Will Smith: The World’s Most Powerful Actor? I Think So.
Check out this article on MSNBC titled “Will Smith: Hollywood’s Most Powerful Actor” written by Sean Smith.
Here goes an excerpt:
Black actors have had a tough time appealing to foreign audiences, because the films they’re often cast in are specific to African-American culture or history—they are films about African-Americans, as opposed to films that happen to have African-Americans in them. But the roles Smith chooses are rarely race-specific. He plays men faced with obstacles, and moral choices. “Will doesn’t do movies because he ’should,’ but because they speak to him,” says Amy Pascal, chairman of Columbia Pictures, which has released most of Smith’s films. “He understands that these stories are global. He caught on to that before a lot of other people did.” Starting with “Bad Boys,” in 1995, Smith and Lassiter aggressively promoted Smith’s movies overseas. Since then, Smith has shattered the ceiling for black actors. His foreign box office is now more than double Denzel Washington’s.
I’ve always been a huge fan of Will Smith as an actor since the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air days. While I enjoy Denzel, I think he may be limited as an actor because he plays the same roles. However, Will Smith has accomplished a wide spectrum of characters and each character is something that we can all relate to, whether its being goofy like Fresh Prince of Bel Air or over-confident like Mike Larry in Bad Boys or being a warrior like Ali…
The quote above captures the essence of Will Smith’s choke hold on Hollywood and our hearts. I also agree with the writer - when are African-Americans are going to STOP making this horrible movies with limited scope and bad plots that continues to deepen the stereotypical wound of our culture? Even films like “Brown Sugar” and “Love and Basketball” are limiting…
What do you think about this article? Has Will Smith replaced Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks as the “go-to” guy for a guareenteed blockbuster? Do you think Will Smith will surpass Denzel and Sidney Potier’s legacy? (He may need an Oscar first, but 2 nominations for Best Actor ain’t bad at all). Please share your opinion on this article…
Yeah, Will Smith been in a league of his own since he did “6 Degrees of Separation” or whatever the name of that movie was. lol.
On a more serious tip, I do concur that Will plays characters that are quite universal. Yeah he may be a black man but his roles are applicable to any type of man, especially the role in “Hitch.” I give him cred for still remaining relevant in crazy ass Hollywood..So many cats have fallen off the radar….
1. Cuba Gooding Jr.
2. Larenz Tate
3. Blair Underwood
So so many more….
The cool thing about Will Smith is that he is so talented that if you put him in a room with people like Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon and other successful white artists then he would stand out from that crowd because of his performance and other great stuff rather then being the only black guy in that category. Will Smith did a great job in pursuit of happyness. Normally the character he play always have that same charisma but this time he delivered a power house performance.
Another great thing about Will Smith is that he can do different type of movie and still be successful in it. He released I.Robot and Shark Tale the same year and both of those movie grossed over one hundred million at the box office. So far most of the movie he made have been pretty good. I didn’t think WWW was that bad.
I agree that WIll should list as the top star.. He’s most bankable now that Cruise or Hanks. Independence Day was Smith’s launch into super stardom in regards to movies and he hasn’t slown down since. GO Will..
will smith is a pretty big actor. calling him the world’s most powerful actor is an overstatement but he is one of the top a-listers. he is a pretty versatile actor. just check his work to see how diverse it is.
I agree Will is probably one of the biggest things in Hollywood. FOr me i think he’s more successful than Denzel because he’s more accesible to the common man. His roles have been more diverse and everytime he brings something new. And yea i still watch Wild Wild West till this day.
the thing about will is that he doesnt take the industry too seriously. he’s genuine and funny as hell.
Will Smith is great actor and he is a great representation of a good black man. In addition to good movies, Will Smith’s personal life makes him more accesible to the average person. He takes pride in being a husband and father, and that’s something that a lot of people can admire and connect to. If you really think about it…Tom Cruise fell off, not because he stopped making good movies (MI3 was the best one of the franchise), but because his antics became so over the top that people lost respect for him. Being a powerful movie actor really has little to do with good movies, and a lot to do with being likeable.
As far as him passing the legacy of Denzel…I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. I think he’s creating a different legacy…but not a better or worse one. Denzel is in a league of his own, and he always turns out stellar performances. The great thing is that there is room for both of them (as well as a few others) in history to go down as all-time greats.
He is not better then Denzel. That is laughable.
Yo, we want Big Willie back!!!
He’s last album was just brilliant.
** Yo the first ever rap grammy
Let’s talk about the only reason yo ass went to Miami **
**Why should I try to sound like ya’ll sound
That’s what’s wrong wit the rap game right now
Why should I try to flow the way ya’ll flow
Or do a show like ya’ll show
Naw that ain’t where my head at now
Ya’ll in the hip hop lost and found
Man, that’s wrong with the rap game right now
It’s like a circus wit a bunch of clowns
Wit a bunch of clicks
I’ll probably rap circles around**
I’m sorry, I disagree…
Don’t get me wrong, I like Will Smith & all that. But to say that he is a better actor or has played in a wider variety of roles than Denzel Washington is simply ridiculous. I mean, have you logged into IMDB lately? Looked at their filmographies side by side? If you did, you’d see. If anything, the criticism you gave to Denzel should be applied to WILL SMITH! I mean no disrespect to Will Smith, but he is clearly the more limited actor! Will Smith is the one who tends to play the same role movie after movie! Yes, Will Smith has been in some BIG movies, but the vast majority of films he has been in can be categorized as Hollywood garbage: Bad Boys? Are you really counting that as a FILM? I prefer to think of it as a vehicle for explosions & nonsensical one-liners. It probably came with a notice on top of the script, saying “No Acting Required”. Look at his other films: Independence Day, Men In Black, The Wild, Wild West? These films may have done well FINANCIALLY, but you would struggle to find any critic that would acknowledge these films as valuable pieces of art. In fact, looking at Will Smith’s filmography, I would say that he’s only done a few really GOOD films: Six Degrees of Separation (and he did it early in his career! He gets extra points for that), and then (13 years later) The Pursuit of Happyness (he did do The Legend of Bagger Vance, which was certainly a departure from the sort of big-budget, crowd-pleasing blockbusters he had been making up to that point, but I don’t think that film made much of an impact). By contrast, if you have a look at Denzel’s filmography, the variety of roles & great performances speaks for itself: Glory, Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, Malcolm X, Much Ado about Nothing, The Hurricane, Training Day… The list goes on. So, yes, Will Smith may be very SUCCESSFUL… I like him, and I do wish him the best. …but a better ACTOR than Denzel, with more variety in his choice of roles? I think not!
I agree with you Eric, I like Will Smith but I don’t see him as a serious actor. He seems to be cast in the typical blockbusters as you mention and they do fill seas but are pretty stupid movies really. I had to turn Irobot off halfway through because I enjoyed the book and thought they destroyed it in the film version. Unfortunately Will has been cast as lead role in the new I am Legend, again if you have read the book you can see he is terribly cast but then I can’t see them sticking to the original story line there either. Multi talented guy but a bit two dimensional to be taken seriously as an actor.
they do fill seats* not fill seas.