Claim: Jaden Smith is an actor.

The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American biographical drama film based on entrepreneur Chris Gardner 's nearly one-year struggle being homeless . Directed by Gabriele Muccino , the film features Will Smith as Gardner , a homeless salesman . Smith 's son Jaden Smith co-stars , making his film debut as Gardner 's son , Christopher Jr. .   The screenplay by Steven Conrad is based on the best-selling eponymous memoir written by Gardner with Quincy Troupe . The film was released on December 15 , 2006 , by Columbia Pictures . For his performance , Smith was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actor .   The unusual spelling of the film 's title comes from a mural that Gardner sees on the wall outside the daycare facility his son attends . He complains to the owner of the daycare that `` happiness '' is incorrectly spelled as `` happyness '' and needs to be changed .