Watching prime Time Monday and Will Smith just said this:
"Fame is not about talent. 'Cause I have only above average talent."

What do you think of this?

He seems to have some sense of levity about the life and fame he's been blessed to have.

That said, there are people far more famous with less talent than Smith has (when he chooses his projects right), so he need not be so modest.

hard to say... cause i've never been to where he's at right now

I think he's speaks the truth. He only has average talent. That's pretty obvious.

I concur

"Fame is not about talent" truer words were never spoken especially in Hollywood. There are some with more talent than Smith and a whole lot of people with less talent so it seems like he has a good head on his shoulders.

I think he's being honest. However, Smith made a lot of very wise choices and calculated risks early in his career that helped propel him from a novelty musician to one of the biggest box office stars.

I don't think anyone can disagree with what he said. As for Smith himself, he's definitely an above average talent. He's worked hard to get there.

I'm glad to hear something like that from a major celebrity/movie star. He didn't have to say it. Will's a talented guy and he deserves the success he's had.

Will is right. Just look at some of the names in Hollywood making films:

Ashton Kucher
Brittney Murphy
Shannon Elizabeth
Freddie Prinze Jr

How about music(which is much more objective):

Brittney
Jessica Simpson
Justin Timberlake

I don't consider any of these "stars" talented! I think Will is definitely above average.

the top "stars" today are all manufactured idol products produced by some manager, and that includes both music and movies. There are some awesomely talented musicians out there and some awesomely talented actors out there who will continue to make the best independent music and movies that will blow the top hits out of the water in terms of quality, but they will never garner the attention the above mentioned has, mainly due to the fact they don't have an image that can be packaged and sold, at least according to the managers who manage the miminally talented stars.

I like Will's stuff, and it's nice to hear a "star" say something like this. Helps to show that not everyone in the movie biz is a fake.

It's nice he can talk about it, how about he do something about it.
If he has a production company and can produce drivel like that TV he has coming out, why not cater to people who are talented and are largely ignored by the hollywood system. He's a superstar, why not help striving actors, writers and directors out there catch a break.

So much power out there in hollywood, and so much of it wasted.

Time to go write my spec screenplay men in black 3, I guess...

On the one hand, I'm like "thank you, Captain Obvious."

On the other, I say "Yes Will, tell it like it is." Being a real actor with talent and being famous are sometimes quite mutually exclusive.

How is evaluating talent in music any more "objective" than movies. I mean, for every person who hates a song or a musician there is a person who loves that song or musician, just as can be said for just about any movie or acting performance.

To prove that, I happen to love Justin Timberlake's solo CD. Never cared for Nsync and not a fan of either Brittney or Jessica Simpson (their music at least ) but I happen to think Timberlake's CD is awesome. And a lot of critics actually agreed with me too.

As for Will Smith, I think he's completely right...except for the fact that he's got "above average talent." I would label him somewhere below average given the movies he's turned out. But that's just me. Nice to see a star realize that talent and fame don't necessarily go hand in hand though.

Smith is absolutely right...if fame was about talent, actors like John C. Reilly and Phillip Seymore Hoffman would be the biggest stars in the world. (Just pulling a couple of names off the top of my head - not saying those two are the BEST, but you catch what I'm trying to say).

Doesn't anyone else see the irony of this statement? While I'm sure Will was trying to be self-depricating, on paper it doesn't come across that way. "I have only above average talent." That's like saying, "I'm only smarter than most people". What else is better than "ABOVE average"? "Super-fantastico" talent?

I just thought it was funny that the two parts of his thought seem to contradict each other.

I find Will Smith to be very charismatic and usually enjoy his screen performances.

I'm no Will Smith fan, but he does have above average talent -- especially when compared to the general population. Have you ever seen a Regular Joe try to act?

I agree, another perfect example is the cast of "Friends".

Simpson and Timberlake actually have singing voices. Britney's is manufactured. However, all three have been stuck in their genre and probably won't be able to get out and grow as musicians.

The question is what is talent? Is being smart in a buisness sense talent? If so, I would say he is way above average. Same goes with some of the others you have mentioned. When it comes to acting, singing and what have you, that is totally subjective and not sure that can be judged because I will bet you can find many people on both sides of the fence for all the people mentioned.

That is a very good point. What I was trying to convey is that talent in movies is more obvious than musical talent. I am not even sure obvious is the correct word. Let me explain.

When talking about movies I can make a blanket statement like Kevin Spacey has a lot of talent as an actor, and gets by on his talent, while Freddie Prinze Jr does not and gets by solely on his idolization by teeny-boppers. A majority of people would agree while only a minority would not.

Music, on the other hand, is more objective because the artists I find to be talented are groups like:

Rush
Yes
Tool
Aerosmith
Pink Floyd
U2
Dream Theater
Spock's Beard
The Flower Kings

Now most people, for varying reasons, will disagree with this statement. Maybe it is because they don't like that style of music or never heard of the band...whatever.

I think all those artists are talented and when I listen to the Pop and mainstream rock it drives me insane because, as a musician, I can hear a difference. This makes me say that artists like Britney, Jessica and Justin are not "talented" but instead get by on their image and current fad. I do not think any differently of people who like the artists I do not think are talented; however, a majority of those same people would agree with the statement about Kevin Spacey vs Freddie Prinze Jr. Does this make sense?

Acting is not just about acting talent, it's about charisma on screen. WIll may not be a great actor but has proven he can act with the right part, but he has awesome charisma and his rapping and tv fame makes him a triple threat star

I think to be a star you don't have to be the best actor, you don't have to be the most charismatic, and you don't have to be the best looking, but you have to have a higher than average combination of the three. And personal tastes aside, how many stars (and I'm talking true stars that can open movies, not leads that get lucky with their project choices like Freddie Prinze Jr. or Paul Walker) are *truly* consistently terrible actors?