Since transitioning from TV to movies, Will Smith has become one of Hollywood’s biggest stars, with the catalog to back up his status. Smith first rose to prominence as the star of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Not many TV actors can move on to films so easily, but Smith clearly had the talent, the charisma and the pure intangible star power. Throughout the 1990s, he starred in a string of huge box office hits.

Although Smith was initially seen as a comedic actor, with movies like Bad Boys and Men in Black, he has shown a more impressive range. With three Oscar nominations to his name, Smith has proven his chops in biopics, action movies and traditional dramas. This means that his best movies show many sides to his acting talents, and they span from the early 1990s to the here and now.

10 Hitch (2005)

Alex "Hitch" Hitchens

Hitch is very much a product of its time, fitting neatly alongside other New York-based romcoms of the 2000s like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, 27 Dresses and The Proposal. In this way, it may seem a little formulaic, but the formula works well, and it allows its actors to shine. In Hitch’s case, these stars are Will Smith, Kevin James and Eva Mendes. Smith's dynamic with Mendes provides the romantic drama, while his chemistry with James delivers many of the movie’s funniest moments.

Like all 2000s romcoms with a quirky conceit, Hitch uses its unusual premise to look at love and relationships from a different angle. It manages to carve out some surprisingly heartwarming moments as it does so. The main romantic relationship hits all the beats that a romcom should, but Hitch is even better when it focuses on the unlikely friendship between Smith’s suave love doctor and James’ hopeless, hapless romantic. Hitch is fluff, but it’s the best kind of fluff.

9 Aladdin (2019)

Genie

Stepping into the shoes of Robin Williams would be a daunting task for any comedian, especially for one of Williams’ most iconic roles. Will Smith is one of very few actors with the charisma and the general appeal to pull it off, as he does in the live-action remake of Aladdin. Smith makes the character his own, although he has the same sense of freewheeling creativity with a dash of mischief.

Disney’s live-action remakes have been a decidedly mixed bag so far. The very idea of reaching back and reviving the studio’s most popular classics has been seen as a cash grab by many, but movies like The Jungle Book and Cruella prove that it can be done tactfully. Aladdin isn’t among the very best remakes, but its musical numbers are gloriously creative, and it updates the story in a few important ways.

8 Bad Boys (1995)

Mike Lowrey

The Bad Boys franchise has produced some of Will Smith’s best sequels, but there’s still an undeniable charm to the original. While Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have done a great job restarting the franchise with the same humor and gun-toting action, Michael Bay’s mastery of chaotic action means that Bad Boys is still considered the franchise’s best effort by many. It certainly isn’t as popular among critics as Bad Boys For Life or Ride or Die, but this hardly matters.

Bad Boys is a fairly typical buddy cop comedy in many ways. While it doesn’t do much to push beyond the boundaries of the genre, it shows an awareness that these types of movies live and die by the chemistry between their two stars. In this regard, Bad Boys is impeccable, as Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are the perfect on-screen odd couple. With Michael Bay’s dizzying assault of explosive action and some perfectly-placed one-liners, Bad Boys ticks all the boxes.

7 Enemy Of The State (1998)

Robert Clayton Dean

Enemy of the State is a political thriller about a lawyer who inadvertently comes into possession of a tape which links a murder to a group of corrupt NSA agents. Will Smith stars as the lawyer, injecting some humorous quips into proceedings whenever Enemy of the State threatens to get too technical and complex. He’s also a great dramatic lead, as his character is hounded by the full force of the United States government.

A lot of the action in Enemy of the State is seen through surveillance footage, satellite imagery and anything else the NSA can use to track the movements of their target. While some of these specific technologies haven’t aged well, especially when they look like a sci-fi fantasy, the idea of government surveillance is as prevalent as ever. Enemy of the State has elements of horror mixed in with the action, as the ever-watchful eye of the state hovers over proceedings.

6 The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006)

Chris Gardner

The Pursuit of Happyness stars Will Smith alongside his son Jaden, although it fared much better with critics than After Earth. Smith stars as a father struggling to provide for his child. It’s a simple premise, but the script is so strong that it remains compelling throughout. Of course, the other great strength is Smith’s emotionally raw performance. He shows the desperate vulnerability of love and parenthood, as well as the sheer human joy of it all.

