With Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith for parents, it's hardly surprising that Jaden Smith first hit the small screen at the tender age of five and won the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for his film debut in The Pursuit of Happyness.Several years later and at only 14 years of age, Jaden's career is going from strength to strength. As his latest film, After Earth, hits cinemas and his relationship with Kim Kardashian's half sister, Kylie Jenner, heats up, here are five facts you should know about Jaden Smith.
1. Jaden, his half brother Trey Smith, 20, and sister Willow Smith, 12, are keen volunteers. The siblings are youth ambassadors for Project Zambia, a charity that provides relief for Zambian children orphaned by AIDS. Jaden has paid visits to orphanages and nursing homes with his philanthropic parents and mum Jada has said how her children often donate their belongings to charity.
2. Instead of attending mainstream school, Jaden's parents chose for him to be homeschooled right from the start. The teen has previously spoken about how he enjoys education and avoids watching TV."I don't really watch TV," he revealed in an interview. "I stopped watching TV when I turned like ten because my parents were like, 'TV's really bad for you.'"
3. Jaden's talents do not only lie in acting and music, he also runs a clothing line with his friends called MSFtS (pronounced Misfits). The company's online store sells a variety of monochrome t-shirts, trousers and hoodies co-designed by Jaden and his skateboarding friends. "It’s kind of just black on black," said Jaden of the collection. "We all really like black, so almost everything in the line is black. Some would call it street goth [gothic]. I would say it's a fashion-forward street brand."
4. Jaden and Will have starred together as father and son twice, in both After Earth and Jaden's breakthrough film, The Pursuit of Happyness. During his acting career Jaden has been nominated for a variety of accolades including Teen Choice Awards, MTV Music Awards and the Empire Awards.
5. For his role as Dre Parker in The Karate Kid Jaden underwent four months of grueling martial arts training. "I trained every day for four months with Master Wu," Jaden said, referring to the film's fight choreographer. His dedication to the film, which was partly filmed in China, impressed his co-star and seasoned action hero Jackie Chan. "Not only was he hard-working, he was respectful, focused and really good," said Jackie. "I couldn't believe it. In just two months, Jaden had learned so much. He is truly a talented boy. He could sing, break dance, play ping pong, and now he can do stunts!"
