Will Smith names his all-time favourite movie roles
At one point in the 1990s, there was no bigger name in Hollywood cinema than Will Smith. Much of this monumental rise to prominence came thanks to the release of the TV series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where a young Smith starred as a wise-talking teenager who had to move in with his auntie and uncle in Bel-Air after he got into one little fight and his mum got scared.
Running from 1990 to 1996, boasting a total of 147 episodes, the show allowed Smith’s career on the silver screen to effortlessly blossom, appearing in such beloved ‘90s flicks as Michael Bay’s Bad Boys, Roland Emmerich’s Independence Day and Barry Sonnenfeld’s Men in Black. At the very same time, the actor saw the opportunity to launch a rap career, releasing such beloved songs as ‘Miami’ and ‘Gettin’ Jiggy With It’.
His Hollywood prominence didn’t wane as he entered the new millennium either, with Smith being nominated for ‘Best Leading Actor’ for his role in the 2001 boxing movie Ali before taking on sequels to both Men in Black and Bad Boys. Indeed, despite two Oscar nominations throughout the 2000s, it wouldn’t be until two decades later that Smith would finally take home his Academy Award, winning for King Richard in 2022 under dramatic circumstances.
It was around the same time, in the run-up to the release of Reinaldo Marcus Green’s film about the Williams sisters who took the world of tennis by storm and their ambitious father, that the actor sat down with GQ to discuss some of his favourite roles of all time among other questions.
Answering questions about himself from across the internet, when asked, “What is the worst and best movie of Will Smith,” the actor had a lot of thoughts.
“I think it’s a tie between the first Men in Black and The Pursuit of Happiness. For different reasons, those are the two almost perfect movies,” the actor stated, making reference to the 1997 sci-fi movie that helped him become a household name and the heart-wrenching 2006 drama that he starred in alongside his son, Jaden Smith.
As for Smith’s worst movie, he admits: “Wild Wild West just is a thorn in my side. To see myself with chaps…I don’t like it”. Speaking further about the movie he considers to be his personal worst, he adds: “I wanted to win and be the biggest movie star, and what happened was there was a lag—around Wild Wild West time. I found myself promoting something because I wanted to win versus promoting something because I believed in it”.
Elsewhere in the interview, Smith is asked why he didn’t win an Oscar for The Pursuit of Happiness, which, of course, is something of an impossible question to answer. Still, the actor gives it a go, blurting out, “Ding ding ding ding ding ding,” making it clear that he agrees with the opinion of the user asking the question online.
Take a look at the full interview with Will Smith below.
