At just 52, Will Smith has enjoyed one of the longest-running and most successful careers in Hollywood, having not only proven to be a powerhouse as a rapper, entrepreneur, and producer but also an impeccable talent in front of the camera.

While he’s been nominated twice for an Academy Award, he surprisingly has never taken home one of the most prestigious gongs in his profession. Still, that hasn’t stopped Will from consecutively raking in some of the strongest box office numbers for any roles where he plays a lead character.

For his portrayal of Daryl Ward in Netflix’s 2017 flick Bright, the father of two earned an impressive $20 million with a follow-up expected to earn him another $35 million thanks to the success of its predecessor, which became the most-watched movie on the platform in 2018.

Will has had some very lucrative deals over the course of his three-decade-long career, but just how much was he paid for 2004’s I, Robot?

will smith i robot filming
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Will Smith’s Salary For ‘I, Robot’

By 2004, Will was undoubtedly considered an A-list actor, thanks to the success of his popular sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (which ran from 1990-1996) and his many blockbuster hits, including 1998’s Enemy of the State and Wild Wild West.

Not to mention that Will — a four-time Grammy winner — had also gained a lot of popularity from his music career, with his 1997 debut album, Big Willie Style, going on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide. His follow-up, Willenium, was just as successful, pushing another 5 million units and earning him two Grammys.

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Taking all of this into thought, it’s understandable why Will was offered a whopping $28 million to star in I, Robot. He could’ve practically starred in any movie at the time and earned the part simply because of how popular he had gotten — not just on the big screen but also in music.

The $28 million fee is the second-highest salary Will has received for a motion picture. His recent deal with Netflix to star in Bright 2 for a reported $35 million will subsequently become his biggest payday to date.

The action-packed film is centered around a “technophobic cop” who investigates a crime that appears to have been perpetrated by a robot, leading to a troubling threat to humanity. At the box office, Will helped the movie earn an impressive $353 million with production costs totaling $120 million.

But despite all of that, the Pennsylvania native said that channeling his character was easier said than done because he was practically embodying a person that was the complete opposite of his own persona.

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In his 2004 interview with IOFilm, he explained, "This was the first time I have ever played a character that was that troubled. This is a dude that walks around every day unhappy, which is not me at all, because I am tickled pink.”

Perhaps Will’s high salary was also earned for the fact that he was going to film a nude scene for the Hollywood motion picture — and it’s commonly known that when actors commit to such intimate filmmaking, they usually receive a salary bump.

When asked about filming the raunchy scene, Will gushed that he had no problem flexing his body, joking that his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith instantly approved of the move.

"Let me tell you, Jada loves that. She says all the time that ‘no woman wants a man that another woman don't want.’ So she is very comfortable.”

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Back in March 2020, there were rumors that a sequel to the 2004 blockbuster could still move ahead in the future. As you may recall, a follow-up was initially expected to enter development in 2007 after Ronald D. Moore was brought on board to write the script, but soon after the announcement, nothing else was heard about the second installment.

Director Alex Proyas had ruled out any chances of wanting to work on an I, Robot sequel after having shared a miserable experience while dealing with 20th Century Fox on the motion picture.

On top of that, Will has a history of usually turning down sequels. He famously said “no” to I Am Legend 2 and Independence Day: Resurgence because he simply didn’t like how both films were being developed, and he’s made an effort to avoid being known for franchises.

Bright 2 is earning Will the biggest salary of his career, so it’s a no-brainer that he would accept the offer, while Bad Boys 4 has officially entered pre-production after the Men In Black actor was said to have inked a lucrative deal to reprise his role as Mike Lowrey.

Money clearly talks, but the development of I, Robot 2 remains unknown.

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