Nicholas Said:

Will Going to Acting School Make Me Good as Will Smith?

We Answered:

There's no guarantee that acting classes alone will make you as famous as Will Smith.

Will Smith trains with Aaron Speiser who is one of the best teachers in LA, so YES you will need TRAINING regardless of how talented you are, PERIOD!

How you get it is up to you. If you think going to a conservatory or university will make you better, then do that. If you feel that it's better to be more diversified, go to different schools for training.

Some of the Best Non-Collegiate Schools in LA:

Cold Reading/Auditioning
-Margie Haber
-Brian Reise
-Amy Lyndon

Commercials
-Hey, I Saw Your Commercial!
-Chris Game
-Stuart K. Robinson
-Stuart Stone
-Killian McHugh
-Francine Selkirk-Akerman
-Carolyne Barry

Improv (All four are great)
-Groundlings
-Second City
-Upright Citizens Brigade
-Improv Olympic

Scene Study/Acting (It varies. Some schools are not for everyone. Chubbuck, Eric Morris, and Howard Fine are not for people who aren't fans of Strasberg or Uta Hagen (ie. affective memory and substitution.) Playhouse West, Joanne Baron/DW Brown, and Acting Corps are more Meisner oriented. Try to audit these places and make sure if they're for you or not.

-Doug Warhit
-Kimberly Jentzen
-Beverly Hills Playhouse
-Howard Fine
-Stella Adler
-Ivanna Chubbuck
-Joanne Baron/D.W. Brown
-Tom Todoroff
-Playhouse West
-Aaron Speiser
-Acting Corps
-Eric Morris

Comedy:
-Scott Sedita
-Lesly Kahn

In NY:
-William Esper Studios
-Stella Aldler
-T. Schreiber
-HB Studios
-Margie Haber
-Redwall Productions (Rosalyn Coleman)
-Upright Citizens Brigade
-The Atlantic School
-Neighborhood Playhouse
-Circle in the Square