History Creator / WillSmith

* ''Lost and Found'' (2005)

Two decades after his first nomination, Smith finally won an [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAwardForBestActorInALeadingRole Academy Award for Best Actor]] for his role in ''Film/KingRichard'' in 2022. Unfortunately for him, this was after he controversially slapped Creator/ChrisRock for making a joke about his wife during the ceremony, which significantly {{overshadowed|ByControversy}} both his win and the ceremony as a whole in media coverage. He subsequently publicly apologized to Rock and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and eventually received [[PersonaNonGrata a ten-year ban from attending the Academy Awards and affiliated ceremonies]].

* ''Film/KingRichard'' (2021) - Richard Williams -- UsefulNotes/AcademyAward winner for Best Actor and nominee for Best Picture (as producer)

* TomHanksSyndrome: Started off as a comical coming actor, now he is becoming more of a dramatic actor taking on more serious roles, eventually winning an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for ''Film/KingRichard''.

-->'''Will Smith''': (spoken) ''Haciendo historia!''
--> ''Sacude tu cadera'', always taking pictures, laughing, blowing kisses...

Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor and rapper. In West UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} born and raised, [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir on the playground is where he spent most of his days,]] [[ExpositoryThemeTune chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool]], until Smith first entered the public eye as part of Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince, a lighthearted hip-hop duo with hits including "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". He really came to fame with the NBC series ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', a successful and iconic {{sitcom}} that he only signed onto because [[MoneyDearBoy most of his possessions were taken by the IRS as punishment for tax evasion]].

Smith then moved on into what has become a very successful acting career. While initially focused on lighthearted comedies and popcorn action, his UncleTomfoolery days are [[TomHanksSyndrome pretty much gone]], with Smith playing semi-serious or serious roles most of the time now and his comedic acting not being race-based. It also helps that he is the undisputed lead in any movie he's in, one of the few Black actors at this status. His most famous roles... well, the list is sort of legendary. [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000226/ Just have a look at his IMDB profile]]. Adding to this, even his stinkers tend to suck in tons of money; the failure of ''Film/WildWildWest'' prompted Smith to observe, "That's how big I am. I ''bomb'' over $100 million." Of all the films Smith has been the star of, only three (all {{biopic}}s) have failed to make over their budgets[[note]]the UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli biopic ''Film/{{Ali}}'' (which was still a critical if not financial success), ''Film/{{Concussion}}'', and ''Film/KingRichard''[[/note]] -- Smith is ''that'' much of a box office draw. He's also one of the best-paid actors, pulling salaries estimated at $20 million ''per movie''.

In any given movie, expect a ShirtlessScene and expect him as well to say "[[CatchPhrase AW, HELL NAW]]!" at some point. [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama The 44th President of the United States]] also wouldn't mind being portrayed by him in a movie.

Smith has been married to Creator/JadaPinkettSmith since 1997, and they have two children who are also in the acting and music business: Creator/{{Jaden|Smith}} and Music/{{Willow|Smith}}. (He additionally has a son, Trey, from an earlier marriage.) He is also the founder of Overbrook Entertainment (named after the high school in Philly he attended), whose films he produces.

Not to be confused with legendary tough-guy actor Creator/WilliamSmith. Or Will Smith of Whiskey Media's "Tested" site (as much as they like to joke he's the same person). Or with the author Creator/WilburSmith.

Also, tropes that specifically pertain to his years with DJ Jazzy Jeff should be put on [[Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince their own page]].

** ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'' made him famous on the small screen. "Now this is the story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside down, and I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there; I'll tell you how I became the Prince of a town Called Bel Air."

Not to be confused with legendary tough-guy actor [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0810342/ William Smith]]. Or Will Smith of Whiskey Media's "Tested" site (as much as they like to joke he's the same person). Or with the author Creator/WilburSmith.

* GratuitousSpanish: Since he was a featured artist on the Music/MarcAnthony and Bad Bunny song "Esta Rico", this was bound to happen.

* VerbalTic: "Ha-ha!", 'WOOO!", Whaaat whaaat", and "Uuhhh" (that last one was actually a song title on ''Willenium'').

