Little-known Will Smith facts

Little-known Will Smith facts
Will Smith based one famous role on Han Solo, and he nearly missed out on "Bad Boys."
Willard Christopher Smith was born on September 25, 1968 in Philadelphia. Astrologically speaking, that day must have some serious pull in the house of fame. He shares a birthday with Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Barbara Walters, Heather Locklear and Christopher Reeve.
Soon after Fresh Prince met DJ Jazzy Jeff at a house party, they were making beautiful -- and commercially viable -- music together. They won the first Grammy ever for Best Rap Performance in 1989 for “Parents Just Don’t Understand.” In 1991, they repeated their success with “Summertime.”


Six Degrees of Separation
U.S. Box Office: $6,311,061
Though he starred in five seasons of "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"; Smith first received critical cred in this film. In his first leading role, he plays a con artist posing as the son of Sidney Poitier who worms his way into the lives of a white, upper-class New York family.
Bad Boys
U.S. Box Office: $65,807,024
Will Smith's first big action film almost didn’t happen. The filmmakers originally had SNL alums Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz in mind for the lead roles.


Independence Day
U.S. Box Office: $306,169,255
It's the movie that staked his claim on the Fourth of July weekend. Smith hit box office pay dirt playing a cocky pilot who wasn't afraid of clocking a killer alien square in the kisser. He reportedly modeled his character, Capt. Steven Hiller, on the quintessential sci-fi icon, Han Solo.
Men in Black
U.S. Box Office: $250,147,615

Smith battles aliens once again on Fourth of July weekend. While ID4 made him an even bigger star, MIB secured his standing as a box office draw. The movie also showcased another of his Billboard #1 hits, "Getting Jiggy Wit It," and thereby changed the English language forever.

Wild Wild West
U.S. Box Office: $113,805,000

A rare career misstep for Big Willie. This film was savaged by the critics, swept the razzies, and, in spite of the 9-figure haul, flopped at the box office. In interviews, Smith has repeatedly said that his two biggest mistakes were starring in this stinker and turning down the role of Neo in the Matrix.
Ali
U.S. Box Office: $58,183,966

Will Smith gained 35 pounds of pugilist muscle for this bio-pic about boxing champion Muhammad Ali. The punches on screen aren’t pulled; director Michael Mann told Charles Shufford (playing George Forman) to hit Smith as hard as he could. The bruising experience paid off; Smith garnered his first Oscar nomination for his efforts.

Men In Black II
U.S. Box Office: $190,418,803

Smith squares off against extraterrestrial riff raff once again on the 4th of July, battling not bugs but Lara Flynn Boyle. This flick from the summer of '02 started Big Willie's record streak of consecutive 100 million dollar blockbusters.
Bad Boys II
U.S. Box Office: $134,608,444
Though this sprawling action flick raked in the dough, it also ticked off thousands of Florida commuters for shutting down the McArthur Causeway -- the main freeway into South Miami Beach -- to shoot the film's huge freeway chase scene.

I, Robot
U.S. Box Office: $144,801,023

For this film, very loosely based on short stories by sci-fi guru Isaac Asimov, Smith mixes up his winning July formula. Instead of fighting aliens, he's battling rampaging robots.

Shark Tale
U.S. Box Office: $160,861,908

Lots of big-time star power (from De Niro to Zellweger) lent their voices to this animated fish tale, but it was arguably the draw of Will Smith's huge appeal - oh, and maybe the success of a little movie called Finding Nemo - that brought in the crowds to see this film.

Hitch
U.S. Box Office: $179,495,555

Following a sci-fi thriller, an animated fish tale, and an action flick, the former Fresh Prince tries his hand at a romantic comedy and scores big. The role of Sara Melas was first offered to "the most beautiful woman in the world" Aishwarya Rai and then to "Jenny from the block" Lopez but Eva Mendes eventually clinched her breakout starring role.

Pursuit of Happyness
U.S. Box Office: $163,566,549

Smith nabs a second Oscar nom with this rags to riches real life tale about Chris Gardner who went from being homeless and broke to being a millionaire broker. For the part, Smith learned how to solve the Rubik’s cube in two minutes flat. But more notably, Smith’s adorable co-star is his son Jaden Smith.
I Am Legend
U.S. Box Office: $256,386,216

Smith carried this movie single-handedly. With the exception of a dog and CGI monsters, it's him and him alone in nearly every frame of the film. It’s also not only his 2nd largest grossing movie to date but his biggest weekend gross -- $77.2 million.