Acting Smith made his major role debut in the 2006 film
The Pursuit of Happyness as Christopher, the son of Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character. For the role, he won the Breakthrough Performance Award at the
2007 MTV Movie Awards. He next appeared as Jacob in the 2008
Scott Derrickson science fiction film
The Day the Earth Stood Still, In May 2013, Will Smith and Jaden starred together, as father and son, in
After Earth. In 2014, it was announced that Smith would return for the sequel
Karate Kid 2 with Jackie Chan, to be directed by
Breck Eisner, produced by
James Lassiter and Will Smith, and written by
Zak Penn. In April 2014, Smith was cast in the film
The Good Lord Bird, based on the 2013
novel of the same name by
James McBride. Smith plays Henry Shackleford, a young
slave living in the antebellum
Kansas Territory in 1857 who encounters abolitionist
John Brown. Smith took a break from acting following the release of his mixtape
Cool Tape Vol. 2 to focus on music. He then returned to act in the
Netflix original
The Get Down in 2017. He also had a voice-acting role in
Neo Yokio and a role in
Nashville as himself. Commenting on his break from acting, he said, "The kinds of roles I was being offered weren't exactly what I was looking for, nothing felt really necessary that I needed to be in until this came along". Smith returned to acting in films with the February 2018 announcement of a film based on skateboarding. On June 21, 2018, Crystal Moselle's
Skate Kitchen released its first official trailer with Smith as the main character. It was released on August 10, 2018, after screening at the
Sundance Film Festival in the winter of 2017. In 2020, he starred with
Cara Delevingne in the romantic drama
Life in a Year, to positive reviews.
Music In 2010, Smith rapped alongside Canadian singer
Justin Bieber in the song "
Never Say Never". It peaked at No. 8 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and was certified 5× Platinum in the US. On October 1, 2012, Smith released his debut mixtape,
The Cool Cafe. He released the sequel to
The Cool Cafe on November 8, 2014, titled
CTV2. Smith started working on his debut studio album in 2014, a process that took three years. He announced in December 2016 that it would be titled
Syre. The lead single from
Syre, "Fallen", was released on December 5, 2016, and three more singles were released—"Batman" and "Watch Me" and "Falcon"—on July 14 on November 16, 2017, respectively.
Syre was released on November 17, 2017, and debuted at No. 24 on the US
Billboard 200. "
Icon" was released as a single on the same day, reaching No. 3 on the
Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Smith later announced on December 14, 2017, that his next project following
Syre would be titled
Erys. Another project,
Syre: The Electric Album, was later teased via
Twitter. Leading up to the release of the project, Smith released the single "Ghost" featuring
Christian Rich. On July 8, 2018, Smith released the project exclusively on
Instagram on his 20th birthday. The project was later released four days later to streaming platforms.
Syre: The Electric Album is a guitar-centric rework of Smith's studio album
Syre and is influenced by
Jimi Hendrix and
The Beatles' ''
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Less than a year later, on July 5, 2019, Smith released his second studio album, Erys, which debuted at No. 12 on the US Billboard'' 200. and on August 2, he performed for the first time at
Lollapalooza. One of Smith's influences,
Kid Cudi, stated that he would like to make an album with Smith, which Smith supported during an interview on August 21, 2018. Jaden was managed by Will Smith's management company, Westbrook Entertainment, until March 2019 when Three Six Zero, an established management firm, acquired Westbrook. Following the acquisition, on July 24, 2020, Smith released the single "Cabin Fever", from his third album
CTV3: Cool Tape Vol. 3, which he described as a completion of the trilogy of the previous
Cool tapes and "also kinda completing the trilogies of
Syre and
Erys at the same time". The album includes a collaboration with Smith's friend and previous collaborator Justin Bieber on the song "Falling for You". On June 21, 2021, Smith released the single "Bye". On August 27, 2021, Smith released another version of the album ''CTV3: Day Tripper's Edition'' on all streaming platforms.
Fashion GQ described Smith in 2018 as "in a league of his own" in terms of fashion and a "superstar who has taken fashion to an entirely different level". Smith has called
Tyler the Creator,
Batman, and
Poseidon his icons when it comes to fashion. Smith said that Tyler the Creator introduced him to the brand
Supreme. Batman's dark, gothic scenery has influenced the clothing he has created through his brand MSFTSrep, In May 2013, Smith collaborated with a Korean designer named Choi Bum Suk to create a
pop-up retail store at which customers could buy clothes featuring their collaborative logos. In 2016, Smith modeled in a womenswear campaign for
Louis Vuitton wearing a skirt. Explaining his choice to wear a skirt, he said he was attempting to combat bullying, saying, "In five years, when a kid goes to school wearing a skirt, he won't get beat up and kids won't get mad at him." Smith continued to wear womenswear throughout the rest of 2016. He was the first male model to model womenswear for Louis Vuitton. He created a denim line with fashion brand
G-Star in 2018. In September 2025, Smith was appointed Creative Director of
Christian Louboutin, making him the brand's first male creative director. In the role, Smith would be tasked with shaping four collections annually across men's shoes, leather goods, and accessories.
Just Water Smith has been a partner in spring water company Just Water since he was 12 years old. The company is attempting to create a water filtration system anyone can afford for use in disadvantaged regions and nations; it also seeks to aid in the development of water infrastructure and the creation of environmentally-friendly construction methods, producing a novel drywall design. ==Musical artistry and influences==