The 53-year-old actor, rapper and producer has sustained a lengthy career in the spotlight and secured the largest single-project deal in film history.
Will Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the Academy Awards last year, a career-defining achievement that was overshadowed slightly by his on-stage confrontation with host Chris Rock. Given his huge fame and extensive film catalog, some may have expected the 53-year-old to have been awarded an Oscar earlier.
Smith has long been one of the highest-paid stars in the movie industry and played leading roles in some of the most commercially successful films of recent decades.
Smith’s talents are not just limited to acting. He first shot to public attention in 1986 as the MC of hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince.
A successful career in Hollywood
Across the past thirty-five years in the spotlight, it is estimated that Will Smith has accrued a personal wealth of roughly $350 million, making him one of the highest-earning actors of all time.
Despite his roots in music, it is as an actor that Smith is best known, and his work in film has been by far the most lucrative. He has won a BAFTA, Critic’s Choice, Golden Globe, and most recently, an Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard, and has racked up numerous nominations for other roles.
Entertainment news site Parade lists some of the astonishing paydays Smith has received for various movie roles during his acting career:
- Independence Day (1996) – $5 million
- Shark Tale (2004) – $15 million
- Suicide Squad (2016) – $20 million
- Aladdin (2019) – $20 million
- I Am Legend? (2007) – $25 million
- Bright (2017) – $27 million
- King Richard (2021) – $40 million
- Pursuit of Happyness (2006) – $71.4 million
However, by far, the most lucrative gig of his acting career came in 2012 with the release of Men in Black 3. The inaugural Men in Black film really pushed Smith into the public consciousness as an actor and netted him $5 million. The sequel resulted in a major pay increase for Smith, bagging $20 million and a 10% cut of the box office grosses.
However, it was 2012′s MiB 3 that really brought home the bacon for Smith, breaking the record for the most paid to an individual for any single movie project. He reportedly took home a whopping $100 million for reprising the role of Agent J for a third time.
