--- description: The star is a long way from his box-office heights title: Can Will Smith Become a Movie Star Again? image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33ab03d902e157ef/6987813aa988ca0eae6acb0c/will-smith1.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Can Will Smith Become a Major Movie Star Again? ## Video: Focus - Official Trailer 2 HD [Watch (HLS stream): Focus - Official Trailer 2 HD](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9xwPyM7H.m3u8) (2:33)  _Published 2014-12-22. Focus - Official Trailer 2 HD_  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 27, 2015 2:30 PM CUT  Will Smith arrives at the Los Angeles World Premiere of Focus at TCL Chinese Theatre on Feb. 24, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif. Will Smith arrives at the Los Angeles World Premiere of Focus at TCL Chinese Theatre on Feb. 24, 2015 in Hollywood, Calif.Gregg DeGuire—WireImage/Getty Images  by [Daniel D'Addario](/author/daniel-daddario/)  ## Daniel D'Addario Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 27, 2015 2:30 PM CUT It’s hard to remember now, but once upon a time, Will Smith was the king of the multiplex. Smith, who’s attempting to stage a big-screen comeback with this weekend’s heist caper _Focus_, had a great track record in the 1990s (1995’s _Bad Boys_, 1996’s _Independence Day_) and then an uninterrupted string of hits in the mid-to-late 2000s. The star tossed off one surefire hit a year: _I, Robot_ (2004); _Hitch_ (2005); _The Pursuit of Happyness_ (2006); _I Am Legend_ (2007); _Hancock_ (2008). That last film, a subversive movie about a superhero who wasted his powers, was a brilliant parable for the years ahead. In project after project, Smith brought his charisma and his fame to bear on unworthy projects. Each of his post-_Hancock_ projects had some fatal flaw that must have seemed alluring to the actor: _Seven Pounds_ (2008), about a man seeking opportunities to donate all of his organs to “worthy” people, had all of the sentimentalism of _Happyness_ but pushed it past logical sense. _Men in Black 3_ (2012) was a too-safe return to a well that had run creatively dry; _After Earth_ (2013) presumed the audience would be at once deeply interested in both Smith’s son Jaden as a leading man, in the Smith family’s vaguely-defined mystical beliefs, and in M. Night Shyamalan as a director. The collaboration with Shyamalan, a director deeply out of vogue after a series of bombs, spoke as clearly to Smith’s remove from on-the-ground realities as did an infamous [interview](http://www.vulture.com/2013/05/will-and-jaden-smith-on-working-together.html "undefined") he and Jaden gave to _New York_. (Asked if he alphabetized his laserdiscs, Smith replied, “I’m very, very serious about systems supporting creative inspiration.” It was that kind of interview.) Smith claimed, then, that he was not interested in fame, a claim belied by the fact that all of his movies have been either blockbusters or would-be blockbusters that the public rejected. Whatever was wrong with last year’s Smith flop _Winter’s Tale_, it wasn’t a lack of bombast or sweep. But it is true that throughout his career, Smith has been resistant to the sort of innovative projects that turn an actor into an icon. His movies that succeeded did so because of their easily digestible conceits, while the ones that failed did so because the formula had turned against Smith. The star famously turned down both _The Matrix_ and _Django Unchained_; the argument for him as a generation-defining movie star is more mathematical than it is based on real affection. That math has turned against Smith, and wouldn’t seem to be getting any better. _Focus_, an attractive trifle, was dumped into the late-winter box office doldrums, and is attracting far more press for rising star Margot Robbie’s appearance than for anything Smith does. The most promising moves, for Smith, lie in the future, in particular with his appearance as the villainous Deadshot in 2016’s _Suicide Squad_, based on the villains from the DC Comics universe. The franchise onboarding one of the world’s best-known actors, rather than seeking, as Marvel has done several times over, to build a star from something found in a Hollywood gym, has the feeling of a corporate merger, but Will Smith’s strength has always been in his extreme packageability. It may seem perverse to say that an actor’s appearance in a comic-book movie is cause for celebration, but Smith attaching himself to an existing property may be the way he climbs out of the hole he’s in. Will Smith’s name on a poster can no longer sell movie tickets. That he’s apparently realized that and acted accordingly, joining a large ensemble rather than bending a movie to his will and agreeing to be a villain rather than a hero, is the first proof in a while that Smith, for years the most astute movie star in the game, really is focused. _Read next:_ [_Review:_](http://time.com/3723716/focus-movie-review-will-smith-margot-robbie/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined")[ Focus](http://time.com/3723716/focus-movie-review-will-smith-margot-robbie/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined")[_: Can Will Smith Do Cary Grant?