On September 25, famous American actor and singer Will Smith celebrates his birthday. Over the past two decades, Smith has been one of the most sought-after Hollywood actors, and the total box office receipts of his films amount to more than $8 billion. In honor of the actor’s birthday, we have collected 12 interesting facts about his life and career, writes VGL.
1 Will Smith studied well at school and after graduation received a personal scholarship to enter the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is considered one of the most prestigious educational institutions in the USA and the world. But Smith refused the scholarship, deciding to take up rap professionally.
2 Having begun his acting career with filming in the television series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” Smith set himself the goal of becoming “the brightest movie star in the world” by studying the general characteristics of the box office successes of the films.
3 Will Smith became a millionaire before he was 20 years old. He is now one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood and regularly takes leading positions in Forbes magazine’s rankings. His fortune is estimated at more than $300 million.
4 Smith became the first actor in Hollywood history to have nine consecutive films gross more than $100 million each at the U.S. box office and to have 11 consecutive films gross more than $150 million internationally.
5 Smith tries to insert the phrase “Oh, damn it!” in all of his films.
6 Smith was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for the most public appearances in 12 hours. On November 22, 2005, he attended three premieres of The Hitch Method in Manchester, Birmingham and London.
7 In 2007, he was ranked 5th in EW’s The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
8 He loves to play chess and can solve a Rubik’s cube in 55 seconds, which he demonstrated in the TV series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and in the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
9 He bears the unofficial title of “Mr. July” due to the fact that most of his blockbusters were released in July.
December 10, 2007 Will Smith left his hand and foot prints on Hollywood Boulevard under Grauman’s Chinese Theater.
11 According to Muscle & Fitness magazine, Smith, with a figure of 175 kg, ranks second among current Hollywood stars in the bench press, behind only Dwayne Johnson (“The Rock”), whose result is 193 kg.
12 In 2017, Smith launched his own YouTube channel, which has over 9 million subscribers