Starring in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air may have backfired for Alfonso Ribeiro’s acting career.
The cohost of Dancing With the Stars talked with Closser Weekly about how his role as Carlton alongside Will Smith didn’t exactly do his acting career any favors.
On NBC, 52-year-old Ribeiro played in the show for six seasons from 1990 to 1996. His character was a conservative cousin to Smith, who was the opposite. The contrast worked well, as Smith taught him street smarts, and Carlton had a way of helping Smith through situations on a more down-to-earth level.
Regarding his role, it was a good and bad thing for the actor.
Alfonso Ribeiro discusses how Fresh Prince of Bel-Air affected his acting career
“Playing Carlton on Fresh Prince became a sacrifice,” Ribeiro said. “I used to always say doing Carlton was the greatest and worst thing that ever happened to me. It was one of the greatest roles that I ever was fortunate enough to play, but it was also the role that stopped me from acting again because people couldn’t see me as anything else. The sacrifice was not having an acting career anymore.”
He did elaborate on what he loved about being on the hit comedy.
“It was about the cast and spending time with them,” the star added. “Before every show, we would go into Will Smith’s dressing room, and we’d play music and dance and just have a great energy buildup to get ready for the show. Those are some great memories of just being together.”
In the interview, he also discussed some previous parts he had prior to Fresh Prince. One was working with the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, in a Pepsi commercial in 1984. “It was amazing,” he said of the experience. “It was quite special. The funny story was when we were doing rehearsals, I couldn’t understand why it was taking Michael so long to learn such simple choreography. Then, I realized, ‘Oh, he’s not learning it. He’s perfecting it.’ Every movement, every fingertip, had to be exactly what he wanted it to be. I learned that it’s not about how quickly you do something; it’s about getting it right in every detail.”
The actor also appeared on the TV series Silver Spoons alongside Ricky Schroder. He has some fond memories of that iconic show.
“My favorite memories were hanging out with the other castmates and having fun off set,” he said. “Ricky and I were tight for a while. One of my favorite things was learning to play racquetball with my on-set teacher. I became a competitive racquetball player while doing my schooling for Silver Spoons.”
Though Alfonso Ribeiro’s acting career came to a halt after Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, he’s had a successful career as a host. Along with Dancing With the Stars, he hosts America’s Funniest Home Videos and Jack Hanna’s Passport.
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