Actors who’ve played homeless characters: Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, more

Robin Williams

The late Robin Williams, left, co-starred in "The Fisher King" (1991) as Parry, a Manhattan-based homeless man who believes he is a medieval knight on a quest for the Holy Grail. He comes to the assistance of a man named Jack Lucas (Jeff Bridges, right), whose connection to Parry is a key plot twist revealed later in the film.

Jon Voight and Dustin Hoffman

"Midnight Cowboy," the 1969 Oscar-winning film features Jon Voight, left, as a prostitute named Joe Buck and Dustin Hoffman, right, as Ratso Rizzo, a petty criminal. The two characters live in Manhattan, squatting in a condemned apartment building.

Jamie Foxx

Jamie Foxx appears as "Nathaniel Ayers," a gifted musician whose battle with schizophrenia results in homelessness in the 2009 film "The Soloist."

Will Smith

"The Pursuit of Happyness" (2006), based on a true story, starred Will Smith as Chris Gardner, a salesman who is forced to survive without a home while fighting to move his career forward.

Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci

Charlize Theron, right, won the Academy Award for best actress for her work in "Monster" (2003), a film based on the real-life story of Aileen Wuornos, a homeless prostitute turned serial killer. The film also starred Christina Ricci as Selby Wall , left, a fictional character.

Mel Brooks

Mel Brooks directed, cowrote and starred in the 1991 film "Life Stinks," in which he plays a cruel executive who wagers he can survive living on the streets for only a short period of time, but ends up permanently trapped in his homeless state.

Charles Chaplin

Iconic actor and filmmaker Charles Chaplin, whose career reached its zenith during the era of silent movies, is mostly recognized for his "Little Tramp" character, who was occasionally written as living a homeless life.

Eddie Murphy

"Trading Places" from 1983 stars Eddie Murphy, left, as Billy Ray Valentine, Jamie Lee Curtis as Ophelia and Dan Aykroyd as Louis Winthorpe. A wager between wealthy brothers to argue nature vs. nurture puts Valentine -- a homeless street hustler -- into a successful career and luxurious lifestyle, while reducing Winthorpe, a well-to-do broker born with wealth, to a state of financial and emotional ruin.

Steve Martin

Steve Martin co-wrote and starred in the 1979 film "The Jerk," a comedy about the rise and fall of a man who stumbles into great wealth, but loses it all and finds himself living in an alley.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson stars as Romulus Ledbetter (right, appearing here in a scene with costar Ann Magnuson) in "The Caveman's Valentine" from 2001. Ledbetter is a professional musician afflicted with schizophrenia who ends up living in a cave within a Manhattan park. He finds a corpse -- whom the authorities deem a victim of an accidental death -- but he believes was murdered, and sets out to find the truth.

Danny Glover

Danny Glover plays a homeless veteran in the 1993 film "The Saint of Fort Washington."

Gary Coleman

The late Gary Coleman, pictured here in his role as Arnold Jackson in the TV sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," also appeared in films, including the 1981 comedy "On the Right Track," in which he starred as a homeless child living in a Chicago train station locker.

Alisan Porter

Alisan Porter, winner of season 10 of NBC's singing competition program "The Voice" started her career as an actor, with her biggest role as the title character in 1991's John Hughes comedy "Curly Sue," in which she portrayed a homeless child.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Early in his acting career, Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in the ABC sitcom "Growing Pains," playing a homeless teenager adopted by the Seaver family.

Matt Dillon

In 1993's "The Saint of Fort Washington," Matt Dillon portrays Matthew, a homeless man with cognitive disabilities; Danny Glover's character serves as Matthew's friend and protector.

Gary Cooper

The Academy Award-winning actor, seen signing autographs in 1953, appeared as a homeless former baseball player in the 1941 Frank Capra film "Meet John Doe."

Nick Nolte

Nick Nolte co-starred in the 1986 film "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" as a suicidal homeless man whose actions change the lives and opinions of a wealthy family.

John Candy

The 1987 film "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" sees Del Griffith (John Candy, right) as a homeless man, unable to return home following the death of his wife. Steve Martin, left, plays his accidental traveling companion, Neal Page.

Joe Pesci

Joe Pesci appeared in the 1994 film "With Honors" as Simon B. Wilder, a homeless man squatting on a college campus whose presence and life experience helps expand the mind of a student working on his thesis.

Al Jolson

Al Jolson starred in the Depression-era film "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" (1933), playing a cheerful member of a homeless community in Central Park. He also performed the title track, a rendition of a folk song that first appeared in the late 19th century.

Rutger Hauer

Rutger Hauer starred as the titular character in "Hobo With a Shotgun," a violent, dark, comedic movie from 2011. In the film, Hobo -- a homeless vigilante -- executes criminals and the corrupt.