Five years ago, Jabari Banks
shed tears.
His life hadn’t changed yet. It would be some time before he’d hop on a Zoom call and be surprised by Will Smith delivering the news that he was offered the role reprising the renowned actor’s character in a dramatic reinterpretation of the classic sitcom, Fresh Prince of Bel Air. And it’d be a few years before he’d face off with Marlon Wayans on the Season One finale of Bel-Air, confronting the character’s absent father in a poignant moment that bravely revisits the same heartbreaking scene with Will Smith, Ben Vereen, and James Avery.
He wasn’t there, yet. He was just at a theater, watching Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. In one of the animated film’s most powerful scenes, Afro-Latino protagonist Miles Morales reached the climactic
pinnacle of his coming-of-age story and accepted his
role as Spider-Man. He leapt off of a building wearing a spray painted costume and an unzipped hoodie.
“It’s a dope shot where he's like, falling, but the building is upside down. And I started crying. And I was like, what is this feeling?” Banks recounts, at the BET offices in midtown Manhattan. He was fresh off of several photo shoots and an appearance on Live With Kelly that morning —he wore a gray denim jacket, black tie, brown trousers, and had his hair twisted in locks instead of the recognizable high fade that he wears on Bel Air. “I took a step back,” Banks says, “and I was like, this is the first time that I've really seen a Black kid fly on a big film screen.”
“I want to create moments like that for our community over and over and over again, for the rest of my life.”
I want to create moments like that for our community over and over and over again, for the rest of my life.
"
"
“I wasn't hearing back from anything for a long time. And that happens, as an actor. There's a lot of no's in this industry, and they don't lie when they say that,”
he said. “...I don't get discouraged, because that's part
"
…I'm okay with not being perfect, because I feel like a lot of people can resonate with that. I'm not who I want to be yet.
"
It was just very surreal. It feels like the world really saw my life get flipped turned upside down, like [Will ] says it in the original [ theme song]
After ten rounds of auditions and screen tests, Cooper called Banks for one more “creative session.” He was uncertain about what that meant and took the Zoom call in the only quiet place he had available, a friend’s closet. Footage of the call with Smith was made available ahead of the series premiere in 2022.
“It was just very surreal. It feels like the world really saw my life get flipped turned upside down, like [Will] says it in the original [theme song],” Banks said.
Since then, Smith has offered him guidance and mentorship for his work on the show and for navigating life in Hollywood. “A lot of the times when I feel lost in LA, or when I feel discouraged, I call him. He's been through it all. He'll give me this vague snippet of encouragement, or a parable, and I'll leave with it and sit on it for two days. He's a very, very smart guy. He's poured into me in a very helpful way.”
In the show’s first season, Banks showed that he was more than capable of carrying off the role. He brings back the charm, style, charisma, and golden heart of the original character. In Bel-Air, Will is a straight-A student and talented basketball player in West Philadelphia. He and his friend make a bet on the basketball court with an unsavory character. Their win leads to a scuffle and Will shooting his friend’s unregistered gun in the air to break things up. Will is arrested. His Uncle Phil pulls strings to help him avoid the gun charge. Will’s mother moves him in with his wealthy relatives in California to keep him safe and far from the characters who continue to present danger. In California, WIl finds love with his cousin’s ex named Lisa, deals with various social and racial politics at school, and pursues his basketball dreams while attempting to circumvent the drama in Philly and maintain his old relationships.
In addition to an edgier, modern tone, the differences between the two series are also embodied in their titles. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air focused on the eponymous character while his friends and family served as engaging supporting characters. Bel-Air distributes its characters’ storylines more evenly. Viewers are equally invested in Will’s journey as an AAU basketball player and his relationships with women; Carlton’s struggles with anxiety, substance abuse, and identity; Hillary grinds as an influencer and chef; Vivian revives her career as a visual artist; and Phil navigates keeping his law firm afloat after it crippled during his campaign for district attorney. Geoffrey is still the family butler, but he’s also a consigliere for Phil, serving as a confidante who’s able to dig up information and get his hands dirty. Jazz is still Will’s close friend, but instead of being a bumbling projectile for Phil’s lawn, he’s a smooth-talking taxi driver and the owner of a record store.
Banks is early in his career, but if he keeps up the momentum, he’ll have the opportunity to do just that. He executed the role of Will on Bel Air brilliantly, and he has continued to shine in the series’ second season.Jabari Banks, 24, the youngest of five brothers, grew up spending time between Maryland and Pennsylvania. In Maryland, he lived with each of his parents, and he visited his ’Uncle Phil’ in the summer. Called ‘Uncle Phil' because he lived in Philadelphia, his uncle’s real name is James, just like the name of the late actor James Avery who played the iconic father figure in the sitcom. As a kid, Banks prioritized basketball and football, with goals to play
professionally. But he caught the acting bug when he
portrayed The Cowardly Lion in a high school production of The Wiz. After more roles, he pursued acting at Philly’s University of the Arts. There he performed at a showcase, which led to him landing a manager and eventually signing with an agency.