Two decades after his first nomination, Smith finally won an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for Best Actor for his role in ''Film/KingRichard'' in 2022. Unfortunately for him, this was after he controversially slapped Creator/ChrisRock for making a joke about his wife during the ceremony, which significantly {{overshadowed|ByControversy}} both his win and the ceremony as a whole in media coverage. He subsequently publicly apologized to Rock and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and eventually received [[PersonaNonGrata a ten-year ban from attending the Academy Awards and affiliated ceremonies]].

* ''WesternAnimation/SharkTale'' (2004) - Oscar, who has his own [[SelfDemonstrating/OscarTheSharkslayer self-demonstrating]] page.

!!Associated Tropes

* HotterAndSexier: Will has bulked up a lot as he has got older and strips off much more than he did in his younger days.

* PersonaNonGrata: Has been barred from attending the Oscars for ten years for slapping Chris Rock.

* DoingItForTheArt: After the failure of ''Film/AfterEarth'', Smith has taken to doing roles for the hell of it rather than for the blockbuster revenue, thus his willingness to do sequels to ''Film/SuicideSquad2016'' and ''Film/{{Bright}}'' in spite of them also being critical failures.[[note]]Though both views were quite successful, ''Bright'' being Netflix's most viewed film at the time and ''Suicide Squad'' grossing around $750 million worldwide before going on to have uncommonly strong home video and TV revenues. Both clearly have sequel potential.[[/note]]

* OlderThanTheyLook: [[SilverFox He's aged]] ''[[SilverFox extremely]]'' [[SilverFox well]]--seriously, he's in his 50s and yet he doesn't look much older than he did in the first ''Men in Black''-movie.[[note]]Will Smith was born on September 25th of 1968, and the first ''[=MiB=]''-movie was released on July 2nd of 1997--so Smith was still only in his 20s when the movie was made.[[/note]]

* ''Film/{{Bad Boys|1995}}'' - Mike Lowrey

* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' (1996) - Capt. Steven Hillard
* ''Franchise/MenInBlack'' - Agent J/James Darrell Edwards III

* ''Film/IAmLegend'' (2007) - Robert Neville

* ''Film/{{Bright}}'' (2017) - Daryl Ward

* ItWillNeverCatchOn:
** Roughly a year after splitting from DJ Jazzy Jeff, Will approached Creator/JiveRecords with the "Men In Black" song. The executives at Jive rejected it, saying it wouldn't be a hit. Two years later, after the success of the movie and the song, Jive, who had tried to sue both Will and Jeff for allegedly breaching their contract after their split, was forced to include both "Men In Black" ''and'' "Just Crusin'" on their "Greatest Hits" compilation as a part of a settlement.
** He discussed in a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm2szuXKgL8 YouTube video]] that this is why he turned down Neo in ''Film/TheMatrix'' and made ''Wild Wild West'' instead, as the pitch meeting emphasized the BulletTime effects rather than anything about the story and characters.

* TomHanksSyndrome: Started off as a comical coming actor, now he is becoming more of a serious actor taking on more serious roles, eventually winning an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for ''Film/KingRichard''.

* TomHanksSyndrome: Started off as a comical coming actor, now he is becoming more of a drama actor taking on more serious roles, eventually winning an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for ''Film/KingRichard''.

* ''Film/BadBoys1995'' - Mike Lowrey

* IAmNotLeonardNimoy: It's much easier to think of his character as "Will Smith". Turned out he was straight out invoking this with ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''. He choose to go by his actual name so that he would never be "associated" with the character's name, supposedly on the advice of Alfonso Ribeiro (who already struggled to leave behind his Series/SilverSpoons character, and will be Carlton for the rest of his life).

Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American actor and rapper. In West UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} born and raised, [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir on the playground is where he spent most of his days,]] [[ExpositoryThemeTune chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool]], until Smith first entered the public eye as part of Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince, a lighthearted hip-hop duo with hits including "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". He really came to fame with the NBC series ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', a successful and iconic SitCom that he only signed onto because [[MoneyDearBoy most of his possessions were taken by the IRS as punishment for tax evasion]].

