Which 2006 film starring Will Smith was based on a true story of a homeless salesman?

Which 2006 film starring Will Smith was based on a true story of a homeless salesman? The answer is The Pursuit of Happyness.

The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 biographical drama directed by Gabriele Muccino. Will Smith plays Chris Gardner, a struggling salesman who becomes homeless while caring for his young son and pursuing an unpaid internship at a brokerage firm.

The film is based on Gardner’s memoir, written with Quincy Troupe. Set mainly in San Francisco in 1981, it dramatizes his efforts to sell portable bone-density scanners, secure shelter, and compete for a permanent stockbroker position. Smith’s real-life son, Jaden Smith, plays Christopher Gardner Jr., making his film debut.

The unusual spelling of “Happyness” is deliberate: it comes from a misspelled word Gardner sees in a mural outside his son’s daycare. The film compresses and reshapes parts of Gardner’s life for dramatic effect, so it should be understood as a Hollywood adaptation of a true story, not a documentary. Gardner later founded his own brokerage firm.