The best photos of Will Smith taken from a movie
Near the top of the list of the most famous actors on Earth over the last four decades, sits Will Smith. Since his breakout in the 1990s, the multitalented star has conquered the music industry, television comedy with NBC’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” and blockbuster movies thanks to “Independence Day” and the “Bad Boys” and “Men in Black” franchises. In 2021, as Smith turned 53 years old, he also scored critical acclaim that has frequently eluded his grasp. His performance in “King Richard” as Richard Williams, father to Venus and Serena Williams, gave Smith the best reviews of his career and put him in the awards conversation for Best Actor at the Oscars.
Smith has never won at the Academy Awards, but his successes wherever he goes have resulted in an impressive number of awards, including winning four Grammy Awards (from eight nominations) for his recording work. For his acting in television, Smith has earned two Golden Globe nominations (for “The Fresh Prince”) plus two Academy Award nominations (for “Ali” and “The Pursuit of Happyness”), three Golden Globe film nominations, and a Screen Actors Guild Best Actor nomination (for “Happyness”).
Ahead, we rank Smith’s 13 best screen performances. Tour our photo gallery, which features these films plus “Men in Black,” “Independence Day,” “Hitch,” “Aladdin” and more.
1-SUICIDE SQUAD (2016)
Will Smith achieved any child’s dream of becoming a DC Comics anti-hero in David Ayers’ adaptation of the comic “Suicide Squad.” Smith portrays Deadshot, an eagle-eyed assassin, recruited along with many other bad guys by the Federal Government to create a renegade unit to take on high-risk assignments to protect the United States against other super-villains. Though every inch a criminal, Deadshot (AKA Floyd Lawton) is also by night a dedicated father to his daughter Zoe, for whom he wants to do what his right. Still there is the other side of Deadshot, a skilled killer who nonetheless ready to die, and is willing to place himself in potentially deadly situations that will likely result in his death. Though the film itself received mixed reviews, Smith looked to be having the time of his life, and now being a part of the DC Comics universe, we may be seeing more of Deadshot.
2- BAD BOYS (1995)
Though Smith received enormous critical credibility after “Six Degrees of Separation,” he was still primarily known to moviegoers in 1995 as a sitcom star, so it was logical for him to continue his film career in comedy. But he was anxious to expand his film experience and Michael Bay’s action-comedy “Bad Boys,” in which Smith partnered with Martin Lawrence, seemed like the perfect fit. Though there is a corruption plot involving stolen drugs and crooked cops, most audiences didn’t go to “Bad Boys” for the plot — they went instead for the wild improvisations that bounced back-and-forth between Lawrence and Smith. That chemistry was successful enough to become Smith’s first franchise film, as a sequel, “Bad Boys II,” opened in 2003, and a third installment, “Bad Boys For Life,” opens in January.
3-THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS (2006)
Smith took on the real-life story of entrepreneur Chris Gardner in “The Pursuit of Happyness” and delivered a performance that received Best Actor nominations for an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a SAG Award. Gardner, though ambitious, had no talent for keeping track of his finances, prompting his wife Linda (Thandie Newton) to move out, leaving Chris to raise their five-year-old son Christopher Jr. (Jaden Smith) by himself. The family soon loses their home, forcing Chris and his son to live on the streets, sometimes even sleeping in the bathroom of a public transit station. All this happens as Chris is keeping up appearances while he is competing for an unpaid internship in a big stockbroking firm. While projecting the many faces that Chris has to put on to get out of his plight, Smith is able to show his paternal side, and it certainly added an extra layer to his performance to have his own son Jaden by his side.
4-CONCUSSION (2015)
In “Concussion,” Smith delivered a rare dramatic turn in this real-life story of Nigerian-born forensic pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu, who, after conducting an autopsy of an NFL football player who suffered a fatal heart attack at the young age of 50, comes to the conclusion that the player also suffered severe brain damage from repeated blows to the head, a condition that Dr. Omalu labels CTE. When he publishes a paper suggesting that the blows came from his time in the NFL, the football league turns its sights against Dr. Omalu, who is under great pressure from his bosses and the NFL to withdraw his paper or run the risk of deportation. Smith delivers a mixture of sensitivity and outrage as Dr. Omalu (and tacks on a convincing Nigerian accent to boot), and for his performance in “Concussion,” Smith earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor.
