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.
