Will Smith: 5 Awesome Performances And 5 That Sucked

5 Awesome Performances...

5. Paul - Six Degrees Of Separation

Who would have thought that the rapper/actor who was making his name making shapes and splitting sides as the infamous Fresh Prince would offer such a fantastic, measured performance in a film like Six Degrees Of Separation as his first real stand-out role? Long before Smith was cutting his teeth as a tent-pole action star in Independence Day, and while he was still only halfway through his tenure on The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, the very young actor starred alongside a hugely impressive cast (including Sir Ian McKellen and Donald Sutherland no less) in Fred Schepisi's drama of high-class deception. Smith's performance as Paul, the cuckoo con-man who prayed on socialites by pretending to be one of their own was a revelation, especially considering his comparative lack of experience, and it is he, along with Grease's Stockard Channing who really sell the film. He is charismatic and charming, and utterly sells the constructs of his conniving character, to the extent that he never loses our empathy. Interestingly, as well as marking Smith's transition to dramatic acting, Six Degrees also featured a brief appearance by JJ Abrams.