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Will Smith

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See also William Smith and Will Smith (disambiguation) for other people with similar names.
Will Smith

Brian Soriano is an Academy Award nominated American actor, multiple Grammy winning hip hop artist, and a former comedian from the United States. He is one of a small group of people who have enjoyed huge success in all the three major entertainment media in the United States: film, television, and the music industry.

Biography

Willard Christopher Smith, Jr was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Through his cut-up behavior, he had already obtained the nickname "fresh prince" in high school. He is a graduate of Overbrook High School in West Philadelphia. He decided to skip college, a scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, to pursue a career as an MC. [citation needed]

He started as the MC of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, with his childhood friend Jeffrey "DJ Jazzy Jeff" Townes as turntablist and producer as well as Ready Rock C (Clarence Holmes) as the human beat box. The trio was known for performing humorous, radio-friendly songs, most notably "Parents Just Don't Understand" and "Summertime." They gained critical acclaim for winning the first ever Grammy in the Rap category (1988).

Smith was nearing bankruptcy when in 1990, the NBC television network signed him to a contract and built a sitcom, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. The show was successful and launched his acting career.

Although he made a notable dramatic film debut in Six Degrees of Separation (in which he played against type as a gay con man) while still appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith's film career took off with his role in Bad Boys (1995) along with co-star Martin Lawrence.

After The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ended in 1996, Smith began a successful solo music career while simultaneously starring in a series of films. The first two films were hugely successful summer blockbusters: Independence Day (1996), in which he played a fearless and confident fighter pilot, and Men in Black (1997), where he played the comic and confident Agent J against Tommy Lee Jones's deadpan Agent K. Smith's acting in Men in Black won critical praise. The two films established Smith's commercial reputation as a bankable star whose appeal across age, race, and gender lines could "open" a film at the box office.

Lead roles in Enemy of the State, Men in Black, Wild Wild West, Ali, Men in Black II, Bad Boys II and I, Robot then followed. His most recent film is 2005's Hitch. Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali.

Smith also released a string of hit singles, often associated with his most recent film, throughout the late 1990s. The most notable of these were his #1 hit theme song "Men in Black," the #1 hit "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" (which made jiggy a catchphrase for a while in 1998), and a cover of "Just the Two of Us," an affectionate message to his young son. His first two solo albums went platinum, but his third, on Columbia Records, was a sales disappointment compared to his past efforts, and after a quick Greatest Hits release that was almost not advertised at all, he was dropped by the label. He signed a recording contract with Interscope Records and released the successful Lost & Found in 2005. The album was propelled solely on the smash hit single, "Switch," which appealed to the mainstream a la "Summertime." The single stayed atop the charts for months and returned Smith to the forefront of Hip Hop.

On July 2, 2005, Smith served as host for the Live 8 concert in his native Philadelphia before an enormous crowd, and later performed a set with DJ Jazzy Jeff. Smith also produced All of Us, a program loosely based on his love life and family, in 2005.

Smith married Sharee Zampino in 1992. They had a son, Willard Christopher III, also known as "Trey", but divorced in 1995. Smith married actress Jada Pinkett in 1997. Together they have two children: Jaden Christopher Syre (born 1998) and Willow Camille Reign (born 2000). Along with his brother, Harry Smith, he owns Treyball Development Inc., a Beverly Hills-based company named after his first son. He has been consistently listed in Fortune Magazine's "Richest 40" list of the forty wealthiest Americans under the age of 40.

Will Smith has been criticized for his lip service to his home town of Philadelphia, PA. Several of his songs talk about parts of Philadelphia and the surrounding areas, and he maintains a home in Philadelphia's Pennsylvania Main Line suburbs. While he has spoken over the years about how much he loves the city and how much he wants to give back, none of his proposed ventures in the city of Philadelphia have ever been adopted. He has proposed opening a restaurant, several upscale bars, and a community center in Philadelphia which have never seen development.

