Jaden started his acting career on TV with the TV series All of Us. This American sitcom is a story about a blended family, where the father is responsible of two opposing sons. Jaden started to gain recognition in 2006 by starring alongside his own father in The Pursuit of Happiness. This movie is based in a real story and focuses on Christopher Gardener’s (Will Smith), a father who finds himself unwittingly facing various difficulties. Will is then forced to take a path of challenges that will require him to make decisions for his own sake and the benefit of his son Christopher, who bears his name. Jaden had only been 8 when he received a Breakthrough Performance nomination at the MTV Award a few months later.
The New York Times praised Jaden’s performance as ‘likable to an extreme’. Smith took a break from various film rehearsals to star as a Guest Star in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody on Disney Channel. Smith then took on a far more serious role, alongside Keanu reeves. The genre of science-fiction was taken from 1951’s The Day The Earth Staled Still. Jaden starred as Jacob Benson, the son of Helen Benson (Jennifer Connelly), in 2008 and helped to solve the mystery of an alien visitor inside the realms on planet Earth. Jaden was awarded a Saturn Award in the category of Best Performance of a Young actor for his performance as Jacob Benson, Helen Benson’s (Jennifer Connelly) son.
Jaden Smith’s acting abilities were taken to another level in 2010 with a powerful remake of The Karate Kid from 1984. Jaden was only 10 when he earned $2 million. The film was a huge success, earning 12 nominations and 5 awards. Jaden was also nominated by Black Reel as Outstanding Actor In A Motion Picture and by Image Awards for Best Actor. Besides the impressive nominations for such a youthful age, the one that was most noteworthy came from the Young Artist Awards. It was awarded as Best Performance In A Feature Film – Young Actor.