_](http://time.com/3723716/focus-movie-review-will-smith-margot-robbie/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") ### See All the Best Actors in Oscar History  1929: Emil Jannings - The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh Imagno/Getty Images  1930: Warner Baxter - In Old Arizona Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1931: George Arliss - Disraeli Print Collector/Getty Images  1932: Lionel Barrymore - A Free Soul Popperfoto/Getty Images  1933: Fredric March - Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1947: Fredric March - The Best Years of Our Lives Popperfoto/Getty Images  1933: Wallace Beery - The Champ Popperfoto/Getty Images  1934: Charles Laughton - The Private Life of Henry VIII Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1935: Clark Gable - It Happened One Night Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  1936: Victor McLaglen - The Informer Print Collector/Getty Images  1937: Paul Muni - The Story of Louis Pasteur Print Collector/Getty Images  1938: Spencer Tracy - Captains Courageous 1939: Spencer Tracy - Boys Town Clarence Sinclair Bull—John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images  1940: Robert Donat - Goodbye, Mr. Chips Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1941: James Stewart - The Philadelphia Story John Kobal Foundation/Getty Images  1942: Gary Cooper - Sergeant York 1953: Gary Cooper - High Noon Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1943: James Cagney - Yankee Doodle Dandy Popperfoto/Getty Images  1944: Paul Lukas - Watch on the Rhine Popperfoto/Getty Images  1945: Bing Crosby - Going My Way Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1946: Ray Milland - The Lost Weekend Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1948: Ronald Colman - A Double Life Getty Images  1949: Laurence Olivier - Hamlet Mondadori/Getty Images  1950: Broderick Crawford - All the King's Men Columbia Pictures/Getty Images  1951: José Ferrer - Cyrano de Bergerac Mondadori/Getty Images  1952: Humphrey Bogart - The African Queen Archive Photos/Getty Images  1954: William Holden - Stalag 17 Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone/Getty Images  1955: Marlon Brando - On the Waterfront 1973: Marlon Brando - The Godfather Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1956: Ernest Borgnine - Marty GAB Archive/Redferns/Getty Images  1957: Yul Brynner - The King and I Archive Photos/Getty Images  1958: Alec Guinness - The Bridge on the River Kwai Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1959: David Niven - Separate Tables Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1960: Charlton Heston - Ben-Hur Mondadori/Getty Images  1961: Burt Lancaster - Elmer Gantry Archive Photos/Getty Images  1962: Maximilian Schell - Judgment at Nuremberg Pictorial Parade/Getty Images  1963: Gregory Peck - To Kill a Mockingbird Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1964: Sidney Poitier - Lilies of the Field John D. Kisch—Separate Cinema Archive/Getty Images  1965: Rex Harrison - My Fair Lady Archive Photos/Getty Images  1966: Lee Marvin - Cat Ballou Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1967: Paul Scofield - A Man for All Seasons Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  1968: Rod Steiger - In the Heat of the Night Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1969: Cliff Robertson - Charly Camerique/Getty Images  1970: John Wayne - True Grit Photoshot/Getty Images  1971: George C. Scott - Patton Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1972: Gene Hackman - The French Connection 20th Century Fox/Getty Images  1974: Jack Lemmon - Save the Tiger Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images  1975: Art Carney - Harry and Tonto Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1976: Jack Nicholson - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest 1998: Jack Nicholson - As Good as It Gets Archive Photos/Getty Images  1977: Peter Finch - Network Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  1978: Richard Dreyfuss - The Goodbye Girl Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1979: Jon Voight - Coming Home Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1980: