#78184 - Will Smith

[Yarjka]

#78184

Will Smith is a fantastic example of a musician-turned-actor. Heck, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is enough to put him near the top of the list. Throw in Independence Day, Men In Black, I, Robot, I am Legend, Seven Pounds, and the kazillion other films he's made, and it would be pretty easy to say that he has had an incredible level of success in transitioning from a music career to an acting one.

You mention so many Will Smith films by name but leave out his two best performances: Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness. His ability to speak so much without words in this scene is not only worth noting, but should be Exhibit A in any case being made in defense of his qualities as an actor. You do him a disservice by lumping these two academy-award-nominated performances in with his 'kazillion other films'. And you're absolutely right to note The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, as not all actors are able to transition from comedy to drama, television to film. He has an incredible range that I think surpasses Barbara Streisand (but you do make a good case for Streisand too).

[Shrinky Dink]

I tried to add a comment to the original post mentioning Jackie Chan. While he is famous in America for his martial arts and acting, in China, he is more well known for his singing. He even did the voice of Shang in the chinese versions of Mulan.