Graduating in 2020, during the COVID-19 lockdown, he couch surfed and awaited auditions and phone calls. His mother helped him find a temp job wrapping gutters in Temecula, California that covered housing and transportation. He says he was fired after two weeks for complaining about the soap in the men’s bathroom. He moved back to Philly and continued auditioning, hoping something would pop.
"
"
“The stakes are high. Everybody thinks, ‘what is this gonna be? Why are they doing remakes? Why do they keep remaking stuff? Let's make something new.’ That's the talk of the town,” he said. “I understand that mindset. But then when I read the script for Bel Air,
I was like, ‘this can be really, really good if we execute
it right.’”
“It's a family drama, so we have to show up for each other. If one part of the machine is a little rusty or a little broken down, that affects the whole machine,” Banks said. “So we encourage each other to continue to be great every day. I think we all showed up and poured so much love into this project. And I think you can see that in the work of the show.”
While his castmates have shown unity on the set, Banks has had to deal with insecurity and anxiety as
the lead. The pressure of remaking such a classic series was present on the series’ first day of shooting, Banks recounted. They set up shop in the middle of the street in West Philly, the area was packed with people who wanted to see the show up close. Banks was shaken from the attention. He just wanted to stay
as focused as possible, having never shot on
camera before.
He shared his battle with imposter syndrome during the early days of shooting. He wondered if he was the right pick for such a major production since it was the first role he had been cast in.. Cooper and Smith reminded Banks that they picked him for a reason. Both encouraged him to lean into his similarities with the character — everything from his shared last name with the series’ family, to his own journey of moving from Philadelphia to Hollywood.
“I can't have the perspective of, ‘I'm trying to play this character that Will Smith played.’ When Will Smith was doing the original, he was up there really actually being Will Smith. That was him, the character was his name,” he explains. “I use the experiences that I've had, my charisma, and the things that I've been through to empower the character in each circumstance. Half of the character is like I'm playing Will, and then half of it is, ‘this is Jabari, and this is my life that I'm going through.’ I think that’ll grow from season to season.”
Bel Air is just the beginning for Jabari Banks. He’s currently prepping to shoot alongside Benedict Wong and Callina Liang in Bad Genius, a heist thriller about high school students who are cheating on the SAT— an English language remake of the hit 2017 Thai film. He also hopes to play characters in fantasy films because he wants to see more Black people in those sorts of roles. He refuses to be typecast in the role of Will.
Along with growing as an actor, he has taken a couple of lumps growing up in the public eye. During the first press run for the show, he appeared on The Breakfast
Club with DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God, and Angela Yee. He told the co-hosts that he had musical talents and wanted to freestyle on air. They played a few beats at the end of the interview but he repeatedly fumbled his rhymes. Charlamagne teased him for it. Banks says people with the show promised multiple times that they’d edit the segment cutting the freestyle, but the video was published with mention of his freestyle in the headline.
“I remember when that first came out, I was so hurt and I was so worried. But I'm okay with not being perfect, because I feel like a lot of people can resonate with that. I'm not who I want to be yet,” he said. “I'm okay with showing that side and showing that I'm still a developing artist, as we all are. I'm still budding and blossoming, and I'm excited for people to see that. Thank you to the Breakfast Club for giving me
that opportunity.”
With the long career ahead of him that he hopes for, he’ll have accomplishments and mistakes alike. He seems prepared for both.
Video produced by Langston Sessoms
Photography by Elliott Ashby
Design by Anita Nixon
Words by William E. Ketchum III
"
Half of the character is like I'm playing Will, and then half of it is, ‘this is Jabari, and this is my life that I'm going through.’ I think that’ll grow from season to season.
"
BACK TO TOP
of the game. That's part of the process. If you get discouraged and let that stop you, you're not built for
it. It's just part of the game, so you have to have
tough skin.”
When his manager called about the role of Will, Banks was certain that it was the right one. In March 2019, writer and director Morgan Cooper released a trailer on YouTube that reimagined The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a darker dramatic series. The trailer went viral. Will Smith signed on as an executive producer and it was developed into a series on Peacock, an NBC streaming service.
“Bel Air was the first really big audition that I got. Once I got that callback, I was like, ‘I know this is me,’ so I committed myself 100%,” he said. “I had to get right with God, had to get right with the universe. Once you do that, it all falls into place.”