5-ALADDIN (2019)
Smith took at three-year sabbatical from feature films before roaring back with this live-action version of the classic Disney animated musical “Aladdin.” In the film, which to date has grossed over $1B worldwide, Smith inherits the iconic role of the blue-faced Genie, who helps young street thief Aladdin (Mena Massoud) woo and win Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott) despite his lowly station in life. Like Robin Williams, who voiced the role in the 1992 animated version, Smith pulls out his deep bag of tricks to give the genie the air of a vaudevillian entertainer. (An added plus: Smith gets the rare chance to sing onscreen, an opportunity he hasn’t been given since his “Fresh Prince” recording days.)
6-INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
Smith’s first genuine blockbuster, Roland Emmerich’s alien invasion epic “Independence Day,” grossed over $300 million in the U.S. alone and helped to cement Smith’s status as a major box-office draw. In “Independence Day,” Smith plays Capt. Steven Hiller, a Marine Corps F/A-18 fighter pilot who is in the thick of the fight against aliens who have come to invade and take over Earth via their enormous spacecraft. After Capt. Hiller is responsible for downing a number of alien aircraft, he soon rises to become a leader in the resistance against the deadly invasion. “Independence Day” marked the first time that Smith was the leading player in a large star-filled ensemble, and the international box-office success of “Independence Day” helped to Smith to become a star all over the world.
7- HITCH (2005)
Though Smith was primarily known as an action star during this period, Smith leapt into the genre of light romantic comedy, and the result was one of his biggest hits ever. Hitch calls himself a professional “love doctor” and offers clients sure-fire tips on how to find the right person and turn it into a long-term relationship, which he is now doing for client Albert Brennaman (Kevin James). But Hitch himself soon falls for gossip columnist Sara Melas (Eva Mendes), who appears to be immune to falling for all of his dating tips. Worse, through a vengeful client, Hitch becomes the subject of a misleading expose of his services written by Sara, thus making it a bigger challenge for Hitch to woo her. But he’s just the kind of guy who likes a challenge. Smith showed a light, deft touch with the romantic comedy with “Hitch,” and the film’s popularity wound up only broadening his fan base.
8-SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION (1994)
Theater fans rejoiced in 1993 when it was announced that one of the most acclaimed and popular new plays of the decade, John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation,” was to be turned into a film. Because the play’s leading roles are so juicy, there was much speculation as to what great actors would land the film roles. There was much satisfaction with the casting of Stockard Channing and Donald Sutherland. However, in the pivotal role of Paul, a con-artist who poses as the son of Sidney Poitier in order to worm his way into rich people’s lives, eyebrows were raised at the casting of Will Smith, who was primarily known as the Fresh Prince and whose film experience was minimal. (Courtney B. Vance originated the role on Broadway.) But once critics saw Smith’s performance, their favorable reviews erased all doubts about his suitability for the role, and almost overnight, the Fresh Prince was welcomed into the film community.
9- MEN IN BLACK (1997)
Based on artist Lowell Cunningham’s popular comic-book series, “Men in Black” is one of two smash-hits that starred Smith in the 1990s. Agent J (Smith) and his partner the taciturn Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) are two operatives of a secret organization whose aim is to control refugee aliens who live on Earth while posing as humans. Using neuralyzers to erase the memories of the aliens, thus keeping any trace of the aliens alongside us secret from the public and helping the Men in Black to be watchful for any signs of threat against Earth from outside the galaxy. Smith’s wisecracking persona had a certain chemistry with Jones’ dry delivery that audiences just ate up, and both Smith and Jones returned for two sequels, “Men in Black 2” and “Men in Black 3.”
10-KING RICHARD (2021)
Affecting the gait and voice mannerisms of Richard Williams, the outspoken father of Venus and Serena Williams, Smith arguably does his best and most nuanced work since playing Muhammad Ali in 2001’s “Ali.” Williams is an outsized figure who could be both loving and obstinate and Smith balances those nuances with ease. It’s no wonder buzz around the performance had Smith firmly in the Best Actor race.
11-ALI (2001)
Starring Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight. Michael Mann’s biographical film of Muhammad Ali marked a big artistic step up for Smith’s acting career, giving him the opportunity to work with a director of Michael Mann’s caliber. Mann and his co-writers follow Ali’s career from the moment that he gains the world heavyweight championship over Sonny Liston to his regaining of that belt ten years later against George Foreman in a bout in Zaire that will forever be known as the “Rumble in the Jungle.” It was in the intervening decade that Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, and that’ s where the meat of Mann’s story lies. Smith rose to the challenge — for an actor once known as a skinny, lanky kid, Smith became virtually unrecognizable, bulking up dramatically, and nailing Ali’s particular voice and physical qualities. The results were some of the best reviews of Smith’s career, as well as his first Golden Globe nod for his film week and Smith’s very first Academy Award nomination as Best Actor.
