It is the television medium that rendered Will Smith the widest exposure. His most notable television role was that of William "Will" Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bell Air. Apart from this he has played in many other memorable roles including Agent J in Men in Black and Men in Black II, Muhammad Ali in Ali. He also made a great performance in the famous Independence Day. In the recent times he acted as Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happiness with his son Jaden Smith. Will Smith from the early days of his life was quite interested. Together with Jeff Townes, whom he met at a party made D.J. Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. In the projects Smith used to handle the rhymes and Townes oversees the mastery of mixing and scratching. They were fine combinations of pop and hip-hop hit during the '80s and '90s. Though born with a good talent he has to go through many ups and downs. Will Smith was near bankruptcy when in 1990, the NBC television network signed him to a contract and a sitcom was built, named The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, around him. It was this successful show that launched his acting career. He in the meantime also made a notable dramatic film debut in Six Degrees of Separation while still appearing in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But the film career of Will Smith took off in real sense with his acting in the buddy cop action film Bad Boys (1995) along with co-star Martin Lawrence. Again after the completion of The Fresh of Bel-Air in 1996, Smith began a prosperous solo music career while simultaneously staring in a series of films. The first two films in which he starred, named Independence Day (1996) in the role of a fearless and confident pilot and Men in Black (1997) in the role of the comic and confident Agent J. against Tommy Lee Jones' deadpan. Smith's performance in the film was widely acclaimed. There happens to be the need of a milestone in any career that will provide impetus for further improvements. These two films in the career of Smith happened to perform the same thrust and established the commercial reputation of Smith as a bankable star, whose appeal across age, race, and gender lines could "open" a film at the box office. These double successes instill a new confidence that prompted him to turn down the offer of the role of Neo in The Matrix in favor of Wild Wild West. Watching the performance of the lead actor in the same role in the later days, he commented that to relinquish the role was a grave mistake. However he gained lead roles in several box office successes that include Men in Black II, Bad Boys II, Hitch and I, Robot.

Will Smith is one of the two hip-hop artists to receive an Oscar nomination in the acting category for his protryal of the boxer Muhammad Ali, formerly known as Cassius Clay. He was also nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in another true-life movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, namd Chris Gardner in his rags to riches story. He also appeared at Nickelodeon Kid's Choiceawards in 2005 performing "Switch", as well as the Black Entertainment Televison awards in 2005. He also made an appearance in the second game of the NBA Finals (San Antonio vs. Detroit) performing "Switch" in 2005.