See the ‘Bel-Air’ and ‘Fresh Prince’ Cast Side-by-Side

Will Smith and Jabari Banks as Will Smith

Smith and Banks portrayed a fictional version of the actor and rapper. In both series, Will is a 16-year-old boy whose mother relocates him from Philly to his relatives’ mansion in Bel-Air.

Of Smith, who announced Banks’ casting himself, the young star told PEOPLE in 2022: “We got the Will Smith Christmas sweaters, my whole family has it. I dressed up as the Fresh Prince in high school … It’s ordained. It’s written — it was already written. You can’t write this.”

Alfonso Ribeiro and Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks

Olly Sholotan gave Alfonso Ribeiro’s Carlton, Will’s cousin, a darker twist in Bel-Air. Ahead of the season 4 premiere, Sholotan gave an insight into how his version of Carlton comes full circle, from someone the audiences found “selfish” to a character they’re “rooting for.”

“The thing I’m the most proud of is the fact that I was able to introduce audiences to a version of Carlton that quite frankly they did not like. … He had sacrificed so much of himself to fit in that he just rubbed everyone the wrong way,” Sholotan explained to ABC Audio.

James Avery and Adrian Holmes as Philip Banks

Adrian Holmes plays the reimagined version of the late James Avery’s Philip Banks, who served as a father figure for Will in the show.

Ahead of the series premiere in 2022, Holmes told the Today show that his take on Uncle Phil was to honor Avery, who died in 2013.

“You can’t step into his shoes,” Holmes explained. “I’m just kind of creating my own. For me, it’s a tribute to him, a way of saying thank you to him and what he did for us.”

Karyn Parsons and Coco Jones as Hilary Banks

Coco Jones reconnected with her actress roots as the oldest Banks child, Hilary formerly played by Karyn Parsons in Fresh Prince. The singer revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in 2024 that Parsons has given her a “thumbs-up of approval.”

“We had this great conversation, and she told me that she’s normally very picky, but that she loves my interpretation of Hilary,” said Jones.

Janet Hubert, Daphne Maxwell Reid and Cassandra Freeman as Vivian Banks

Cassandra Freeman plays Banks matriarch Vivian Banks — also known as “Aunt Viv” — portrayed on Fresh Prince by Janet Hubert from season 1 to 3 and Daphne Maxwell Reid from season 4 to the series finale.

In season 1, Reid guest-starred as a board of trustees member — an appearance that Freeman told Distractify had her “screaming.”

“I just had this thought in my head of like, ‘I’m not worthy,’ ” Freeman said. “[Reid] was just so loving and so supportive. And she’d seen a lot of the episodes already. And she was just giving so much. Just so much support to me and the cast.”

Three decades after her exit from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Hubert will also make a cameo in the final season.

Tatyana Ali and Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks

Akira Akbar stepped into Tatyana Ali’s shoes as the youngest Banks child, Ashley. In Bel-Air season 2, the two Ashleys worked side by side, as Ali signed on for recurring role as Ashley’s literature teacher.

“I’m telling this beautiful Ashley, ‘Always be yourself. Never let anybody define you,’ “ Ali recalled to PEOPLE of playing opposite her childhood character. “I had to take a beat. I told the director, I was like, ‘Are we done? Okay, thank you so much.’ And I went around the wall. I just bawled, because my heart exploded.” 

Joseph Marcell as Geoffrey Butler; Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey Thompson

Jimmy Akingbola portrays the Banks’ house manager, Geoffrey Thompson, who was originally butler Geoffrey Butler in the ’90s NBC show. Original actor Joseph Marcell, who had a guest spot in season 3 of Bel-Air, praised Akingbola in an interview with TV Insider — and thanked him, too.

“Seeing how this man has made this special and given me a backstory and been the most open is wonderful. I’m beyond grateful,” Marcell said.

As for Akingbola, he soaked in the monumental moment.

“I think the show got anointed in some way and was meant to be on so many levels. … For me to play Geoffrey who is so connected to Joseph’s original character, even to the point where we’re peppering in some of the Caribbean stuff, which speaks to Joseph and where he is from. We honor him,” Akingbola explained.

DJ Jazzy Jeff and Jordan L. Jones as Jazz

Jordan L. Jones is Will’s first Los Angeles friend, Uber driver and vinyl store owner Jazz, a fictionalized version of DJ Jazzy Jeff. The Bel-Air version of Jazz pays “homage” to the original actor but not necessarily the character, Jones told Okayplayer.

“[DJ Jazzy Jeff] doesn’t give me too much advice because he loves what I’m doing,” Jones said. “He told me I made his family proud. I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ ”

Nia Long and Simone Joy Jones as Lisa Wilkes

Simone Joy Jones took on an expanded version of Nia Long’s character Lisa Wilkes, Will’s classmate and love interest.

Jones told ESSENCE in a 2024 interview that she drew inspiration from Long’s portrayal in that “[Lisa] was not taking any B.S. She was like, ‘What, 1, 2, 3, sit down, because I’m running the show.’ And so I wanted to keep that same energy and essence.”