Actor watch: Will Smith

Will Smith. The versatile celebrity is a triple threat, having dabbled in music, television and film. To date, he has been nominated for four Golden Globes, two Academy Awards and has a bag of Grammys to his name. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Smith developed his knack for rapping. In spite of his high SAT scores, he followed his dreams; a decision he won’t be regretting anytime soon.

Smith began his music career as part of a trio with childhood friend Jeffrey and Clarence Holmes. In 1988, they won their first ever Grammy in the Rap category. Then, a young Will Smith squandered his money and underpaid his due taxes. The IRS filed a tax debt against him, and Smith was nearly declared bankrupt in 1990.

It was around this time that NBC signed Smith and centered the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air sitcom on him. Extricating himself from his money predicament, the sitcom kick-started his acting career and propelled him to fame. Smith publicly set out to achieve the goal of becoming the biggest movie star of the world. We can all take a page from Smith; in order to be successful, we need to have ambitions.

After more than a lifelong decade of acting career, he has. His most notable films include both the M.I.B. films, Independence Day, Hancock, Robot, Ali, The Pursuit of Happyness and most recently, Seven Pounds. Displaying his flair and acting chops, Smith avoids being typecast by taking on a diversified character each time he makes a film.

Named Newsweek’s most powerful actor of our time, Smith is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the box office. This unmatched feat is all the sweeter as Smith remains the only Lead Actor who has eight consecutive films open at the top spot in the box office. Popularizing the movie franchise, Smith has now become synonymous with the term, Men in Black, bringing with him an air of swagger.

The proverbial term “behind every successful man is a woman” rings true in the case of Will Smith. If not for the urging of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, he would have turned down the role of Agent J of Men In Black; the role that catapulted him to stardom.

Proving himself to be a very talented person, Smith returned to his musician roots and released a string of singles that later became smash hits. He recorded the theme songs to his Men In Black films and just like the movies, the songs topped the charts at the time of the release. His first two solo albums sold more than 2 million copies, and were certified multi-platinum. His fourth album, Lost and Found, cemented his status as a hip hop artist.

In 2005, his dedication as a movie star was recognized when he entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for attending a record-breaking of three premieres in just a day. Instead of having relishing his fame and be contented with what he has, Smith works hard at his job - a quality all of us swaggerlites should emulate. We should never take our successes for granted.

That same year, he played host at the Live 8 concert in his hometown Philadelphia, using his fame for a good cause to do his part for the environment. He was also active in the aid of Katrina victims, donating a generous sum of money to assist them. In 2008, he voiced his political opinions by donating to the presidential campaign to elect President Obama.

Perhaps the single best comment anyone can ever give him, President Obama has given Smith the nod to play him in a movie. The possibility of a film depicting the 2008 election was not ruled out, and we might get to see Smith play the President on the big screen in time to come.

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