Why Jabari Banks Stepping Into Will’s Bel-Air Role Was “Fate”

The new Fresh Prince iteration is set in modern-day America and offers a much more gritty interpretation of Will’s story, but just as Carlton remains an important character, so do Aunt Viv and Uncle Phil.

However, Adrian Holmes looks just a tad bit different than the O.G. uncle played by the late, great James Avery. He admitted to frequenting the gym, and according to Cassandra Freeman, who plays his on-screen wife, “That’s the reason why he thought he wasn’t gonna get this role.”

Added Holmes, “I thought they were gonna follow the pattern of the original show.”

That was, until he met Freeman. 

“When we did the chemistry test and I saw him in the room, I was almost offended,” she joked. “I was like, ‘So this is Uncle Phil?’ I was like, ‘I don’t know.'”

Freeman continued, “Then as soon as Adrian started speaking, the whole vibe and swag that is just Adrian in the character just felt like truth.”