20 Times Actors Bet Against Hollywood (And WON)
17. Will Smith - Independence Day
This one is an especially satisfying case of an actor proving the naysayers wrong, as the initial dissent seemed to come from a place of genuine prejudice.
When developing Independence Day, director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin wanted Will Smith to play Captain Steve Hiller, one of the movie's lead characters but 20th Century Fox executives were heavily opposed to casting Smith. Why? Because they didn't want a black lead. They believed that the movie would fail at the international box office if a black actor was headlining it, which is depressing to hear.
Not only do those executives sound like a bunch of bigots, but they also look very stupid indeed. Emmerich and Devlin fought relentlessly for Smith's casting and once they finally got their wish, Independence Day became the highest-grossing film of the year and Smith was delightful in the part. This movie helped to establish Will Smith as one of the biggest stars on the planet.
For many years, just putting Will Smith in a movie seemed to guarantee a box office smash, and it all started here.