It’s an actor’s dream to audition for a role and be told that they got the role by an international megastar. Well, it happened to Jabari Banks. Will Smith hopped on a video call to tell Banks that he will be reprising the legendary role of Will on the drama series Bel-Air.
“From the deepest parts of my heart, I want to say congratulations to you,” Smith said in the video sponsored by streaming platform Peacock. “You have the role of Will on Bel-Air.“
Banks, who shares the last name of the fictional family on the 1990s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, was thrilled by the news.
“This is a dream come true, you don’t know,” Banks said to Smith. “You probably do know, you feel it! But, the way this show has impacted me and my life, it’s incredible to hear you say that.”
Banks found out about the role through his father when he saw it in an article. Two months later, Banks received even further confirmation that he should audition when his agent sent him the audition call. Perhaps it was another example of manifestation and divine intervention seeing that Banks recalls convincing people to dress up like the cast of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in his high school days — and even had a photo as evidence.
Actors playing the other iconic roles, including Carlton, Ashley, Hilary, Aunt Vivian, and Uncle Phil, have not been revealed, nor has a premiere date been released.
Bel-Air came to life when scribe Morgan Cooper made a film short retelling Will’s ascension from the trying streets of West Philadelphia to a more quaint and privileged Bel-Air. The idea has since been transformed into a one-hour drama series, picked up for two seasons by NBCUniversal’s streaming equivalent Peacock.
Watch the Morgan Cooper Produced Trailer for ‘Bel-Air’:
