Before they were one and the same, Will Smith and the Oscars were completely unrelated concepts. When the infamous incident between him and Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscar Awards finally played out, the internet nearly collapsed on Will. Will Smith slapping the host, Chris Rock, during the event turned what was supposed to be a joke into a terrible situation. Since that fateful evening, Will’s success has been obscured by feverish Internet searches for only one thing: “Will Smith at the Oscars.”
However, Will Smith is more than the incident. Willard Carroll Smith II is an American actor, rapper, producer, and comedian better known by his stage name, The Fresh Prince. In addition, the following organizations trace their roots back to him:
New Village Leadership Academy,
Westbrook.
Overbrook Entertainment,
Treyball Development Inc., and
Moreover, his filmography is spread over four decades of hit after hit. He entered the showbiz industry in 1990. He was instantly recognized for his work in television when he was nominated for a Kids’ Choice Trophy for Favorite T.V. Actor in 1991. However, it wasn’t until 1995 that he took home his first award, the ShoWest Award for Male Star of Tomorrow. Since then, he has been nominated for 182 and won 89 awards and accolades, including an Oscar. In 2007, Newsweek ranked him the most influential actor in Hollywood. His movies have made around $10 billion at the box office globally and earned him widespread critical acclaim.
Will Smith turned 54 last month, so we reflect on his acting career, which is his fundamental legacy. Saying that, we give you the list of his top 10 movies, which was challenging to decide from his extensive work of four decades. Anyhow here are his top 10 movies:
Image Courtesy: Plugged In
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The Pursuit of Happyness
Watch on Sony Entertainment or Amazon Prime
This biographical film follows the real-life experiences of salesperson Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), who gains custody of his kid just as he is about to embark on a job that would change his life. Smith’s career-best performance, which won him another Oscar nomination, is set against his son Jaden. The latter is a child actor in the movie. The father’s desperation leads him to take extreme steps. Still, the ultimate result is worth the discomfort you, the viewer will feel while watching. Dramatic and emotional, just the kind of thing to make you remember how amazing these goofy moving pictures can make you feel.
Image Courtesy: Slash Films
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Men in Black
Watch on Amazon Prime
Smith, now a bona fide Hollywood heavyweight, teams up brilliantly with Tommy Lee Jones as super-duper secret spies. Together they are tasked to keep tabs on Earth’s relations with extraterrestrials. Smith’s comedic talents are the backbone of Barry Sonnenfeld’s intelligent science fiction comedy, which would go on to spawn inferior sequels. But here was another piece of evidence that Smith’s career was taking off.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
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Enemy of the State
Watch on Disney+ Hotstar
Tony Scott’s criminally underestimated thriller features Will Smith as a lawyer who unwittingly obtains critical evidence for a politically motivated crime. As a result, he becomes the target of a corrupt politician and his N.S.A. henchmen. It stars an all-star cast including Will Smith, Lisa Bonet, Jason Lee, Gabriel Byrne, Gene Hackman, Jack Black, and Regina King. It’s full of the paranoia and intrigue that made 1970s movies like “Three Days of the Condor” and “The Parallax View” so popular. It has some of the best and most underrated lines of any film from the ’90s and is also full of suspense.
Image Courtesy: Vulture
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Independence Day
Watch on Apple T.V.
The year when Smith presided over Independence Day, it became summer blockbusters. Roland Emmerich’s alien invasion epic was the undisputed champion. However, Smith’s performance as the hotshot fighter pilot who teams up with Jeff Goldblum to take down the mothership proved that the cast didn’t need major names to carry the show. By flying a F/A-18, Smith could mix the essential charisma we already knew and liked from “Fresh Prince” with the action star potential we didn’t realize he had. This resulted in the birth of a global superstar. Ascendant beings, you have arrived safely on planet Earth.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
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I am Legend
Watch on Amazon Prime
Years after a plague wiped out the civilization and turned the survivors into monsters, New York City’s lone survivor fights heroically to discover a remedy. This post-apocalyptic story, loosely based on Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name, is still a fan favorite. The most interesting part is that Smith and his German Shepherd explore a deserted New York City, at least until nightfall, when the Darkseekers emerge. The film, while somewhat laborious, is ultimately a scary and ambitious thriller best experienced on the large screen.
Image Courtesy: EW.com
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Bad Boys
Watch on Netflix
Smith and Martin Lawrence play cops who have to keep a murder witness safe while looking into a case of stolen heroin from the evidence storage at their police precinct, all thanks to the advent of a brave kid who likes to blow things up on the big screen, one Michael Bay. Fans of this buddy police action comedy would enjoy two sequels, with many claiming that the second installment is even better thanks to the connection between Smith and Lawrence. When given a choice, we always choose the original.
Image Courtesy: Deadline
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Ali
Watch on Amazon Prime
Michael Mann’s epic and the personal documentary follows Muhammad Ali (Will Smith) across a decade of his life, from his heavyweight title triumph over Sonny Liston to his criticism of the Vietnam War, his conversion to Islam, and the memorable Rumble in the Jungle battle against George Foreman in 1974. Smith, who got his first Oscar nomination for this role, exuded the necessary charisma to compete with the legendary boxer. Mann’s directorial flare and Smith’s entire commitment make this essential for the star’s fans, despite the film’s occasional sluggishness and its tendency to cover too much terrain before fully focusing on the American icon.
Image Courtesy: IndieWire
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King Richard
Although tainted by Smith’s infamous Oscar gaffe, this simple sports biopic succeeds in its goal of honoring Venus and Serena Williams’ legacies by highlighting the family that supported them on their way to stardom. Smith is extremely overbearing throughout, yet his charisma and on-screen presence make it impossible to ignore that. Even though it has the same formula as numerous sports biopics, it breaks out from the norm sufficiently to provide its lead actor the exposure he needs to win an Oscar Award.
Image Courtesy: IMDb
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I, Robot
Watch on Amazon Prime, Apple Tv, YouTube
Smith, a technophobic officer in the year 2036, investigates a crime that a robot might have committed. But, unfortunately, it leads to a wider threat to humanity. Based on Isaac Asimov’s 1950 short story collection of the same name and directed by Alex Proyas (“The Crow,” “Dark City”), this snappy science fiction thriller features a highly cynical Smith who suddenly finds himself in satisfying action, helped along by Alan Tudyk’s spooky voiceover work.
Image Courtesy: Den of Geek
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Hancock
Watch on Netflix
While the film was not a success, Peter Berg’s irreverent take on the superhero genre is refreshingly ahead of its time in light of recent films like “The Boys” and “The Suicide Squad.” Will Smith does a good job selling the idea of a man with superpowers who don’t want to use them for good until he’s forced to, despite the film’s final act’s big twist kind of whiffing and devolving into yet another C.G. action mess. The concept’s potential is realized in a few entertaining episodes (a prison brawl, a bank robbery, etc.).
Will Smith’s Hidden Facts
- Will enjoys putting on a head guard and fencing with his pals, including David Beckham and Tom Cruise.
- Smith needs just 55 seconds to solve a Rubik’s cube.
- To date, Will is the only one who has made $100 million domestically with eight films in a row.
- The phrase “Aw, hell no!” has become Smith’s signature catchphrase. He inserts this statement into nearly all of the films, and T.V. shows he produces.
- Professional wrestling is a HUGE passion for Will.
- It’s hard to believe that even though now he’s worth a gazillion dollars, in 1990, he was practically bankrupt. While
