- Will Smith previously credited his creative relationship with Alfonso Ribeiro with helping “transform” his life.
- The pair starred together in the classic ’90s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
- Ribeiro has now shared an insight into one acting tip that made a lasting impression on Smith.
“Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star Alfonso Ribeiro has opened up on his creative relationship with Will Smith.
Appearing on “The Jennifer Hudson Show” this week, Ribeiro spoke about how he and the Oscar-winning actor created comedy gold on the classic ’90s sitcom after Smith credited Ribeiro with helping change his life in a 2024 appearance on Vice’s “Black Comedy in America.”
In the December Vice episode, Smith heaped praise on Ribeiro’s work ethic when they were rehearsing the show and shed light on a key acting tip Ribeiro gave him.
“Nobody commits as hard as Alf,” Smith said. “We call it the ‘comedic limb.’ You know where you’re going to try this joke, and you’re going go out there with it, and you’re going to risk it all. And one of his big things, why he would commit so hard with the lines, he says, ‘You commit so the writers can know it doesn’t work.'”
Ribeiro, who played Carlton Banks, the preppy cousin of Smith’s character in the show, told Hudson that it was “wonderful” to hear Smith’s comments.
“Will is my brother for life and our friendship and bond has now withstood the time of four or five decades. He’s absolutely the best,” the 53-year-old continued, adding: “Part of it’s true.”
“I believe that part of what I received on ‘Fresh Prince’ was because of the hard work that I would put in. Going 100% in all rehearsals allowed writers to write better lines for me,” he said.
He went on: “Other actors may not give 100%, and then you’re on show night, and that joke that didn’t work on Tuesday is still there on Friday, but because you never showed them it didn’t work they kept it in the script, and then it bombed flat on the night.”
Ribeiro added that he strived to have such an attitude not just with his work but with his entire life. “Anything less than being 100% just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” ran for six seasons between 1990 and 1996 and helped launch Smith’s acting career.
The show was rebooted as “Bel-Air” on Peacock in 2022, with Jabari Banks taking on the main role as Will and Olly Sholotan playing Carlton.
