Will Smith’s favourite comedy actor: “Who I wanted to be as an entertainer”
Few performers occupy quite as complicated a space as Will Smith.
On one hand, he is one of the highest-grossing actors of all time, having starred in some of the biggest movies and franchises of all time. On the other, he smacked Chris Rock in the face on live TV because he made a joke about his wife. Smith’s public image has never fully recovered from that infamous Oscar moment, and it’s difficult to see him ever returning to the lofty heights of his heyday.
Nevertheless, one thing that you cannot dispute about the star is that he is a natural-born showman. Nobody would ever accuse movies like Independence Day or Men in Black of being smart, but they stand up as absolute classics and kept millions of people entertained during their respective Summer releases. Even before he was a movie star, he flourished as a charismatic musician, even though his brand of parent-friendly rap rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.
All of this makes a lot of sense once you realise who he considers one of his idols. Speaking to Complex as part of their GOAT Talk series, Smith and his Bad Boys co-star Martin Lawrence were asked to offer their thoughts on the greatest comedian of all time. Lawrence got the ball rolling by naming the great Richard Pryor, a sentiment Smith seemed to echo. However, for his actual pick, he went for somebody closer to his peer group.
“Eddie [Murphy] changed everything for me … Who I wanted to be as an entertainer, Eddie was at the…centre of that”.
Will Smith
On the surface, it might seem a little strange that he talks about Murphy this way. The Shrek star is only seven years older than Smith, but he got his start incredibly young. He was already a big film actor by the 1980s, long before his admirer had first broken through with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Much like Smith, Murphy’s career was all about making people happy. He was an uncomplicated funnyman with seemingly no ambition to be anything else. His films were made for a big audience, and they were usually very popular with them. Murphy also wasn’t adverse to music, releasing three musical albums between 1985 and 1993. His single ‘Party All the Time’ hit number two in the US charts, though he never had a number one like his old pal Will.
They oddly might never have starred in a movie together, but Smith and Murphy’s careers have crossed over multiple times. At the 2023 Golden Globes, the older comedian made reference to the slapping incident from the year prior, which made all sorts of headlines. Murphy was also Lawrence’s first choice to star opposite him in Bad Boys, but he turned the part down. While those two have appeared in two movies together—1992’s Boomerang and 1999’s Life—neither featured Mr Smith.
If Smith’s ambition when he first set out was to emulate the career of Eddie Murphy, then it’s safe to say he’s done a pretty decent job of it. Both men have reached the highest of highs, have faced harsh criticism, and have made indelible marks on popular culture. They’re also both good pals with Martin Lawrence, which isn’t too shabby either.
