Before Will Smith became The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he was famous and broke. Smith had found success with the hit "Parents Just Don’t Understand," made a ton of money, and blown it away, then Uncle Sam came calling. Going into The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Smith was determined not to make the same mistake twice. He picked up the pieces, and remains one of the biggest stars on the planet to this day.
Through the years, Smith has made movies, many of which have been box office successes. With each movie and television show came cast members who have shared their experience of working with Will Smith. In case you were wondering what it’s like to work with the Gemini Man star, here’s a sneak peek.
Updated on April 21, 2022: Will Smith is a pretty controversial figure in Hollywood right now. After he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, many celebrities criticized his actions, while many more came to his defense. While Smith is facing punishment from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the distributors of many of his upcoming projects, he still clearly has a lot of support from his friends in Hollywood.
No matter how you feel about Smith's actions at the Oscars and the consequences he is now facing, one thing is clear – Will Smith is loved by many, many people who have worked with him in the past. While some people may be hesitant to ever work with Smith again now that he is such a controversial figure, there will be many more who jump at the chance to collaborate with the Academy Award winner.
10 Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie has worked with Will Smith on two movies so far; the comedy-drama film Focus, and Suicide Squad. Asked what it was like to work with Smith, Robbie said: “He was entirely different to how I assumed he was going to be because he really does put a lot of himself into his character. He’s got such an energy about him. That’s not something you can suppress. That’s gonna be in a lot of his performances…He’s also incredibly smart, and incredibly professional.”
However, she was apparently not so happy with him while they were auditioning together for Focus, but that's a whole other story.
9 Charlize Theron
Charlize Theron and Will Smith have worked on three movies together: 2008’s Hancock and its sequel, and The Legend of Bagger Vance. Theron said of working with Will Smith for a second time, “I guess if you are doing it the second time around, something was okay the first time. That’s definitely what happened. I mean, we had a great time working together.”
8 Martin Lawrence
As actors, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are cultural icons for simply bringing their magic to Bad Boys, Bad Boys II and the three-quel that came 25 years later. In an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, Lawrence revealed that he helped Will get the job, thanks to a recommendation from his sister, and that was only after 5 minutes of talking to him. “We had a lot of fun. It was our big first movie that kicked us off,” Lawrence said.
7 Janet Hubert
For a long time, there was a sour relationship between Smith and the original Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. “You were able to move forward, but you know those words…calling a black woman ‘difficult’ in Hollywood is the kiss of death. It’s hard enough being a dark-skinned woman in this business.” Hubert said at the Fresh Prince reunion, where she and Smith eventually made peace.
6 Nia Long
Actress Nia Long calls The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air a huge part of her career. Long first played the role of Claudia on the show’s second season, and later took on the role of Lisa on the fifth season. On working with Smith, she said: “Will Smith…I love him so much. He’s such a…he’s a natural-born teacher. He definitely lives by his own rules, and he would always just come through the door with this huge amount of love and energy and this abundance of giving and support. He believes that he can do anything, and that was the first time that I’d ever seen a black man take that position.”
5 Elise Neal
While most people have nothing but positives to say about working with Will Smith, actress Elise Neal, just like Janet Hubert, had a different experience on the set of All of Us. Elise Neal, during an interview with HipHop Uncensored podcast, said she walked away from the sitcom because of Will and Jada’s constant state of unhappiness. According to her, they spread that unhappiness to others. “I wasn’t happy on that set because people treated me in a way that I could tell they were unhappy.” Neal said.
4 Mena Massoud
In 2019, Mena Massoud starred alongside Will Smith on Aladdin. In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Massoud shared his experience working with the iconic actor. “When we went to Jordan, we all got to the desert and there was this very intimate cast and crew. We got to the desert and there was champagne there and dancers and the beta winds were giving us these beautiful scarfs. Turns out Will had thrown this huge party for us. That’s the kind of guy he is.”
3 Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones starred alongside Will Smith in the 1997 success, Men in Black. Jones said of Will Smith: “Will’s a wonderful person. He is a good actor, and he is able to interact with other actors. He’s very generous. He’s the kind of guy that comes to a set hoping to entertain everybody. He’s gotta make sure that everybody is laughing, and if there’s one guy off on the corner with a little light, he’ll go straight to that guy and make sure that guy is laughing.”
2 Jaden Smith
Not so many children in Hollywood can boast of having worked with their parents. Jaden Smith, however, worked with Will at a young age on The Pursuit of Happyness and later broke out on his own with Karate Kid (which his dad produced). On working with his dad, Jaden said: “It’s a family business. Just the way somebody would own a pizza shop and the whole family will work there, that’s what it is. This is our family business. So, it’s really really natural for me.”
Jaden seemingly tweeted in support of his father's Oscar actions.
1 Tatyana Ali
Tatyana Ali played the role of Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. On working alongside Will Smith, she said, “He’s a ball of energy, and he still is. Not even a ball, he’s just like an explosion of energy when he walks into the room. That’s just how he was, and he’s incredibly funny and a great storyteller and so charismatic. He just…made me laugh.”
