00:00Jeffrey Thompson, house manager.
00:03Will!
00:03I'm Viv!
00:05Ten years is a long time.
00:06Let me show you around.
00:07Where them dimes at?
00:09Hillary!
00:10Will!
00:11Let's go find you something fit for a friend.
00:14What do you think?
00:15Awesome. I'm Revee Ruff with Essence. How are you doing?
00:18I am blessed and highly favored. How are you?
00:21I'm doing well. Thank you so much for asking.
00:23Clearly a very exciting time for you.
00:26This is your first major role.
00:28How did it come to be that your first big role stepping out
00:32is taking the place of Will Smith in such an iconic role?
00:37God, the universe. That's how it came to be.
00:40But, you know, my dad, he sent me this article
00:43and he was like, hey, they're auditioning for Bel Air.
00:48You should audition.
00:49And I was like, okay, you know, hopefully I get the call.
00:54And a couple weeks later, my manager sends me the call
00:56and, you know, I was like, I knew I was right for the role,
01:00but I had to get it right.
01:02You know what I mean?
01:03I'm adamant about, you know, if you ask for something,
01:05your time is going to come.
01:07It just depends who you are when it comes, if you're ready.
01:09Right.
01:10And I really felt that I had to surrender to this whole process.
01:13So, you know, I, you know, I just, I left it to God.
01:17I left it to the universe and it worked out in my favor.
01:21Absolutely.
01:22Now, I'm sure there's a lot of pressure in that
01:23since this is like, you know, so many people,
01:26this is their childhood.
01:27They just, you know, love it.
01:28How do you make sure, how are you able to inform the role
01:30and make sure that you can make it your own
01:32and not just do like a caricature or an impression?
01:36Mm, yeah.
01:37I mean, I just don't think that would work.
01:38You know what I mean?
01:39It just doesn't, it doesn't work.
01:40You know what I mean?
01:41And, and, and what we're doing with the themes that we're,
01:44the way that we're going about this is, you know,
01:46it's just dramatic.
01:47And so there's no way that I do a caricature of Will,
01:49you know, they're doing a sitcom.
01:51And, and so I definitely had to lean into who I was
01:54and my upbringing and my experiences with this role.
01:57And, and, you know, I think, I think I did that.
02:00I'm not, I'm for sure I did that.
02:01You have been able to work a little bit one-on-one
02:03with Will Smith.
02:04What advice did he give you about taking this on?
02:07He gave me that advice that I just said.
02:09He was just like, you know, just, just lean on who you are.
02:11Because, you know, when you think about the original Fresh Prince,
02:14Will wasn't doing anything but being himself up there, right?
02:17It was like, he wasn't really trying to be anybody else
02:19because it was like a fictionalized version of him.
02:22So, you know, it wasn't too far off.
02:23And, and I don't believe that, that the Will character
02:26is too far off from who I am either.
02:28You know, there's so many parallels between my life
02:30and Will's life.
02:31So it's, so it's, it's definitely been a blessing.
02:34And he's, he definitely told me that at the jump, you know?
02:37And, and so I'm, so I'm, I'm eternally grateful for that.
02:40Now, what's the experience been like for you?
02:42You were in acting school, if I'm not mistaken,
02:44mistaken right before this, going from school
02:47to being on set every day.
02:49And, you know, just on a professional film set of this level,
02:52what has that experience like, been like for you, the adjustment?
02:54Man, it's been night and day for sure.
02:56And so I had, I dropped out of school actually.
02:59And, you know, I was like, hey, I'm going to just, you know,
03:02just try to make it in.
03:03And, you know, I was just sending in auditions,
03:05sending in self-tapes, trying to, trying to make something shake.
03:07Right.
03:07And I think I had to, you know, I had, there was,
03:10there was a big learning curve from being a theater actor
03:13to, to a film actor.
03:14And, you know, like just, just finding out those nuances
03:16and, and, and making everything intentional and small.
03:19And, and, and so it was definitely,
03:22it's definitely a teaching, a teaching moment,
03:25this whole process, you know what I mean?
03:27And, and it's, it's amazing because I think the world saw
03:32my life change in front of them when Will called me
03:35and told me I got the role, but then it'll be so,
03:38it'll be so interesting that, you know,
03:40you all will be able to see me grow as an actor as well.
03:43So that's, that's, um, yeah, I'm just, I'm so blessed to be here.
03:47I'm just so grateful.
03:50Now in that shooting experience,
03:52have you pinpointed a favorite episode,
03:55maybe just to film more so than to watch so far?
03:58What, have you had a favorite day on set?
04:01I'll go with the pilot.
04:02I'll go with the very, very, very first shot
04:05that we ever shot of the pilot.
04:07We're on 60 in the market and, you know,
04:10L-Train going over us and, uh, and, um, man,
04:14that was so electric.
04:15The whole city was out there.
04:17It seemed like, and it was, you know,
04:19cause I walked those streets and it was,
04:21it was just crazy to get in super meta to be there.
04:23Um, so, so yeah, that was, that was,
04:26that was definitely one of my favorites out there.
04:27Favorite memory for sure.
04:29Now being that you are a newcomer to the industry,
04:30what are you most excited for fans to get to know about you,
04:34the person more so than you on screen as your character?
04:37Hmm, I'm definitely just interested and, uh, I want,
04:42I'm super excited for fans to see my range for sure.
04:45Uh, because, you know, we could get wacky,
04:48we could get dramatic.
04:48It'll be super fun to show them my range and,
04:51and I'm super interested in taking on a whole range of roles
04:55throughout my career.
04:56So, uh, it'll be super exciting to see that for sure.
05:01Wonderful.
05:01And what do you think fans will be surprised to see?
05:04I mean, without giving spoilers from the show this season.
05:08Oh, I think so.
05:09I think a lot of, um, there's a lot to be surprised about.
05:14Uh, uh, but, uh, I would say, you know,
05:17it's going to be exciting to see all of the, um,
05:21you know, Easter eggs and callbacks to the original.
05:24If you're, if you're an original fan, you'd be like,
05:26Oh, I remember it.
05:27Cause that and then, and then that.
05:29And yeah.
05:30So, so it'd be, it'd be fun.
05:33Now being that this is,
05:34it's been taken from a comedy to a more,
05:36I wouldn't say darker, but like a more serious, uh,
05:39examination of, you know,
05:41someone's experience trying to escape violence and for a better life.
05:46How do you feel like this show fits into like the current narrative and
05:50just into today's society, like the message it has for young people?
05:54Yeah. I mean, it, it, it just shows, you know, there's,
05:58there's so much out there in the world.
05:59I think a lot of, you know, coming from, you know,
06:02underprivileged, uh, areas and, you know, in, in the United States, um,
06:07you know, it's so easy to, to, to, you just to, to think that you're trapped.
06:11Right. And to think that that's, this is all that the world is.
06:13And, uh, and, you know, obviously you see pictures of other places,
06:16but a lot of people don't have the opportunity to travel, uh,
06:19to those other places.
06:20And so it seems like this is the world, this, you know,
06:23it's 14 square miles, as we say in the show. And, uh, and so, you know,
06:28just to show that like,
06:29there's so much more out there and the possibilities are endless to who you
06:32can be and, and how you, you know, portray yourself or whatever.
06:36And, and how people, you know, it's just, there's just,
06:37there's so much more. And so that's definitely one thing.
06:40Awesome. Well, thank you so much for your time this evening.
06:43I'm really excited for the show. Come here.
06:45Thank you so much. Me too.
06:48Have a good one.
06:49You too.
06:50Have a good one.
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