Skip to main content

This movie is the one Will Smith considers the best of his career so far

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
Sony Pictures

Will Smith is one of Hollywood’s greatest movie stars. As an Oscar winner and box office titan, Smith boasts a résumé that few can match. Over his 30-year career, what is Smith’s best movie? In a recent appearance on Hot Ones, Smith named the movie he considers his finest accomplishment.

“I think the individual best movie, all around, that I’ve ever made is The Pursuit of Happyness,” Smith said.

Recommended Videos

Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness stars Smith as Chris Gardner, a San Francisco salesman who wins a six-month unpaid internship at a brokerage firm. At the end of six months, one of the interns will be hired as a stockbroker. Despite his financial hardships, Gardner risks it all to win the job.

A man on a bus seat laughs with his son sitting next to him.
Sony Pictures Releasing

With his young son (Jaden Smith) by his side, Gardner scratches and claws to make a better living, sleeping in homeless shelters and train station bathrooms along the way. The inspiring performance from Smith landed him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

Will Smith Can't See While Eating Spicy Wings | Hot Ones

What comes after The Pursuit of Happyness for Smith?

“Right behind that is the first Men in Black. The direction, cinematography, and music,” Smith said. “I think among the most fun I’ve ever had making a movie is like Bad Boys and Aladdin, like just the most fun.”

At the end of the interview, Smith finished with his personal Mount Rushmore, the four performances that best define his career as an actor.

“If I had to put four of them in a time capsule, it would be The Pursuit of Happyness, the first Men in Black, I Am Legend, and probably King Richard,” Smith added.

Smith can now be seen in the fourth Bad Boys movie, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which opens in theaters today, June 7.

Dan Girolamo
Dan is a passionate and multitalented content creator with experience in pop culture, entertainment, and sports. Throughout…
5 best dramas of 2024 so far, ranked
5 best dramas of 2024 so far ranked brody bike riders

Cinema is no stranger to drama, and audiences have already seen plenty of it this year. Over the past seven months, streamers and moviegoers alike have been captivated by the many top-tier dramas delivered to their screens, making it another promising year for the world of film.

As movie fans wait in anticipation for the next round of pictures, they can now look back at the best drama films of 2024 so far.
5. Civil War (2024)

Read more
5 best sci-fi movies of 2024 so far, ranked
Two people huddle in darkness in A Quiet Place: Day One.

While the year is only half over, 2024 has already been great for science-fiction movies. Films from Marvel (Deadpool & Wolverine) and DC (The Batman 2) have yet to grace the silver screens, but other franchises have taken the opportunity to win over audiences and stake their claim in theaters worldwide.

As we venture deeper into the second half of 2024, these five sci-fi films have stood apart from the pack and emerged as the best the genre has to offer so far in 2024.
5. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Read more
What’s the most well-liked movie of 2024 so far? The answer may surprise you
Gurney looking at Paul in Dune: Part Two.

2024 has been a weird year for movies. The 2023 writers and actors strikes shifted many big releases like the next Mission: Impossible movie and Captain America: New World Order to 2025, creating gaping holes in the schedule that gave the illusion that there wasn't much to see at the multiplex.

A holdover from 2023, Dune: Part Two, and genre fare like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and The Beekeeper did better than expected, but surefire hits The Fall Guy and Furiosa failed to connect with audiences, and once reliable genres like horror failed to bring in audiences. It got so bad that by the end of May, some very loud people were proclaiming that "movies are dead."

Read more