Alfonso Ribeiro says portraying Carlton Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was a sacrifice because he believes the role ultimately ended his acting career. The show follows Will Smith, who plays a fictionalized version of himself, as he navigates living in Bel-Air with his wealthy aunt and uncle. Although Smith was the star of the show, Ribeiro frequently stole the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air spotlight as Carlton, a preppy, conservative teen, who proved to be the perfect foil to the wisecracking, street-smart Smith. While Banks was his breakthrough role, Ribeiro now has mixed feelings about the character.

In an interview with Closer Weekly, Ribeiro opened up about playing Banks in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and why he now views it as a sacrifice. The actor described the role as both the “greatest and worst thing” he ever did. On the one hand, he recognizes how fortunate he was to play such a memorable and beloved role. However, Ribeiro also believes the role ended his career because no one could see him as anything other than Banks after the show. Check out his statement below:

Playing Carlton on Fresh Prince became a sacrifice. 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.

What Happened to Alfonso Ribeiro After The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?

Despite garnering much attention for portraying Carlton in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Ribeiro’s acting career largely tapered off after the show. Immediately after the series, he managed to secure a lead role in seasons 3–5 of the sitcom In The House. However, the series was soon canceled and would prove to be one of the only leading roles he picked up in the nearly 30 years since The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. From 1999 on, Ribeiro largely only made guest appearances in TV shows, starred in TV films, and nabbed a few minor voice acting roles.

However, Ribeiro found success in hosting, and has hosted numerous competitions and reality shows, including Catch 21 and Unwrapped 2.0. Currently, he hosts America’s Funniest Home Videos, America’s Funniest Home Videos: Pet Edition, and Dancing with the Stars. Ribeiro has proven to be an engaging and charismatic host who adds lots of laughter to his shows. Still, it seems hosting wasn’t the first career he would’ve chosen. He has opened up multiple times about how The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ended his acting career because it pigeonholed him as an actor based on Carlton.

While typecasting in Hollywood is a recurring issue, Ribeiro’s situation seems a little more severe than most cases. Instead of being limited to roles like the Banks teenager, he has accused studios of actually seeing him as Carlton. His name became almost synonymous with Carlton, which could be a problem if casting directors saw him as a fictional character instead of the capable actor he was. Although Ribeiro was iconic as Banks, it’s unfortunate Hollywood never gave him a chance to see what he could’ve done beyond The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

All six seasons of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air are available to stream on Max and Hulu.

Source: Closer Weekly