Critics of The Pursuit of Happyness have often pointed to a perceived saccharine quality, but it takes a hard heart indeed to brush aside the relatable nature of the story. Mixed in with the story of triumphing against the odds, there are some devastating subtextual lamentations about the rank inequality of the system. Smith’s Oscar-nominated performance adds this anger to the sadness, desperation and exuberance of love.

5 Six Degrees Of Separation (1993)

Paul

Will Smith captures shades of Tom Ripley in Six Degrees of Separation, as he plays a charming young con man who gradually attaches himself to a wealthy family and starts bleeding them dry. Six Degrees of Separation was one of Smith’s earliest movies, and his first starring role. It offered him the chance to put a wry spin on his character from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as an outsider who shakes up the dynamic of a well-off family.

Six Degrees of Separation is both funny and intriguing, as the mystery of Paul’s identity is gradually fitted together like a puzzle. Amazingly, most of the story is based on a real-life case, down to the detail that the young man claimed to be the son of Sidney Poitier. This strange criminal case could be much more dramatic, but Six Degrees of Separation always maintains its sense of humor. The culture clash angle is a rich vein of comedy.

4 Ali (2001)

Muhammad Ali

Will Smith’s first Oscar nomination was a product of his collaboration with Michael Mann. Ali is a powerful biopic that tells the story of Muhammad Ali’s blistering career alongside the backdrop of American societal upheaval in the 1960s and 1970s. Ali was always more than just an athlete, especially as he spoke out against the Vietnam War and advocated for civil rights in the United States. A suitable biopic could only work by focusing on what he represented outside the ring too.

Ali is a classic boxing movie, partly because the true story of Ali’s life has provided the framework for so many other sports dramas. Smith captures the essence of Ali as a public figure and a wonderful entertainer playing it up for the cameras, but Mann also investigates the man behind the myth in his private moments. The boxing scenes are remarkable, as Mann brings the audience inside the ring to experience the atmosphere.

3 King Richard (2021)

Richard Williams

Will Smith experienced an uneven decade in the 2010s, but he put that behind him with King Richard, and it finally scored him his long-awaited first Oscar win with his third nomination. Any discussion of this award will likely be tainted by the infamous slapping incident at the ceremony, but Smith’s performance certainly shouldn’t be overlooked. After years of struggling to transition from younger roles, King Richard could announce the next chapter of Smith’s career.

Smith plays Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena. However, they are yet to be legends in King Richard. The story focuses on their childhood, and the lengths their father goes to in order to assure they have the access and opportunities they need in a historically white sport. King Richard sticks to the true story for the most part, from the excessive training regime to Richard’s rough background.

2 Independence Day (1996)

Captain Steven Hiller

Independence Day is a near-perfect summer blockbuster, providing jaw-dropping action, crowdpleasing humor and a sense of the spectacular. Will Smith solidified his status as one of Hollywood’s most bankable stars with his performance as a Marine pilot who fights off an alien invasion, and he’s surrounded by a brilliant ensemble cast which includes Jeff Goldblum and Bill Pullman. It’s sheer popcorn entertainment from start to finish, and it’s no surprise that it was a box office smash.

Some people may get cynical over the state of big-budget blockbusters, but original movies like Independence Day prove that they can be an art. Anchored by a simple premise that can indulge a human need for togetherness and triumph, Independence Day leads its audience into battle. Some critics have taken issue with the thin characterizations and the simplistic plot. Indeed, it’s easy to criticize Independence Day, but it will never be referred to as boring.

1 Men In Black (1997)

Agent J

Will Smith’s early career was defined by his comedies, and Men in Black stands out as the most original, the funniest and the most emotionally resonant. Although he and Tommy Lee Jones play two government agents who keep New York City’s extraterrestrials in line, Men in Black is essentially a buddy cop movie. The mismatched dynamic of the grizzled veteran and the cocky rookie is textbook for the genre, but rarely has it been done with such tenderness.

Smith helps himself to most of Men in Black’s funniest quotes, with Jones content to raise the occasional eyebrow as his more stoic partner. For all the giant bugs, miniature galaxies and invading warships, the relationship between the two main characters is what really gives Men in Black its momentum. The bittersweet ending has been tainted somewhat by the sequels, but the original Men in Black remains a beautiful sci-fi comedy worth rewatching over and over again.