Will Smith

A detective who distrusts machines, in a film that needs the audience to distrust him instead: Will Smith plays against his own likeability.

Smith plays the sceptical investigator in I, Robot, a role that requires him to be prejudiced, wrong for most of the running time and right about the specific thing that matters. The performance uses his established charm as a device, since an audience predisposed to like him will follow a character behaving badly.

Background and Influences

He came to acting from music, where he had substantial commercial success, and then through a long running television comedy before films. That background explains his comfort with direct address and comic timing, and it is why his science fiction leads tend to include jokes in situations that would not obviously support them.

Style and Themes

Recurring subjects: reluctant heroism, men carrying an unspoken loss, and humour used to keep an audience close during exposition. He plays grief in short controlled bursts and has repeatedly taken dramatic roles that work against his commercial persona, drawing Academy recognition for them.

Legacy and Influence

He was among the most commercially reliable leading actors in cinema for two decades, particularly in science fiction, where several of his films defined the summer blockbuster of their period. His career is a standard example of a musician transitioning into film stardom at the largest possible scale.

Who Should Explore Their Work

For viewers who want science fiction built around a charismatic lead. Suited to anyone approaching the science fiction blockbusters of the period, and to those interested in the dramatic work that sits alongside them.