20 legendary Black science fiction actors who rocked the genre

Will Smith

Sometimes, you just need to have fun. Don’t get us wrong. There’s plenty of room for thoughtful science fiction, dark science fiction, and science fiction that makes it feel like your brain is expanding in new and delightful ways. Even then, with all of that, there’s no reason you can’t do it with a grin on your face.

If there were a king of science fiction fun, then it would have to be Will Smith. He’s got the sort of immense charisma and name recognition necessary for that sort of role. Let’s review.

First piece of evidence: Men in Black. This film series, started way back in the mists of 1997, stars Smith as Agent Jay. He’s the newest recruit to the titular Men in Black, a secret government organization which is kind of like immigration enforcement for actual space aliens. Yeah, we know that definitely was more lighthearted in the late 90s than it is today.

Jay is paired with grizzled veteran agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones). The pair form an unlikely friendship as they try to save everyone from an intergalactic threat. The movie was so successful that it spawned two sequels and an animated show, not to mention three Academy Award nominations (it won for Best Makeup).

Will Smith is another deeply likable lead in Independence Day, where he plays Captain Steven Hiller, a hero pilot. Directed by Roland Emmerich, this movie has plenty of bombast, but it’s also got Smith punching an alien and then telling it, “welcome to Earth.” Not too bad.

There are some sci-fi misses in Smith’s career, too. He did make the pretty execrable After Earth in 2013. At least he’s starred in somewhat better sci-fi movies, like I, Robot (2004) and I Am Legend (2007). He was also up to play Neo in the Matrix films, though he dropped it in favor of starring in Wild Wild West. Maybe, somewhere out there, an alternate universe has a very, very different set of Matrix movies with an incredibly charming lead.