7. Will Smith
Many of us, who were kids in the 90s, still remember Will Smith most fondly as the street-smart teen sent to live with his preppy LA relatives in the classic NBC sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. But, with a successful music career also already under his belt (Will picked up a Grammy as one half of hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince), the restless, charismatic polymath soon turned his attentions to the silver screen and set himself the modest goal of becoming the biggest movie star in the world. Sure enough, stardom beckoned with a hilarious turn as a narcotics cop in the classic comedy Bad Boys (1995) and lead roles soon followed in action blockbusters Independence Day (1996) and Men in Black (1997). After a few minor hiccups in credibility (turning down the role of Neo in the Matrix to do Wild Wild West (1999), that "Big Willy Style" song...), Will turned his chops to serious acting, taking on Oscar bait Muhammed Ali biopic Ali in 2001, which, predictably, gained him his first Academy Award nomination. He followed up with dystopian sci-fi flick I, Robot (2004) and another best actor Oscar nomination for The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), a critically acclaimed film based on the true story of Chris Gardner and his struggles as a homeless single parent. Since then, Smith has sashayed between dramatic and action roles, in films like Omega Man remake, I am Legend (2007) and, most recently, sci-fi box office flop After Earth (2013), which he starred in with his protege / son Jayden who, thanks to some spectacular helicopter parenting, looks set to carry the Smith dynasty into the next century.