Willard Carroll Smith II, also known by his stage name the Fresh Prince, is an American actor, rapper, and producer. Smith first gained recognition as part of a hip hop duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and achieved wider fame for his fictionalized self-portrayal on the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990-1996). Noted for his work in music, television, and film, Will Smith has received various accolades.
His Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony nominations make him one of few black individuals to be nominated for the four major American entertainment awards (EGOT). For his portrayal of Richard Williams in the biographical sports drama King Richard (2021), Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor, making him the first rapper to win an acting Oscar, 33 years after he became the first musician to win a Grammy for rap music.
Smith has achieved and held several US and international box office records. Smith faced public backlash for slapping and shouting at Oscar presenter Chris Rock during the 2022 annual Academy Awards ceremony, after Rock made a joke referencing Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith subsequently resigned from the Academy and was banned from attending Academy functions, including the Oscars, for ten years.
Some of the best quotes from Will Smith are listed below.
- “10 ways to love: listen, speak, give, pray, answer, share, enjoy, trust, forgive, promise.” – Will Smith
- “99% is the same as zero. If you are gonna do 99, go ahead and stay home.” – Will Smith
- “And where I excel is ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy’s sleeping? I’m working.” – Will Smith
- “Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.” – Will Smith
- “Don’t chase people. Be yourself, do your own thing and work hard” – Will Smith
- “Greatness is not this, wonderful, esoteric, elusive, god-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste. You know? It’s something that truly exists, in, all of us. It’s very simple, this is what I believe, and, I’m willing to die for it. Period. It’s that simple.” – Will Smith
- “I don’t know what my calling is, but I want to be here for a bigger reason. I strive to be like the greatest people who have ever lived.” – Will Smith
- “I know how to learn anything I want to learn. I absolutely know that I could learn how to fly the space shuttle because someone else knows how to fly it, and they put it in a book. Give me the book, and I do not need somebody to stand up in front of the class.” – Will Smith
- “I want the world to be better because I was here.” – Will Smith
- “I want to represent the idea that you really can make what you want … I believe I can create whatever I want to create.” – Will Smith
- “I’m a student of world religion, so to me, it’s hugely important to have knowledge and to understand what people are doing.” – Will Smith
- “I’ve never really viewed myself as particularly talented. I’ve viewed myself as slightly above average in talent.” – Will Smith
- “I’ve trained myself to illuminate the things in my personality that are likeable and to hide and protect the things that are less likeable.” – Will Smith
- “If it was something that I really committed myself to, I don’t think there’s anything that could stop me becoming President of the United States.” – Will Smith
- “If you’re not willing to work hard, let someone else do it. I’d rather be with someone who does a horrible job, but gives 110% than with someone who does a good job and gives 60%.” – Will Smith
- “It’s quite highly possible that I have peaked. I mean, I just can’t imagine what else I could do beyond this. It’s really a bittersweet kind of feeling.” – Will Smith
- “Look at your 5 closest friends. Those 5 friends are who you are. If you don’t like who you are then you know what you have to do.“ – Will Smith
- “Money and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there.” – Will Smith
- “Smiling is the best way to face every problem, to crush every fear and to hide every pain.“ – Will Smith
- “So if you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready, and that is how I run my life.” – Will Smith
- “Stop letting people who do so little for you control so much of your mind, feelings & emotions.” – Will Smith
- “The first step is you have to say that you can.” – Will Smith
- “The things that have been most valuable to me I did not learn in school.” – Will Smith
- “Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.” – Will Smith
- “Too many people spend money they haven’t earned to buy things they don’t want to impress people they don’t like.” – Will Smith
- “Whatever your dream is, every extra penny you have needs to be going to that.” – Will Smith
- “When you create art, the world has to wait.” – Will Smith
- “You don’t set out to build a wall. You don’t say ‘I’m going to build the biggest, baddest, greatest wall that’s every been built.’ You don’t start there. You say, ‘I’m going to lay this brick as perfectly as a brick can be laid.’ You do that every single day. And soon you have a wall.” – Will Smith
