 In 2006, she appeared in the drama film "Gridiron Gang".In 2007, Smollett-Bell portrayed Samantha Booke (loosely based on Henrietta Bell Wells), the sole female debater at Wiley College in the historical film "The Great Debaters".The film was produced by Oprah Winfrey and Harvey Weinstein and starred Denzel Washington, who also directed the feature.