The 50 Smartest People In Hollywood

5. WILL SMITH

AGE 39
JOB TITLE Actor/producer
SMART BECAUSE He has revitalized and redefined old-fashioned movie stardom in an era when movie stardom has become small and suspect. After hitting the scene in the mid-'80s as rapper Fresh Prince, then transitioning successfully to TV, Smith soon demonstrated surprising versatility and a knack for picking blockbusters that have given him license to do...well, anything, from Oscar-nominated drama (The Pursuit of Happyness) to event-film spectacle (I Am Legend). He credits Ali director Michael Mann with enlightening his filmmaking mind, and pure elbow grease for achieving a level of global popularity unprecedented for an African-American actor. Smith sums up his work ethic this way: ''I don't like to lose.'' Here are his keys to a winning career.
SET A GOAL ''When I started in movies, I said, 'I want to be the biggest movie star in the world.' The biggest movie stars make the biggest movies, so [my producing partner James Lassiter and I] looked at the top 10 movies of all time. At that point, they were all special-effects movies. So Independence Day — no-brainer. Men in Black — no-brainer. I, Robot — no-brainer.''
PICK A ROLE MODEL ''Tom Hanks is the prototype of where I want to be. I admire how he is able to morph with the times and the audience. He is very savvy that way.''
WORK YOUR ASS OFF ''My father had a ridiculous work ethic. He started his own business. To him, kids were convenient employees. So from a really early age, I was working — and I was in charge.''
MANAGE YOUR FEAR ''After [1999' s disappointment]Wild Wild West, I got scared and started choosing incorrectly. For me, I did Bad Boys IIand Men in Black II out of fear. That was a bad time for me psychologically because I wasn't thinking the right way about filmmaking.''
STRETCH YOURSELF — ASAP ''The smartest move I ever made was Six Degrees of Separation. I was [thinking of] leaving The Fresh Prince of Bel-Airand needed to set a tone. Separation was so far at the other end of the spectrum of anything I had done. It became easier for me to convince Jerry Bruckheimer that I could do Bad Boys. It blew open a world of possibilities for me.''

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