Will Smith is undeniably one of the greatest actors ever and he’s well aware.
The Oscar winner even went as far as to name himself on the Mount Rushmore of the Greatest Male Actors of All Time alongside Marlon Brando, Denzel Washington, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
“I’m tryna look at the whole spectrum… I’m not tryna be arrogant. I do think I am one of the most prolific actors of all time,” Smith stated with confidence.
Before mentioning Day-Lewis, the Fresh Prince clarified the difference between movie stars and actors.
“Why I like those is because there’s actors and there’s movie stars… An actor can deliver a role and take you to something that is a transformative experience, but a movie star can put a movie on their back and carry it. You go to a Denzel movie because it’s a Denzel movie,” he explained.
Adding, “There are a lot of times people are good actors and you like to see people act and if they’re in something you like, you’ll go. But you’ll go to a Denzel because it’s Denzel. You’ll go to a Will Smith movie because it’s Will Smith.”
Smith didn’t put one category over the other, but did note that “being a movie star is a little bit extra.”
Being the blockbuster pioneer that he is, Smith concluded by sharing, “When you’re a movie star, you can carry a movie and there’s a lot of actors that are really great and can give you spectacular performances, but they not gonna put a movie on their back and carry it around the world and make you wanna come see it because they’re in it.”
Back in Smith’s heyday, he coined the term “Big Willie Weekend,” which signified the Fourth of July weekend when yet another blockbuster film of his hit theaters. Such cinematic masterpieces included Independence Day (1996), Men In Black (1997), and Wild Wild West (1999). However, 2008’s Hancock marked the end of Big Willie Weekend.
Just last year, he placed Men In Black on his Mount Rushmore of his best films, and also listed The Pursuit of Happyness, I Am Legend, and King Richard.
Leave a comment