5. It Launched Will Smith
He might attract some criticism these days for his role choices, and too often allows himself to appear in unworthy comedy vehicles that do little to test his obvious range, but Will Smith remains one of the brightest and most saleable stars in Hollywood. He is handsome, charming and can bring the necessary emotional weight to characters in a way that makes his comedy and pop music past seem very distant. In Independence Day, Smith was little more than an emerging talent, with Bad Boys under his belt and eye-catching though lesser roles in Where The Day Takes You and even more notably Six Degrees of Separation making up the bulk of his film career. Here he was effectively brand new as a leading man, and he absolutely nailed the performance: bringing swagger, heart and genuine charisma to a tricky role that could have been no more than a Top Gun airhead in other hands. His music, Bad Boys and The Fresh Prince might have made him famous, but Independence Day made Will Smith a star.