Dustin Hoffman - Kramer vs. Kramer 1989: Dustin Hoffman - Rain Man Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1981: Robert De Niro - Raging Bull Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1982: Henry Fonda - On Golden Pond Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1983: Ben Kingsley - Gandhi Doug McKenzie—Getty Images  1984: Robert Duvall - Tender Mercies Dave Allocca—DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1985: F. Murray Abraham - Amadeus Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1986: William Hurt - Kiss of the Spider Woman Terry O'Neill—Hulton Archive/Getty Images  1987: Paul Newman - The Color of Money Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images  1988: Michael Douglas - Wall Street Darlene Hammond—Archive Photos/Getty Images  1990: Daniel Day-Lewis - My Left Foot 2008: Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood 2013: Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1991: Jeremy Irons - Reversal of Fortune Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1992: Anthony Hopkins - The Silence of the Lambs Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1993: Al Pacino - Scent of a Woman Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1994: Tom Hanks - Philadelphia 1995: Tom Hanks - Forrest Gump Time Life Pictures/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  1996: Nicolas Cage - Leaving Las Vegas Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1997: Geoffrey Rush - Shine Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  1999: Roberto Benigni - Life Is Beautiful Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  2000: Kevin Spacey - American Beauty Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  2001: Russell Crowe - Gladiator UK Press/Newsmakers/Getty Images  2002: Denzel Washington - Training Day Frank Micelotta—ImageDirect/Getty Images  2003: Adrien Brody - The Pianist Jeffrey Mayer—WireImage/Getty Images  2004: Sean Penn - Mystic River 2009: Sean Penn - Milk Jeff Haynes—AFP/Getty Images  2005: Jamie Foxx - Ray Peter Kramer—Getty Images  2006: Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote Elisabetta Villa—Getty Images  2007: Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland Mason Trullinger—FilmMagic/Getty Images  2010: Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart Jemal Countess—Getty Images  2011: Colin Firth - The King's Speech Dave Hogan—Getty Images  2012: Jean Dujardin - The Artist Frazer Harrison—Getty Images  2014: Matthew McConaughey - Dallas Buyers Club Jason Merritt—Getty Images  2015: Eddie Redmayne - The Theory of Everything Valerie Macon—AFP/Getty Images  2016: Leonardo DiCaprio - The Revenant C Flanigan—Getty Images  2017: Casey Affleck - Manchester by the Sea Jason LaVeris—Getty Images  2018: Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour Frederic J. Brown—AFP/Getty Images  2019: Remi Malek - Bohemian Rhapsody Ed Herrera—ABC/Getty Images [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3724404/will-smith-focus/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3724404/will-smith-focus/"},"headline":"Can Will Smith Become a Major Movie Star Again?","datePublished":"2015-02-27T14:30:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:05:21.916Z","description":"The star is a long way from his box-office heights","url":"https://time.com/3724404/will-smith-focus/","keywords":["movies","will smith","margot robbie","focus"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33ab03d902e157ef/6987813aa988ca0eae6acb0c/will-smith1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel D'Addario","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-daddario/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt33ab03d902e157ef/6987813aa988ca0eae6acb0c/will-smith1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Los Angeles World Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures \"Focus\"","caption":"Los Angeles World Premiere Of Warner Bros. Pictures \"Focus\"","creditText":"Gregg DeGuire—WireImage/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3724404/will-smith-focus/","name":"Can Will Smith Become a Major Movie Star Again?"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Focus - Official Trailer 2 [HD]","description":"Focus - Official Trailer 2 [HD]","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/9xwPyM7H/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-22T23:08:13.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9xwPyM7H.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3724404/will-smith-focus/","duration":"PT2M33S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3724404/will-smith-focus/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```