Bel-Air actor Jimmy Akingbola recently explained how his take on the Banks family’s iconic butler Geoffrey differs from Joseph Marcell’s version of the character in the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air series.
“I always say that, for me, the original Geoffrey was the suave Roger Moore-type James Bond, and in our version, he’s more Jason Bourne,” Akingbola told The Hollywood Reporter. “He’s got an edge and a swagger to him. We talked a lot about authenticity, and [Bel-Air co-creator Morgan Cooper] said that Geoffrey was from East London and I was like, ‘Great because I’m from East London.’ And we talked about what he’d look like.”
The actor also pointed out the importance of the new Geoffrey being described as a house manager, not a butler, and elaborated on how being from East London himself informed the authenticity of the character. “I remember loving the original Geoffrey but, where I’m from, not knowing many people who spoke like that,” Akingbola reminisced. “So I loved being able to create someone who, if you are from East London, you’d be like: ‘I know guys like that.'”
Despite Bel-Air‘s Geoffrey being a far more serious and no-nonsense character than his colorful counterpart from the original, fans will be delighted to know the new Geoffrey has not been completely stripped of his playfulness in the grittier retelling of the classic ’90s sitcom. In fact, Akingbola confirmed that audiences will get to see a lighter side to Geoffrey as the series progresses and his character is more deeply explored.
While Bel-Air is only a few episodes into its first season, the show has been making headlines for the unusual way it came to be. It all started when Cooper posted an “official trailer” for his take on the story on YouTube, which gave The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air a complete makeover by imagining a more dramatic portrayal of the characters and their issues. The trailer eventually made its way to the original Fresh Prince Will Smith, who expressed an interest in transforming the concept into a fully-realized television series.
Bel-Air was officially announced on Aug. 11, 2020, with Peacock ordering two seasons of the show in September of that year. Much like the original series, Bel-Air follows a young man from the streets of West Philadelphia named Will Smith (Jabari Banks) and his complicated relationships with his wealthy Aunt Vivian (Cassandra Freeman), Uncle Phil (Adrian Holmes) and cousins Hillary (Coco Jones), Carlton (Olly Sholotan) and Ashley Banks (Akira Akbar), after moving to their mansion in Bel-Air.
The first three episodes of Bel-Air are available to stream now on Peacock, with new episodes dropping weekly.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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