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16 Onscreen Dads We Adore!

From Clive Owen to Will Smith, we celebrate our favorite dads on film (17 Photos)

Thelma Adams and Patrick Wong on Aug 21, 2009 at 12:35PM

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Columbia Pictures

Will Smith

ROLE: Christopher Gardner
MOVIE: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
WHY WE LOVE HIM: Since Will Smith, as a down-on-his-luck dad in San Francisco, stars opposite his real-life son (Jaden Smith, star of The Karate Kid), he truly melts into his character, playing a single father who's tender, caring and protective. Through a perilous economic crisis, he makes Herculean efforts to ensure that his unemployment woes don't threaten his son's emotional well-being. While he grapples with his own sense of self-worth, he succeeds in building up his child and surviving as a family of two.