise reboot, Bad Boys for Life (2020), helmed by the directing duo of Adil & Bilall with Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nunez, Charles Melton, Kate del Castillo. Smith produced and won the Best Actor Oscar for Warner Bros.’ King Richard (2021), one of his few movies that won over critics but not audiences, and co-starred Oscar-nominated Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal, under Reinaldo Marcus Green’s direction.
Will Smith faced post-slap backlash for his performance in the widely-panned slave-era drama, Emancipation (2022), directed by Antoine Fuqua and released in a limited theatrical window by Apple TV+. Smith then returned to familiar territory for another round of nabbing bad guys with Martin Lawrence and co-directors Adil & Bilall in the sequel, Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024), from Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Releasing.
Smith has amassed a considerable roster of credits as a producer or executive producer of movies in which he did not appear, including Saving Face (2004), ATL (2006), The Human Contract (2008), The Secret Lives of Bees (2008), Lakeview Terrace (2008), The Karate Kid (2010), This Means War (2012), Annie (2014), Life in a Year (2020), and Karate Kid (2025).
Will Smith Photos and Videos
Personal life
Known For
Veep
(2012)
Slow Horses
(2022)
The Thick of It
(2005)
Avenue 5
(2020)
Awards
Winner, Best Actor, Academy Awards (2022); Two-time Nominee, Best Actor, Academy Awards (2002, 2007); Winner, Best Actor, Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Awards (2008); Five-time Winner, Favorite Soul/R&B Album/Favorite Pop/Rock Album/Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist/Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, American Music Awards (1999, 2000, 2005); Three-time Winner, Best Actor, BET Awards (2002, 2009, 2022); Winner, Best Leading Actor, BAFTA Awards (2022); Winner, Honorary Cesar Award, Cesar Awards (2005); Nominee, Best Comedy Series, Emmy Awards (2021); Winner, Best Actor, Golden Globe Awards (2022); Four-time Winner, Best Rap Performance/Best Rap Performance by Duo or Group/Best Rap Solo Performance, Grammy Awards (1988, 1992, 1998, 1999); Winner, Pioneering Spirit Award, Heartland Film Festival Awards (2021); Six-time Winner, Best Kiss/Best Fight/Best Movie Song/Best Male Performance/MTV Generation, MTV Movie + TV Awards (1997, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2016); Four-time Winner, Best Video from a Film/Best Rap Video/Best Male Video, MTV Video Music Awards (1997-1999); Five-time Winner, Best Music Video/Entertainer of the Year/Best Actor, NAACP Image Awards (1999, 2009, 2022, 2023); Winner, Best Actor, National Board of Review Awards (2021); Two-time Winner, Creative Impact in Acting/Ensemble Cast, Palm Springs Film Festival Awards (2016, 2022); Nominee, Best Producer, Producer Guild of America Awards (2022); Winner, Best Male Actor, Screen Actors Guild Awards (2022); Four-time Winner, Male Star of Tomorrow/International Box Office Achievement/Actor of the Year/Male Star of the Year, ShoWest USA (1995, 1997, 1999, 2002);
Will Smith Movies
Actor
Previous (28)
- 2025 |
- 2024 |
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
asMike Lowrey
When their late police captain gets linked to drug cartels, wisecracking Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett embark on a dangerous mission to clear his name.
- 2022 |
Emancipation
asPeter
A runaway slave forges through the swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey to escape plantation owners that nearly killed him.
- 2021 |
King Richard
asRichard Williams
A look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard.
- 2020 |
Bad Boys for Life
asLt. Mike Lowrey
Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett must face off against a mother-and-son pair of drug lords who wreak vengeful havoc on their city.
- 2020 |
- 2019 |
- 2019 |
Spies in Disguise
asLance
When the world's best spy is turned into a pigeon, he must rely on his nerdy tech officer to save the world.
- 2019 |
- 2019 |
Student of the Year 2
asSpecial Appearance in 'The Jawaani Song' and 'Radha Teri Chunri''
A student must face off against bullies and overcome hurdles, both academic and romantic, to win his college's coveted Student of the Year trophy.
- 2019 |
- 2016 |
Suicide Squad
asDeadshot
A secret government agency recruits some of the most dangerous incarcerated super-villains to form a defensive task force. Their first mission: save the world from the apocalypse.
- 2016 |
Collateral Beauty
asHoward
Retreating from life after a tragedy, a man questions the universe by writing to Love, Time, and Death. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
- 2015 |
- 2015 |
Concussion
asDr. Bennet Omalu
In Pittsburgh, accomplished pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu uncovers the truth about brain damage in football players who suffer repeated concussions in the course of normal play.
- 2013 |
After Earth
asCypher Raige
A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.
- 2012 |
Men in Black 3
asAgent J
Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.'s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.
- 2008 |
- 2007 |
I Am Legend
asRobert Neville
Years after a plague kills most of humanity and transforms the rest into monsters, the sole survivor in New York City struggles valiantly to find a cure.
- 2006 |
The Pursuit of Happyness
asChris Gardner
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.
- 2005 |
- 2004 |
Shark Tale
asOscar
When a son of a gangster shark boss is accidentally killed while on the hunt, his would-be prey and his vegetarian brother decide to use the incident to their own advantage.
- 2004 |
- 2003 |
Bad Boys II
asDetective Mike Lowrey
Two loose-cannon narcotics cops investigate the flow of Ecstasy into Florida from a Cuban drug cartel.
- 2002 |
Men in Black II
asJay
Agent J is sent to find Agent K and restore his memory after the re-appearance of a case from K's past.
- 2001 |
- 1997 |
Men in Black
asJay
James, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain.
- 1995 |
Producer
Previous (4)
- 2024 |
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
When their late police captain gets linked to drug cartels, wisecracking Miami cops Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett embark on a dangerous mission to clear his name.
- 2021 |
King Richard
A look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard.
- 2020 |
Bad Boys for Life
Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett must face off against a mother-and-son pair of drug lords who wreak vengeful havoc on their city.
- 2012 |
This Means War
CIA agents and best friends Franklin and Tuck discover that they are in love with the same woman. Each of them then decides to win her over by using their own skills.
Writer
Previous (1)
- 2013 |
After Earth
A crash landing leaves Kitai Raige and his father Cypher stranded on Earth, a millennium after events forced humanity's escape. With Cypher injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help.
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