Will Smith returns to Oscars after 15 years with Best Actor nomination for 'King Richard'

After much anticipation, the Oscars 2022 nominee list was finally announced on February 8 via live stream. Among the prominent names to receive the nominations this year was actor Will Smith. The actor received his third and fourth Oscar nominations on Tuesday, earning his place on the Best Actor list for his role in King Richard, and sharing in the film's Best Picture nomination with Tim White and Trevor White.

According to Deadline, the Alladin actor has produced the film and played Richard Williams, the father of tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, in a story charting the early days of their careers.

Will Smith receives Oscar nomination after 15 years 

His role in the movie has been a favourite with critics and guilds all season long. In addition to pending nominations from SAG, BAFTA, and Critics Choice, Smith has already claimed prizes from several critics groups. It has been almost 15 years since the actor has received a nomination again. This year, his film Richard Williams has been recognized well by the Motion Picture Academy. The actor who was elated to hear the news took to Instagram and shared a video while thanking his fans for the outpour of love. "WOW!! 6 Oscar nominations for #kingrichard.. that’s CRAZY. Honored to see this outpouring of love for our film :-) Proud of you Aunjanue, Zach, Pamela, Dixson, Beyoncé, and our fantastic cast and crew. Great work all!, he wrote alongside the video that showed him posing with his entire team. 

Smith's previous Academy Award nominations both came for playing real-life figures. His performance as Muhammad Ali in Michael Mann's Ali was recognized in 2002, and in 2007 he made the Academy's list for playing Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness alongside his son Jaden Smith, as per the International media outlet. 

While Smith is yet to win an Academy Award, he's no stranger to the Grammys, having won four awards from the Recording Academy for his music career. His first Primetime Emmy nomination came in July 2021 for his executive producer role on the Netflix series Cobra Kai.

Meanwhile, the Golden Globe actor is all set to team up with National Geographic for a new adventure. The actor will be featuring in the channel's forthcoming show Pole to Pole. According to Hollywood Reporter, Smith will act as the executive producer for Pole to Pole via his Westbrook banner alongside the company's Miguel Melendez and Terence Carter; Nutopia's Jane Root and Peter Lovering; Protozoa's Darren Aronofsky and Ari Handel with the Nat Geo series 'Welcome to Earth' producers Nutopia and Protozoa Pictures.

IMAGE: AP/Instagram/KingRichhardFilm