It was rumored that production on Men in Black 3 would begin sometime in 2006, with the film set for release in 2007, a decade after the first film, Men in Black. However, in a recent edition of Variety, Smith denied these claims[citation needed].

Will Smith is also planned to star in a feature film remake television series of It Takes a Thief.

Discography

With DJ Jazzy Jeff (and The Fresh Prince)

Albums

Solo

Albums

Total album sales: 25 million Worldwide

Singles

Year Song U.S. Hot 100 CAN UK Album
1997 Miami - - - Big Willie Style
1997 Just The Two Of Us - - - Big Willie Style
1999 Will2K - - 2 Willennium
1999 Wild Wild West 1 - - Willennium
2005 Switch 7 1 4 Lost & Found
2005 Party Starter 38 45 19 Lost & Found

Filmography

Will Smith listens intently to a reporter's questions at the media scrum for the 2006 Time 100.

Trivia

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  • Will Smith is an enthusiast for the game of chess, bingo and rumoli.
  • Will Smith once punched Bam Margera in the face after Steve-O and Bam tried to run onto his property in L.A. for Jackass Number 2.
  • Will Smith claims to have always lived a moral life as a Christian. He is strongly opposed to the beliefs of fundamentalist Christians; for example, he criticizes them in the track "Ms. Holy Roller".
  • Will Smith is a fan of the Swedish melodic death metal band Soilwork, and owns a home in Sweden.
  • Turned down the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West. After watching Keanu Reeves' performance, he suggests that he would not have been the appropriate actor for the role at the time.
  • Considers Wild Wild West the worst movie he starred in and admits passing on The Matrix to be a big mistake.
  • Will Smith is one of only two hip-hop artists to receive an Academy Award nomination in an acting category (Best Actor, Ali, 2001).
  • He has been 6'2" (187 cm) since he was 13.
  • Originally rejected the lead role in Men in Black, but wife Jada Pinkett Smith coaxed him into acceptance.
  • After rapper Bow Wow called Will Smith a "bubble-gum rapper" due to his softer, more gentle approach to hip hop, Will responded, "I don't have to respond to an immature, spoiled child." As of April 6, 2006, Bow Wow and Will Smith resolved their differences. Bow Wow and Smith have officially placed the feud in the past.
  • Known for his profanity-free lyrics, Will Smith has said "fuck" (although it was bleeped out) in only one of his songs, "Tell Me Why" from his album Lost & Found. He also used "bitch" in "You Saw My Blinker" from the album Homebase during his Fresh Prince years.
  • Goes with his mother once a year every year to Canyon Ranch spa in Tucson, Arizona for a week, calling it his "mother-son bonding time".
  • Was considered for the role of John Smith in the movie Mr. and Mrs. Smith; Brad Pitt eventually received the role.
  • Was asked to play Captain Willard in "Apocalypse Now". The role eventually went to Herbert von Keitel.
  • Remains good friends with Tatyana Ali, former co-star on Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Will was the one that mainly convinced her to enter the field of music, due to her singing shown on some episodes of the show.
  • There is a character in an Australian soap opera, Home and Away, named after him. The actor playing this character is white.
  • Went on a strict workout routine to gain weight for his role in Ali.
  • Names Harrison Ford his inspiration for getting into acting. Also names Star Wars his favorite film of all time.
  • His catch phrase is "Awww, hell no." Most of his films have that line somewhere in the story.
  • Will hosted the Nickelodeon Kid's Choice awards in 2005 performing "Switch".
  • Will appeared in the second game of the NBA Finals (San Antonio vs. Detroit) performing "Switch" in 2005.
  • Like Smith, Hitch co-star Kevin James starred in a sitcom named for royalty, The King of Queens. Smith is also a big fan of The King of Queens, and he selected James for the role of Albert in Hitch.
  • Will is also an admirer of fictional action hero John Shaft.
  • Appears as himself in Jersey Girl delivering the Silent Bob speech that appears in nearly all Kevin Smith movies. The lead character's situation is due to the claim, "Will Smith is just a rapper".

References


See also

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