I Am Legend
Some remember that Will Smith is only able to play the joke - a - minute cacoethes that is his part inThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Air . But looking back over his filmography , you ’re struck by how varied his sketch is . From his spectacular tour inThe spare-time activity of Happyness , to action - packed roles inBrightorI , Robot , to his latest role as the Genie in Disney’sAladdin , Will Smith has kind of done it all .
RELATED -Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s 10 Most Badass Characters , Ranked
One thing he does do exceptionally well is embody characters who are unashamedly badasses , sometimes run some of account ’s most well - sleep together character . With that in mind , permit ’s take a facial expression at some of his most badass roles ever .
Nicky (Focus)
Badass does n’t always intend a grease-gun - summate law of nature enforcer with all the good one - liners . Sometimes it ’s an thespian having the ability to create a persona that ’s so instantly cool and likeable that audiences like a shot find a connectedness with them . And if there ’s one actor that can do that seemingly effortlessly , it ’s Will Smith .
This is never more apparent than inFocus , the 2015 film with Margot Robbie where Smith play Nicky , a badass conman who always find a way to get everything out of his mark . Aided by a great script , this is Smith at his most charismatic , make for the back end of his top ten most badass character .
James West (Wild Wild West)
You ’re absolutely right : Wild Wild Westis not one of the beneficial projects Will Smith has ever been involved with . The actor has made his feelings on that subject clear himself . But that does n’t mean his character James West is any less of a badass .
This movie throw Smith one of his silly , comic , corniest scripts to work with , and while it ’s hardly Tarantino floor of expertly - craft dialogue , it ’s one that accommodate Smith down to a tee . Many kid watchedWild Wild Westin 1999 and fell in erotic love with the character , and why would n’t they ? West is a choleric gun - slinger who just oozes cool .
Robert Clayton Dean (Enemy of the State)
run from the legal philosophy is Badass 101 . Doing so while proving your innocence of a murder committed in the highest levels of government ? That ’s like getting a passe-partout degree in being a badass .
Will Smith is great at chop-chop conveying to an audience who his reference reallyis , and from that , it ’s easy to see how he ’s going to develop that role throughout a pic . Robert Dean fromEnemy of the Stateis one such character . He ’s smart and concise and unquestionably needs to be , so he can overreach the NSA when he ’s unite to the plot of a corrupt politician .
Dr. Bennett Omalu (Concussion)
It ’s passably badass to take on one of the most powerful organizations in sport and not only get its attention but find a way to feign change . This is Bennett Omalu , the real spirit neurology expert who discovered and named CTE , the brain disease that affect football game players after suffering several concussions during their playing career .
Smith played the doctor inConcussion , the account of Omalu ’s challenge of the NFL to sample and determine on - orbit concussions . Smith brings Omalu ’s nerveless intelligence and sometimes foreign direction of operating to the screenland in a very effective way . None more so than a succession where he demonstrates what happens to the human mentality when it gets concussed through the use of an nut and a glass jar .
Agent Jay (Men in Black)
For many fans , the role most associate with Will Smith is that of Agent Jay in theMen in Blackfranchise ; the wise - cracking funny Isle of Man alongside Tommy Lee Jones ' stoic Agent Kay . What make Jay a badass is how he goes from a street - smart kid to an effortlessly nerveless agent of what ’s effectively the intergalactic border personnel .
One famous strain of Jay ’s from the first movie says it all:“You know what the difference is between you and me ? I make this depend good . “Does simply wearing sunglasses well count as being a badass ?
Captain Steven Hiller (Independence Day)
After all , if there was an alien invasion of earth , we ’re pretty certain we have it off who we ’d want in charge of taking on the alien race . Except Agent Jay , perhaps …
Del Spooner: (I, Robot)
It ’s a well - used narration arc in action and sci - fi flick : the main protagonist distrusts technology or needs to prove that they hump something everyone else does n’t . And therein lie in the plot ofI , Robot . Smith plays a Chicago cop in 2035 who has to try and shew that a robot invest murder ( while everyone around him roll in the hay that Isaac Asimov ’s three convention of robotics means it ’s not possible ) .
One of Smith ’s just character , Del Spooner has everything required to be a unquestionable badass . He embraces danger , he ’s a heck of fighter , he ’s got a one - lining for every juncture , but he also shows his caring and raw side when look after his elderly grandmother . And his reason for distrusting robots in the first place ? That ’s some centre - wrenching stuff , right on there .
Muhammad Ali (Ali)
One of history ’s most famous sportswoman , Muhammad Ali is without a doubt a complete badass . In one of Smith ’s adept motion-picture show persona , we see him swim like a butterfly and sting like a bee as Cassius Clay , the boxer whose notable book stand for more than three decennium .
It ’s a performance that was applauded not only by critics and consultation but by the man himself . In fact , Smith acted as a bearer at Ali ’s funeral after his death in 2016 . Actors all have sure roles that they ’ll always be remembered for , and this is sure one of Smith ’s .
Robert Neville: (I am Legend)
The ' where we cried ' meme has been attributed to * that * prospect inI Am Legendmore than once . In this movie , Will Smith play virologist Robert Neville , one of just a few survivor in a time to come where zombi are tramp the globe .
We do n’t need to plunder it for anyone that has n’t go through the movie ( although you definitely should have done ) , but Smith ’s Neville is a total badass . His self - charge job is to protect everyone he come into contact with . He does this both by protect them from the physical peril of the parentage - thirsty zombi ( yep , there are some dramatic battles involved ) but also in test to find a cure for the computer virus taint them . He ’s an action at law hero in the truest common sense .
Mike Lowrey: (Bad Boys Franchise)
The clue is in the name of the movie … Sometimes a character reference is so badass that interview just want to keep come back to it - as is the case with Mike Lowrey , the character Will Smith plays polar Martin Lawrence ’s Marcus Burnett inBad Boys , Bad Boys IIand the upcomingBad Boys For Life .
Mike Lowrey is a Will Smith character introduced in the first peak in the lofty top of the whizz ’s life history , whileThe Fresh Prince of Bel - Airwas still on the air and before he became a basic in many a family moving picture . Lowrey is a loud , nervy , cocky copper who loves to shed a punch and flash a hit man . If he ’s not Smith ’s number one badass , we do n’t lie with who is .
NEXT : Everything We Know ( So Far ) About Bad Boys For Life
