Will Smith (character)
| Will Smith | |
|---|---|
| The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air character | |
| First appearance | "The Fresh Prince Project" |
| Last appearance | "I, Done (Part 2)" |
| Portrayed by | Will Smith |
| Information | |
| Family | Vy Smith-Wilkes (mother) Lou Smith (father; only seen once) Phillip Banks (uncle) Vivian Banks (aunt) Hilary Banks (cousin) Carlton Banks (cousin) Ashley Banks (cousin) Nicky Banks (cousin) Helen Smith (aunt) Janice Smith (aunt) Fred Wilkes (stepfather) Lisa Wilkes (former fiance/stepsister) |
William "Will" Smith (portrayed by Will Smith) (born July 3, 1973) is a fictional character in the NBC television series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The character of Will Smith is loosely based on the life of actor Will Smith (although in the show 'Will' is short for William, while in reality it is short for Willard). Smith's charming and mischievous personality earned him the nickname "Prince," which eventually became "Fresh Prince". Smith became a successful rapper, but lost most of his money because of poor budgeting. When NBC signed Smith up for the sitcom, he was almost bankrupt, and it immediately launched his acting career.
As the show's theme song suggests, Will was born and raised in West Philadelphia. He spent most of his time chilling, relaxing, or playing basketball on the playground outside of the school. One day, a couple of guys, including a kid named Omar, visited the basketball court where Will played. These guys were up to no good, as they were just beginning to make trouble in Will's neighborhood. When an errant basketball shot ricocheted off the rim and onto Omar's head, this prompted Omar and his entourage to literally lift and spin Will over his head in retaliation. Because of this one little fight, Will's mother got scared, and she told Will that he would be moving to his aunt and uncle's house in Bel-Air, California. Will pleaded with his mom to stay, but she insisted on sending him out West, although Will at least got to fly first class on his trip, and he got to drink orange juice out of a champagne glass. When he arrived in California, he hailed a cab, and the one that stopped for him had a vanity plate that said "FRESH". Inside, the cab had dice hanging from the rear-view mirror. At first, Will thought that it was rare for a cab to have such features, but then he brushed that thought aside and told the cabbie to take him home, to Bel-Air. The cab pulled up to the Banks' home around 7 or 8 o'clock in the evening of Will's arrival, at which time Will was glad to finally get out of the cab. After paying the driver, Will said to the cabbie, "Smell you later!" As Will looked at the mansion where he would now be living, he knew that he had finally arrived in his "kingdom," to sit on the throne as the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
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