Smith then moved on into what has become a very successful acting career. While initially focused on lighthearted comedies and popcorn action, his UncleTomfoolery days are [[TomHanksSyndrome pretty much gone]], with Smith playing semi-serious or serious roles most of the time now and his comedic acting not being race-based. It also helps that he is the undisputed lead in any movie he's in, one of the few Black actors who regularly does this. His most famous roles... well, the list is sort of legendary. [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000226/ Just have a look at his IMDB profile]]. Adding to this, even his stinkers tend to suck in tons of money. The failure of ''Film/WildWildWest'' prompted Smith to observe, "That's how big I am. I ''bomb'' over $100 million." Of all the films Smith has been the star of, only three (all {{biopic}}s) have failed to make over their budgets: the UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli biopic ''Film/{{Ali}}'' (which was still a critical if not financial success), ''Film/{{Concussion}}'', and ''Film/KingRichard'' -- Smith is ''that'' much of a box office draw. He's also one of the best-paid actors, pulling salaries estimated at $20 million ''per movie''.

Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor and rapper. In West UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} born and raised, [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir on the playground is where he spent most of his days,]] [[ExpositoryThemeTune chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool]], until Smith first entered the public eye as part of Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince, a lighthearted hip-hop duo with hits including "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". He really came to fame with the NBC series ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', a successful and iconic SitCom that he only signed onto because [[MoneyDearBoy most of his possessions were taken by the IRS as punishment for tax evasion]].

Not to be confused with legendary tough-guy actor [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0810342/ William Smith]]. Or Will Smith of Whiskey Media's "Tested" site (as much as they like to joke he's the same person).

* BuddyCopShow: Plays one member of the pair of protagonists in several movies belonging to this subgenre, notably the ''Film/BadBoys'' and ''Film/MenInBlack'' series.

* ''Film/BadBoys'' (1995) - Mike Lowrey

[[caption-width-right:280:''[[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir ♪ Now this is a story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside-down... ♪]]'']]

Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor and rapper. In West UsefulNotes/{{Philadelphia}} born and raised, [[Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir on the playground is where he spent most of his days,]] [[ExpositoryThemeTune chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool]], until Smith first entered the public eye as part of Music/DJJazzyJeffAndTheFreshPrince, a lighthearted hip-hop duo with hits including "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime". He really came to fame with the NBC series ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir'', a relatively successful SitCom that he only signed onto because [[MoneyDearBoy most of his possessions were taken by the IRS as punishment for tax evasion]].

He moved on into what has become a very successful acting career. While initially focused on lighthearted comedies and popcorn action, his UncleTomfoolery days are [[TomHanksSyndrome pretty much gone]], with Smith playing semi-serious or serious roles most of the time now and his comedic acting not being race-based. It also helps that he is the undisputed lead in any movie he's in, one of the few Black actors who regularly does this. His most famous roles... well, the list is sort of legendary. [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000226/ Just have a look at his IMDB profile]]. Adding to this, even his stinkers tend to suck in tons of money. The failure of ''Film/WildWildWest'' prompted Smith to observe, "That's how big I am. I ''bomb'' over $100 million." Of all the films Smith has been the star of, only three (all {{biopic}}s) have failed to make over their budgets: the UsefulNotes/MuhammadAli biopic ''Film/{{Ali}}'' (which was still a critical if not financial success), ''Film/{{Concussion}}'', and ''Film/KingRichard'' -- Smith is ''that'' much of a box office draw. He's also one of the best-paid actors, pulling salaries estimated at $20 million ''per movie''.

In any given movie, expect a ShirtlessScene and expect him as well to say "[[CatchPhrase AW HELL NAW]]!" at some point. [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama The 44th President of the United States]] also wouldn't mind being portrayed by him in a movie.

Smith has been married to Creator/JadaPinkettSmith since 1997, and they have two children who are also in the acting and music business: Creator/{{Jaden|Smith}} and Music/{{Willow|Smith}}. He is also the founder of Overbrook Entertainment (named after the high school in Philly he attended), whose films he produces.

Smith has been married to Creator/JadaPinkett since 1997, and they have two children who are also in the acting and music business: Creator/{{Jaden|Smith}} and Music/{{Willow|Smith}}. He is also the founder of Overbrook Entertainment (named after the high school in Philly he attended), whose films he produces.