In his acceptance speech, Smith apologized for his outburst and related himself to his winning role in 'King Richard.' "Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father," he said. "Love will make you do crazy things." He added, "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world ... I wanna be a vessel of love. I wanna say thank you to Venus and Serena, I just hope they didn't see that on TV."

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Will Smith - The actor's real name is Willard Carroll Smith Jr.

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"The Prince" - Smith earned the nickname "The Prince" in high school, as he was known for goofing around yet always found a way to smooth-talk himself out of trouble.

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Early career - Will Smith began his career as an MC in the hip-hop duo called DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, together with his childhood friend, Jeffrey Townes, and Ready Rock C.

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Millionaire - Smith became a millionaire before he turned 18, after the release of their debut album, 'Rock The House.'

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Bankruptcy - Despite this initial success, the actor almost went bankrupt in 1990 after being fined US$2 million for overdue taxes.

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Contract - This was the same year that NBC offered him a contract for the famous sitcom, 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' in which he played the main character.

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Popularity - Will Smith's popularity boomed after starring in the series, which was such a huge hit that he stayed with NBC from 1990 until 1996.

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Grammy - DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince won a Grammy for their song 'Summertime' in 1991.

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First wife - Will Smith was married once before, to a woman named Sheree Fletcher. They have a son named Will Smith III, whom they call "Trey," and divorced in 1995.

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Oscar - Will Smith was the first rapper to be nominated for an Oscar, for his role in 'Ali' (2001).

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Jada Pinkett Smith - He met Jada Pinkett Smith when she auditioned to play his girlfriend on 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.' The part eventually went to Nia Long, but they married in 1997.

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Kids - The actor has three kids. His first, Willard Smith III (Trey Smith), was born in 1992. His second son, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (known as Jaden Smith), was born in 1998. And lastly his daughter, Willow Camille Reign Smith (Willow Smith), was born in 2000. His second two children are from his marriage to Jada.

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Hobby - Apparently Will Smith loves playing chess.

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'Independence Day' - Smith has confirmed that the character Captain Steven Hiller was inspired by Han Solo, who was played by Harrison Ford.

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Guinness World Record - Smith once earned a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Public Appearances Made By a Film Star in 12 Hours. The record has since been broken.

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Birthday - He shares his birthday with actors Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Mark Hamill.

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Career choices -

Will Smith apparently turned down the role of Neo in 'The Matrix' in 1999. He instead took a part in the movie 'Wild Wild West,' which was a flop at the box office.

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Languages - Smith actually speaks Spanish.

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Catch phrase - Just like Arnold Schwarzenegger likes to say "I'll be back," Will Smith uses the phrase "Aw, hell no!" when playing almost all of his characters.

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Solving a Rubik's cube - The actor solved a Rubik's cube on the series 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,' and also in the film 'The Pursuit of Happyness.' It is one of the actor's special talents, and he has already proved on TV that he can do it in under 55 seconds.

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Fanatic - Will Smith is known to be a fan of WWE wrestling.

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'Just the Two of Us' - Smith's song 'Just the Two of Us' is a tribute to his oldest son Trey (left).

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Nickname - Will Smith is frequently nicknamed "Mr. July," as practically all of his films are released during this month.

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Best-paid actor - Between 2007 and 2008 he was named by Forbes as the best-paid actor in the world, bringing in an estimated US$80 million.

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Father and son - Will Smith and his son, Jaden, played father and son in two films, 'The Pursuit of Happyness' in 2006, and 'After Earth' in 2013.

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Height - Will Smith has been 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) tall since he was 13 years old.

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Estate - Reports vary, but most agree that Will Smith currently has a net worth of over US$350 million.

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Nominations and wins - Will Smith has been nominated for five Golden Globes and three Oscars, and he has won four Grammys, one Golden Globe, and one Oscar.

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Fresh facts about the Fresh Prince

Oscar winner Will Smith turns 54 this September 25

23/09/22 | StarsInsider

CELEBRITY Actors

Will Smith has been on our TV screens and in cinemas for some 30 years. His career has been filled with success, and he is still one of the biggest actors in Hollywood. That's why it was such a historic moment when Smith finally won his first Oscar at the 2022 Academy Awards for his role in 'King Richard,' playing the father of Venus and Serena Williams. But the night is remembered for much more controversial reasons, as earlier he had marched onstage and slapped host Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia (which Rock later claimed he was unaware of). Smith went on to apologize, but damage control mode is still on.

All this said, it's obvious there's a lot more to Smith than meets the eye, so take a look at the following gallery to find out facts you never knew about the star.