 All it takes is hearing that opening drum kit of that title sequence to throw a whole bunch of us back to the super early 90s when the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was kicking off its 148th episode run between the years of 1990 and 1996. He starred Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself in the role that would launch him into super stardom as we followed his escapades living in his aunt and uncle's house in Bel-Air. Fresh Prince was created by Andy Borowitz and Susan Borowitz and starred actors like James Avery as uncle Phil, Janet Hubert as Aunt Vivian until she was replaced three seasons in by Daphne Maxwell, Alfonso Rebiero as Carlton, Karen Parsons as Hilary, Tatiana Ali as Ashley, Joseph Marcel as the butler Jeffrey, and Jeffrey A. Townes as Will's best friend, DJ Jazzy Jeff. Most of these actors would forever become associated with the roles they played in this series. In fact Alfonso Rebiero admitted to Us Weekly that he had a tough time landing future roles after spending so many years as Carlton. He told them. You get a role that you get to fully dive into and make it yours and create dances and create ideas and work with the writers and directors and producers in molding this character. Having people feel like oh my god you were so good I think that's you which I always say well isn't that what acting is? I did something so well that you're punishing me for doing it. They won't let you do anything else because you're supposed to be that person. But all that was over three decades ago and recently HBO Max has announced an unscripted fresh Prince of Bel Air full cast reunion special in honor of its 30th anniversary and it's on its way real soon like really soon like this week soon. This brand new specialist sets your reunite all-star cast one last time to discuss the impact of the show and how it changed all their lives as well as influence the depiction of black families in the modern age of media. To celebrate the moment Will Smith shared the trailer on Instagram with the following message these are the people who made me the man I am today and I couldn't let this day go by without marking the occasion. So if you can't wait to catch this special for yourself then I've got some good news for you because today I'm gonna take a look back at this cast to remind you of what they were like back then and what they've been getting up to now. Hey guys and gals it's Kara back with a brand new episode of a new series we're calling then and now. So if you get a kick out of this video be sure to check out ones that we have coming up. I mean you can never get enough of Will Smith in your life am I right? Be sure to follow me on Instagram to let me know what you think. Alright now let's get into the story. Whenever anyone thinks about the fresh Prince of Valer the first person you always think of is Will Smith. I mean how could it not be? Not only was this series his breakout vehicle he also played a version of himself in it. How often did that happen? Especially for someone who was so new to the game. In a way it only made us the audience feel like we knew who Will was even more as we laughed along at some of his most ridiculous behavior. First moved into his new mansion Valer he was a pretty big brat to the family that took him in but over the years his love and acceptance for them would grow and so too would our love and acceptance of him. Before I was getting in trouble with Uncle Phil I was in trouble with Uncle Sam. In reality Will was actually in a bit of a trouble financially speaking when he took on the Fresh Prince gig. In the late 80s he was an up-and-coming emcee who severely underpaid his income taxes and was looking at a bill of close to 3 million dollars that he owed the government. NBC signed him to a developmental deal and built this series around him. Thankfully for Will the series was a big enough success that he was able to get out from under all that debt. After the Fresh Prince Smith would go on to become one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, headlining movies like Bad Boys Men in Black and Independence Day. In fact he would go on to become the only actor to ever have eight consecutive films to gross over 100 million dollars in the domestic box office. More recently you can catch him in flicks like Aladdin, Gemini Man and Bad Boys for Life. While Will Smith was undoubtedly the star of this series, Alfonso Rabiero's Carlton was the breakout fan favorite character. I mean no one can think about this series for more than 30 seconds without this image coming to mind. Carlton was Will's cousin and ultimately his best friend but his rational naive behavior was always the perfect foil to Will's carefree street-saving nature. Over the course of six seasons these two would rub off on each other and learn from one another. These days Alfonso is still shaking his hips after he won season 19 of ABC's Dancing with the Stars alongside his partner Whitney Carson. Despite getting pigeonholed as a geeky goofball, Alfonso also managed to carve out a career for himself as a game show host as well. He's hosted America's funniest home videos for what feels like decades now and he's also hosted iterations of shows like Catch-21, Spell-Mageddon and Dance 360. Last year Alfonso and his wife welcomed their fourth child into the world. Cousin Hillary was a whole bunch of teenage boys' favorite character in their Fresh Prince. Why? That's easy because Karen Parsons was and still is gorgeous. She might have been depicted as dissy and obsessed with money but as the series progressed Hillary grew as a character and began to reflect the real-life personality of Karen who was more or less the exact opposite of that. In fact since moving on from the