Conversations At Home: Jabari Banks
Jabari Banks sits down with Variety’s Jazz Tangcay to talk about the series BEL-AIR, a re-imagining of the classic sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air set in modern-day America. The rapper-turned-actor shares what he’s learned throughout filming and reveals behind-the-scenes stories about the cast and how they’ve become a close-knit family.
“They [Will Smith and Morgan Cooper] reminded me to just lean into my own instincts and my upbringing, and they chose me for me. And so that’s what I did throughout this whole process.”
Jazz starts the interview by asking Jabari what it felt like to step into the role of the “Fresh Prince.” It was initially frightening for Jabari, but his nerves settled when he received positive affirmation from show creator Morgan Cooper and original actor Will Smith. Jabari is proud to be allowed to be an extension of the Bel-Air legacy. For him, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the quintessential 90s show, and it meant everything to Jabari. The original show had a huge cultural impact on Jabari, his family, his community, and his city of Philadelphia. Reviving the show did prove difficult, but according to Jabari, the project became easier to accomplish once he and the rest of the show’s team got into the swing of things and came together as a family.
“It was me versus me, you know, and I feel like that was important to just…really be on the straight-and-narrow; put your blinders on and just focus on you. Sometimes I struggle to do that as an artist, and I recognize that.”
When asked about his audition process, Jabari reveals that his audition on Bel-Air was the first audition he did for a large production. He describes his process as being “pure” in a way that was a situation of him versus himself. Jabari believes artists tear themselves down when they get into auditioning rooms. He is thankful that he wasn’t exposed to that atmosphere due to his audition being through Zoom. Jabari recounts that he first became aware of the role when his father sent him an article two months before getting it. This came at an inopportune time since Jabari had recently moved to New York City. His housing situation was uncertain; moving around to three different locations owned by his friends. Jabari claims that he moved to New York City because he wanted to get away from the “restricting environment” of Philadelphia. After getting the role on Bel-Air and joining some meetings held in Los Angeles, Jabari ended up back in Philadelphia to shoot the show. He finds it ironic that he made such an effort to leave Philadelphia, only to return as a success.
“If you don’t keep moving forward, then you just stop. You don’t get any closer. I always have the mindset to just keep pushing and keep working hard. Something’s going to work itself out.”
Recognizing the efforts Jabari makes for his acting, Jazz inquires about the moment that made Jabari develop his determination to keep moving forward. He claims that he has always had a determined mindset once he sets his goals. He always believed that he would get his big break into acting, and with that in mind, Jabari spent his free time doing everything he could to prepare himself for when it occurs. He prepared himself by going out of his way to approach and learn from different facets of art like visual artists, musical artists, and anything he felt could be applied to his acting. Jabari mentions that during quarantine when everything was stalled and approached differently on the set of Bel-Air, he kept his mind and spirit steady through studying, watching, and learning various genres of film, TV shows, and art.
“It’s [Bel-Air] is so interesting because my life and Will, the character, parallels so well.”
Jazz then asks Jabari how he made what was, originally, Will Smith’s character from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air into his own. Jabari states that for him, it was imperative to lean into the authenticity of the story. He explains that leaning into the reality of the life of a 16-year-old reacting to the series of events in the show is what allowed him to better portray his character. Jabari believes that his life parallels in a specific way with his character Will. Realizing this enabled Jabari to bring out more of his real-life self in the role. He also credits his discussions with Will Smith with helping him establish his character on set. The two have become close enough that Jabari feels like Will Smith fully trusts in playing his former role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
“I feel like I grew as an actor because…for me, one of my biggest lessons that I learned is that the camera is another scene partner. We have to see that emotion; you can’t hide that.”
Following up on Jabari’s successful portrayal of his character Will on Bel-Air, Jazz asks Jabari what it was like joining the world of TV and how he grew as an actor since the shooting of the first episode. Jabari affirms that he feels no additional pressure since he had a similar, busy lifestyle before joining the show. During high school, Jabari typically did five performances at once in various projects every week. He claims to love living an always-moving type of lifestyle. As for his growth as an actor, Jabari believes he has developed tremendously since the start of Bel-Air. There were many emotional scenes to shoot, so Jabari adapted his acting to fit the scenario. One example he reveals to Jazz is that during scenes where he cries, he naturally feels like covering his face with his hands. Doing so would prevent the camera from capturing the complete display of emotion, and as a result, Jabari trained enough to hold back such reactions. He also credits his new knowledge of on-set language to his time on the show.
“It’s [Bel-Air] a coming-of-age story, and that’s something that we can all resonate with. With being fish out of water and not knowing how you’re going to make your next move, where you’re going in life.”
When asked about his relationship with the rest of the cast of Bel-Air, Jabari happily reveals his frequent hangouts with them. Apparently, Jabari even lives in the same apartment complex as fellow cast member Adrian Holmes. Following up on Jabari’s relationship and performance with the cast, Jazz inquired about the most difficult scene that Jabari had to shoot. Jabari references a scene he shot with actor Marlon Wayans where viewers are introduced to his character’s father, Lou. The scene was shot after the premiere of Bel-Air, and the actor to portray Lou wasn’t yet decided, causing more improvisation than originally thought. Jabari is especially grateful for the writing team assigning plenty of room for improv and working collaboratively regarding the lingo used by people in Philadelphia.
The interview closes with Jabari claiming there were two reasons Bel-Air resonated so well with its viewers. The first was because the show was a pure, authentic piece created by Morgan Cooper due to his love of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and not out of greed. The second factor, Jabari reasoned, was that the stories within Bel-Air are universal in situations that are easy for others to relate to. Before ending the interview, Jazz asks if Jabari has any advice for new, upcoming actors, and he immediately responds by saying they should work outside of the box, never give up, and learn from everything around them.