Our lives have become a lot louder and a lot more hectic, but also a lot more exciting. I always say that, in the last year or year and a half, I feel like I’ve aged five years. Having that bond and that ability to lean on each other throughout this whirlwind has been really beautiful, and that goes further than just on set. You have to remember not to look in a certain direction on a specific line because the lights are here, and there are a million things happening. The lighting guys are trying to figure out the lighting. When we have tough scenes to shoot with each other, we know that we can always lean on each other, or be like, “Oh, my God, I just can’t get the line.” On a set, there are so many things happening. There’s nothing more beautiful than having a co-worker that I can look at and say, “He’s my brother.” Throughout this process, we’ve really found this beautiful bond. I suppose Jabari is slightly more new than I am, but we’re both quite new and quite young, so it’s been a complete whirlwind. SHOLOTAN: Jabari and I are both quite new to the industry. How has it been for you and Jabari Banks to approach finding this dynamic together? In doing something like this, you very much have each other to go through it with, so what has that been like, as actors working with each other, but also as these characters? Do not look at that for reference.” I don’t know if any other character had that, but I remember, for me specifically, the casting director, Vicky Thomas, was like, “This is not what you’re familiar with, so do something different.” And that freed me from the expectation of having to do what Alfonso did. And then, when I saw that it was a dramatic retelling, I was like, “Wait a second, this is very interesting.” I remember for my audition, they had said, “This is not the ‘90s sitcom. Don’t touch that beat.” Alfonso killed this role. In hip-hop, when a rapper kills a beat, we say, “Don’t touch that beat anymore. When I first got the audition, I remember looking at it and being like, “A Fresh Prince reboot to play Carlton? I can’t do what Alfonso did.” I didn’t even put two and two together and realize that it was a dramatic reimagining. When the opportunity to do this show and play this character originally came your way, was there ever any hesitation on your part? The original Carlton, in the sitcom, was such a specific character, so did it ever concern you to take on this role, knowing that it would not be what people expected? And so, I guessed that they would probably find common ground, but I wasn’t really explicitly told that. And they’re both just young Black men, trying to find a place in the world. They’re both just looking for a place in the world. SHOLOTAN: What I think is so good about the show, as far as the writing goes, is that while I was never explicitly told, from the writing, I was immediately like, “Oh, I know what journey they have to go on.” Carlton and Will are presented as these two characters that seem completely diametrically opposed, but you see the similarities in them. Since every time I would show up to work last season and it was like, “All right, now you have to yell at each other,” it was good not to have to do that as much, this season. With where they leave off at the end of Season 1, and where Season 2 picks up, they’re hand-in-hand, trying to take on Bel-Air together, and I think that’s gonna be really, really cool to watch, especially because I also love Jabari. But what I love about our show is that you get to see that happen in real time. I know when our show premiered, a lot of people were actually really put off by that because, in the original, Carlton and Will were best friends. It’s something that has been such a long time coming because it was such a staple of the original. OLLY SHOLOTAN: I would say the thing that I was most excited for was just Carlton and Will getting along, and the audience watching Carlton and Will get along. What were you most excited about, when it came to what the possibilities could be for Season 2? Collider: Your character has already had such a journey of growth, after everything that Carlton did and went through with Season 1.
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