series Karen has founded Sweet Blackberry, an organization that produces children's films about influential black figures throughout history. Karen also wrote her first novel How High the Moon, a book aimed at middle schoolers and inspired by her mother's own real-life experiences of growing up in the South. In her personal life Karen married film director Alexandre Rockwell and has two children. Some of us were Hillary fans while some of us were Ashley fans. Tatiana Ali played Will's other cousin Ashley who spent the majority of the series looking up to her older cousin. I was leading a nice sheltered existence but you made me see there was a whole world beyond Bel Air filled with people who take public transportation and don't have butlers. After the success of Fresh Prince Tatiana attended Harvard University where she would go on to graduate in 2002 with a degree in African American Studies. She then started in a number of films for Hallmark and had a recurring role in The Young and the Restless. In terms of her personal life Tatiana would meet Dr. Vaughn Raspberry in 2015 on the e-Harmony platform which makes Dr. Vaughn the most successful member in e-Harmony history by my count. They were married in 2016 and have two sons. Joseph Marcel played Geoffrey the Banks family's sarcastic and scene-stealing butler. For example if I were to judge you by your costume I should guess you were some kind of circus performer. Geoffrey was the one cleaning up after Will's many different hijinks and while this would often get his character exasperated he was more often than not considered an integral part of the family. After the series was over Marcel moved back to his native London where he would go on to have a career in the theater and serve on the board of one of the most famous playhouses in the world the Globe Theatre. In fact in 2014 at the age of 71 Marcel took on the role of Lear in Shakespeare's King Lear at the Globe Theatre where he also starred in Much Ado About Nothing previously in 2012. Now we arrive at the most controversial name on this list Janet Hubert the original aunt Viv who was let go after three seasons. She was reportedly fired at the time for becoming pregnant because her contract specifically forbade such a thing. Vivian I'm the one who says they should be doing more work around the house you're the one who's too easy on them. Oh really does this sound familiar? Daddy I need three hundred dollars. Her dismissal from the series left an understandably bad taste in her mouth and she has had a bit of a long running feud with Will Smith no Fonzo Robiero ever since. In 2013 she told OMG Insider that they did some heinous horrible things to me they were like bad kids. Will know Fonzo especially Fonzo he said that I was crazy and that nobody wanted to go to lunch with me. Janet would go on to have a recurring role in General Hospital and apparently this feud might now be water under the bridge because Janet is set to make her return in the reunion special and her inclusion might be the most exciting thing about it. I couldn't celebrate 30 years of Fresh Prince without Janet. Can't wait to see if sparks fly. From one end Viv to another Daphne Maxwell is the woman that was brought into a place Janet Hubert. At this point in the series aunt Viv and uncle Phil had just had their newest child Nikki. You know Ms. Banks since you had that baby there's something different about you. By all accounts Daphne was much more popular behind the scenes and Janet wasn't she stuck with the show through till the end. These days Daphne is married to photographer Tim Reed and starring in the recent biopic Harriet. Jeffrey A. Towns played Will's best friend DJ Jazzy Jeff in the series. In reality he was also one of Will's best friends too. Towns and Smith performed as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince prior to the show ever airing. So in a way you could say Jeffrey was Will's original co-star. His inclusion in the series would lead to one of his most iconic moments when Uncle Phil kicks Jazzy out of the home. It's like you eat here often. His Towns still performs as DJ Jazzy Jeff and recently hosted a virtual block part to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the series. He also still collaborates semi-regularly with Will. They performed in 2017 at the Europe MTV Summer Blast Music Festival as well as hosting a break in the monotony block party on Instagram together in May of this year. Finally no discussion about the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air would be complete without mentioning the towering presence of gentle giant James Avery. Uncle Phil was a fan favorite character and the emotional heart of the series and no one will ever forget the chemistry that both James and Will shared with one another. After this series James would go on to star in a short live UPN series Sparks and make guest appearances on series like CSI, That 70s Show and Grey's Anatomy. But sadly James passed away on December 31st 2013 at the age of 68 from complications following open heart surgery. After his passing Will responded on Facebook with some of my greatest lessons in acting, living and being a respectable human being, came through James Avery. Every young man needs an Uncle Phil, rest in peace. So while James Avery won't be a part of the reunion special I would be truly shocked if the presence of Uncle Phil isn't felt in some way, shape or form. He deserves nothing less. Alright guys I think we'll bring this episode of then and now to an end right here. What did you guys think? Let me know either on Instagram or in the comments down below. If you're enjoying this series leave some ideas for other episodes you'd like to see. I'll catch you guys all the next video. Bye!