(digitalspy.co.uk ) - He's a Grammy-winning rapper, star of his own hit sitcom and leading man of summer blockbusters like Independence Day and Men in Black. He's also been voted the most powerful actor on the planet, one of People magazine's most beautiful people and is convinced he could be president of the US if he ever felt the inclination. Is there anything Will Smith can't do? In between breaking world records and championing paperless loos, the former Fresh Prince has become a serious contender in Hollywood, with two Oscar nods under his belt. As new movie I Am Legend opens in cinemas across the land this week, we offer up ten fascinating facts about West Philadelphia's most versatile star. 1. Will was born Willard Christopher Smith in 1968, the second of four children, to Willard, a refrigeration company owner and Caroline, a school administrator.2. Will had an early growth spurt and reached his adult height of 6' 2" by the time he was 13. Way to go, Willard!3. Will was a bit of a maths whiz at school and would have been a computer engineer if his showbiz dreams had fallen through. He says: "I probably would have been the guy who invented the remote control if I'd been around then."4. Where did Will get his 'Fresh Prince' moniker? Our man was such a charmer as a schoolboy that his pals started calling him "The Prince" - and the rest is history.5. Will met sidekick DJ Jazzy Jeff at the age of 16 when he threw a fart bomb into a ceiling fan at a party and Jeff couldn't stop laughing. For those readers not up to scratch on their practical jokes, a fart bomb is similar to a stink bomb, equipped with a self-release timer. Mmm, lovely!6. Will's first day of acting was the opening episode of hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1990. He says of the show's first season: "I was trying so hard. I would memorize the entire script, then I'd be lipping everybody's lines while they were talking. When I watch those episodes, it's disgusting. My performances were horrible."7. Will turned down the role of Neo in smash-hit The Matrix to film panned comedy Wild Wild West. "My biggest emotional defeat and the greatest emotional pain I've had as an actor was when Wild Wild West opened up to $52 million," he recalls. "The movie wasn't good. And it hurt so bad to be the No. 1 movie, to open at $52 million and to know the movie wasn't good."8. Will has never learned to swim and has no desire to do so any time soon. He says: "I'm too big to have some woman hold my stomach and say 'Now kick your feet'." Aww, we're sure he'd look just adorable in a pair of armbands!9. What does Will have in common with such luminaries as Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegge, Bono and Jude Law? They all love northing more than sitting down to a challenging game of chess. "The elements and concepts of life are so perfectly illustrated on a chess board," gushes Will, who learned from his dad at the age of seven. 10. Will always watches the porn versions of his movies, but likes some better than others. He says: "People always send them to me, the stars of the movies send them, like I'd enjoy it. There were a couple that were pretty bad. Men in Back - that was no good. It's like 'Come on, man, don't do that to my movie!'"
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