Will Smith Does NOT Deserve An Oscar And Here’s Why

People are claiming that Will Smith deserves an Oscar but does he?

Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, has spoken up about her husband being “snubbed” at the Oscars this year for his role in Concussion. But while her argument could be perceived as acknowledgement by a nomination rather than a win, the internet has (of course) gone to extremes questioning why he has never won an Academy Award.

Before we get started, I’m not advocating to exclude Will Smith from being nominated for an Oscar. But I am 100% sure that he has not yet earned his right to a lustrous Academy Award. There are some making claims with an opinion they’ve backed up, but there are others whose opinion I will not even address. Those are the people claiming that Will Smith deserved an Oscar for “Independence Day.” And for those that think that, feel free to avoid the Oscars and focus on the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards. That may be an awards show that adheres to your tastes.

For the rest of the crowd arguing for more worthy films, my argument is geared towards your opinions.

1. Will Smith gets a nomination for “Ali” but not a win.

At the 2002 Oscars Will Smith received his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of boxer legend Muhammad Ali in the film “Ali.” This was quite an honor already, but he also shared the nomination spotlight with a number of other seasoned actors, all of whom were his senior in both age and experience. Sean Penn was nominated for “I Am Sam,” Russell Crowe for “A Beautiful Mind,” Tom Wilkinson for “In the Bedroom,” and Denzel Washington for “Training Day.”

Among these actors, Denzel Washington prevailed as the winner which was long overdue to say the least. I wouldn’t say that “Training Day” was a role that outshined others in this category, but with being snubbed on so many previous superior roles, everyone knew that Denzel Washington was the actor that did deserve the win. At only 34, Will Smith still had a bit of work to hone his craft to be on par with Washington.

Click to the NEXT PAGE for reason #2

2. Will Smith gets a nomination for “The Pursuit of Happyness” but not a win.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” may have been Will Smith’s best performance to date. It was emotional and his performance was fluid with vast range. It was a much more challenging role than “Ali” as it forced Smith off of his comedic crutch and into consistent drama. But while his performance was strong so was his competition.

This time he was up against Leonardo DiCaprio for “Blood Diamond” (one of Matt’s favorites), Peter O’Toole for “Venus,” Ryan Gosling for “Half Nelson,” and Forest Whitaker for “The Last King of Scotland.” One could argue for Smith against some of his competition but once again, another actor clearly deserved the win.

Forest Whitaker blew people away with his performance in “The Last King of Scotland.” He seemed to be the living embodiment of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Not only was Whitaker’s performance more than stellar, it was unlike anything we had seen him do before. At the time, Whitaker had been in the business for 24 years without a single nomination despite having roles in iconic films like “Platoon” and “Good Morning, Vietnam.” It may have been his first nomination but he was aiming for the fence with this performance and won over everyone. Needless to say, he outshined every actor, including Will Smith.

Click to the NEXT PAGE for his current Oscar “snub” for “Concussion!”

3. Will Smith’s lack of a nomination for “Concussion.”

Although I don’t agree this was Will Smith’s best performance, I could see how some could argue for a nomination but definitely not a win. But if he were to be nominated, I think the only actor that he could swap with would be Matt Damon for “The Martian.”

Will Smith challenged himself by taking on a role that required an accent. This is a challenge that many actors face and also an accent that Smith couldn’t maintain throughout “Concussion” with an occasional slip here and there. Even Mel Gibson failed to take home a Best Actor win for “Braveheart” due to his accent, even though he won for Best Picture and Best Director.

But even if we were to overlook the problematic accent (in my opinion), Will Smith would be up against some heavy competition. Leonardo DiCaprio is practically a shoe in given his reputation and 5 previous Oscar nominations. Not to mention that his performance in “The Revenant” was of the caliber we would expect from DiCaprio. Next we have the previous year’s Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne in a role addressing the hot topic issue of transgender people. Following Redmayne, we have Michael Fassbender’s captivating performance as Apple icon Steve Jobs. And finally we have one of America’s fan-favorites, Bryan Cranston for “Trumbo” playing the role of a legendary screenwriter. This is not to say that Will Smith didn’t give a great performance, I just don’t think he was on the same level as some of these other actors.

Now this final point may seem like Oscar politics but I attribute it more to supplemental guidance. Most of the films that housed these actors also had a more seasoned director behind them. Many may ignore this, but the support and guidance of an experienced director goes a long way in shaping an actor’s performance. Leo had one of the most creatively enduring directors out there with Alejandro González Iñárritu. His abstract form would supplement any actor’s range at this point and his win for “Birdman” last year proves it. Michael Fassbender had Danny Boyle who also has his fair share of acclaim with films like “127 Hours” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” Eddie Redmayne had Tom Hooper in his corner who was responsible for both “Les Miserables” and “The King’s Speech.” Bryan Cranston had Jay Roach who was known more for comedy but received acclaim for “Game Change” and “Recount.” And finally Matt Damon had Ridley Scott in his corner. A man who has been just about everywhere in Hollywood.

When you compare the talent behind those films to rookie director Peter Landesman, the man behind “Concussion,” you can definitely see how Will Smith didn’t have the supplemental backing that the other actors did. That’s not to say that there was a dependency on their directors but every little bit helps.

Click to the NEXT PAGE for the overall reason why Will Smith is not Oscar-worthy (yet).

Final Thoughts

Will Smith is a multi-talented person. He’s been a prominent figure in music, television, and film. He’s also one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood due to his box office success with films that he is attached to. But while he has his list of talents, I don’t think that he is the most snubbed actor. Even when it comes to minority actors who are overlooked by the Academy, I wouldn’t put him at the top of my list. David Oyelowo didn’t receive a nomination last year for his role as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in “Selma” and that performance was far more powerful and notable than Will Smith’s role as Dr. Bennet Omalu in “Concussion.”

Will Smith is at a “Brad Pitt level” where he will continue to get nominations, but it’s going to be difficult to escape his own personality. Too many people know him because he’s a household name associated with a particular type of film. It’s both a blessing and a curse. We love the movies that he is in, but it’s difficult for us to get lost in the characters he plays due to his popularity. Many actors have their tells and little idiosyncrasies that go unnoticed but actors like Will Smith and Brad Pitt seem to have difficulty completely abandoning their own personality.

If Will Smith is going to genuinely take home an Oscar, I think he will need to go into a more methodical style of acting to truly get lost in a role. Even Robin Williams had to prove himself by breaking into roles that were abstract and completely outside of his norm. “Good Will Hunting” didn’t just land in his lap.

There is a great actor somewhere inside Will Smith, but it’s going to take some time and dedication to find his form. Unfortunately, this is just not his year to shine.

Weigh in on the subject and tell us your thoughts!