Highlights
- Alfonso Ribeiro almost didn’t land the role of Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air despite performing well in the pilot.
- The decision to keep Ribeiro as Carlton paid off, as his chemistry with Will Smith became a key factor in the show’s success.
- After facing challenges being typecast as Carlton, Ribeiro transitioned his career to directing and hosting, showcasing his versatility as an entertainer.
Fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will forever associate Alfonso Ribeiro with his character, Carlton Banks, the preppy and conservative cousin of Will Smith. He brought viewers “The Carlton Dance,” which became a cultural phenomenon, and eventually became a close friend and ally of Smith’s on the show.
Because Ribeiro is so ingrained in popular culture as Carlton, it is hard to imagine any other actor portraying the middle Banks sibling than him. But there was a time when it was unclear what Ribeiro’s future was on The Fresh Prince. Despite performing well in the pilot for the half-hour comedy, executives were on the fence about Ribeiro’s casting. Before shooting anything beyond the pilot, there were serious discussions about whether Ribeiro should remain part of the ensemble.
Essentially, before it was all said and done, Ribeiro was “hired and rehired” for his role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But not before Ribeiro thought his days working on the sitcom were limited to the pilot alone.
Alfonso Ribeiro Was Hired For The Pilot Episode Of ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’
Ribeiro got his start in the entertainment industry as a child actor. His big break came when he became a regular on Silver Spoons with Ricky Schroder. But after several seasons on the sitcom, Ribeiro took a break from Hollywood.
It was not until he turned 19 years old that Ribeiro made the decision to return to television and when he did, he had a decision to make. Would he choose an established show or take a chance on the unknown acting abilities of Smith, who joined the show because of IRS issues, and shoot the pilot for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
“I kind of walked away from the business for a little bit,” Ribeiro explained on The Tamryn Hall Show.
“When I came back, I had an opportunity to do two shows and one was called A Different World, which was the spin-off with Lisa Bonet and Kadeem Hardison, and then I got the opportunity to do this pilot or presentation for a buddy of mine, Will, called The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I had to actually make a choice as to which one I wanted to do because if I had chosen A Different World, it’d been a whole different story, right?”
I picked the role of Carlton because I had hung out with Will and Jeff. We went to Disneyland and Endless Summer Jam. And having spent time with them, I felt there was some sort of magic there, there was something special about them. Whether he could act or whether he could deliver being an actor, nobody knew. But I felt like, ‘Wow, this is something that if it works out is going to blow up and be special.’ I had to make the choice. One was already on the air for several seasons. This was a presentation that wasn’t even maybe not even a real pilot, but something in my gut said that Will was going to be special.
Despite the fact that he chose to walk away from A Different World, whose cast is not as rich as many would believe, and shoot a pilot that had an uncertain future of being greenlit for one season, executives were not sure about Ribeiro in the role of Carlton Banks.
Because of this, Ribeiro was almost fired from The Fresh Prince before it ever made it to network television.
Why Alfonso Ribeiro Was Almost Fired Before ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’ Aired
Despite the fact that Smith wanted Ribeiro to be cast in the role of Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, it was not Smith’s decision. He was not putting up any money to fund the show and executives were taking a risk as it was having Smith, who was known as a rapper but not for his acting abilities, in the starring role.
The supporting cast had to be spot-on to help drive the show to success and many at NBC were not sure that Ribeiro was someone who could make that happen.
“I auditioned for the character, and got the role – then, after we did the pilot, he decided that my character should be recast,” Ribeiro explained. “So there was a moment where essentially I was hired and rehired – you may look at it that way!”
Ribeiro went on to say, “There was a large chance that the Carlton character would have been played by somebody else. But luckily enough, the decision was made to continue to have me do it – and I guess the rest is history.”
Had the role of Carlton gone to another actor, the chemistry that Smith and Ribeiro had on the show may not have been able to be duplicated. The Fresh Prince may not have gone on to last six seasons before Smith made the decision to end the show in 1996.
But with the success of playing Carlton came issues with being considered in any other role after the series ended. As such, Ribeiro had to re-imagine where he wanted his career to go and in doing so, found a new passion in the entertainment industry.
How Alfonso Ribeiro Transitioned His Career After ‘The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air’
After fighting to be Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Ribeiro had problems being considered for other roles after the series ended due to being typecast. It seemed that being on Fresh Prince ruined Ribeiro’s career.
Ribeiro began to resent being known for Carlton when the doors that should have been opening in his career after being a part of a successful sitcom were slammed in Ribeiro’s face instead.
“For me, it’s a career. It’s a life. It’s what I have,” Ribeiro explained. “It’s what’s going to put food on my family’s table. And somebody says, ‘You can’t do it because we think of you as that guy.’ So there was a lot of resentment for that character and for that time on that show.”
This forced Ribeiro to explore other areas of the entertainment industry that he enjoyed, one of which was directing, a taste of which Ribeiro got while still working on The Fresh Prince. This led to a whole new world of opportunity for Ribeiro and helped him remain relevant in Hollywood, albeit for his talents behind the camera versus in front of it.
“You wake up one day and you’re 30 years old, and you’re like, ‘OK, what am I good at? Well I’m good at a lot of things, but I’m successful in this business. So what else can I do?’” Ribeiro stated.
“I worked incredibly hard at becoming the best director that I could be. And I was fortunate enough to be able to do a ton of work as a director. And so I just focused on that.”
Those directing talents led Ribeiro to direct TV shows that included, One on One, All of Us, Meet The Browns, Are We There Yet, and even one of the final projects that Zendaya did for Disney, KC Undercover.
These days, Ribeiro has chosen to step away from both acting and directing to showcase himself. That has been done by hosting various game shows and appearing and winning Dancing with the Stars. But what he is most known for these days is hosting America’s Funniest Home Videos, a show that Ribeiro has called home for nearly a decade and has no plans to leave.
He’s proved that while he was successful as Carlton, Ribeiro is a multi-faceted entertainer who can do it all in Hollywood no matter what role he is put in.
Source: NewsFinale
