Will Smith (character)
Encyclopedia
William "Will" Smith is a fictional character in the NBC
television series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
.
Will was often depicted as being immature, egostitical, and hedonistic. He was a frequent womanizer who shows more interest in his own personal pleasures than his academic studies, although at times he has shown surprising moments of intelligence and academic success; in fact, he got the highest score on his S.A.T. scores and was offered a scholarship to Princeton but turned it down. Will is, however, good-hearted and never means any malice. He had more negative actions because of his immaturity and lack of foresight, rather than unkindness. In the show, Will's age changes very slowly throughout the series; for the first three season, he is said to be 17 and does not turn 18 until the fourth season, and was 19 by season five; however this would eventually contradict the season one episode "Lucky Charm", in which Will says his birthday is July 3, 1973 (given that Will does not turn 20 until the sixth and final season, which aired during the 1995–96 television season). Although he often teases the Banks, especially Carlton and Philip, he cares for them deeply and always tries to make up for what he does wrong. He is closest to Ashley, who admires Will and is more understanding of the different lifestyles they have.
While Smith sometimes perceives Phil as being overprotective of Ashley, he himself also can be; when Ashley asks him about sex, Will became shocked by Ashley's inquiry, which led him and Carlton to go to a clinic to talk to a doctor about how to discuss sex with Ashley and receive pamphlets on the subject. In the same episode, Phil and Vivian proceed to question the pamphlets that Will and Carlton got to educate themselves on how to get Ashley not to have sex, but ended up admitting they were for Ashley. His father, Lou, who had abandoned him at childhood, returns in one episode. His dad promises to take him on the road with him, but later drops Will, which makes him upset. It was by then he realized Philip was the closest to a father he ever had.
Though Will often teases his Uncle Phillip due to his weight, he genuinely respects Phillip as a father figure and fiercely defends him when his image or integrity are attacked by outsiders. In an episode, Will is shot at a bank protecting Carlton from a robber. Carlton then feels that Will could have died because of him. During one of Will's visits back to his old neighborhood, he confronts the old park thug, Omar, to restore his damaged reputation. When Will challenges him, he is startled when a reformed Omar refuses to fight back. Omar misses Will, and through him Will gradually realizes that his reputation is not important.
At the conclusion of the show's run, the Banks family decided to settle in New York, while Will remained in Los Angeles to finish his last year of college. Will eventually has become considered a close member of the Banks family.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from September 10, 1990 to May 20, 1996. The show stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who is sent to move in with his aunt and uncle in their...
.
Background
When Will was five, he was abandoned by his father, and was raised in poverty by his mother Viola. When he was 15, he engaged in a physical confrontation at a basketball court with a local bully named Omar (Will explains Omar as "The guy spinning me over his head in the opening credits"). Because of this and other dangers of living in a ghetto, Will's mom got scared for his life and decided as the theme song explains, that Will would be "movin' with [his] auntie and uncle in Bel-Air". The character was born July 3, 1973, 17 at the time the series started.Storylines
Following Will's arrival in Bel-Air, he was a great distance from home and was considered an outsider by many people in his Bel-Air neighborhood. Early on, he had a picture of Malcolm X on his wall. He often disagrees with his cousin Carlton, whom he sees as not quite "black" enough because he does not talk in the fashion like other blacks from his perspective. Despite their differences, Will grows extremely close to the Banks family.Will was often depicted as being immature, egostitical, and hedonistic. He was a frequent womanizer who shows more interest in his own personal pleasures than his academic studies, although at times he has shown surprising moments of intelligence and academic success; in fact, he got the highest score on his S.A.T. scores and was offered a scholarship to Princeton but turned it down. Will is, however, good-hearted and never means any malice. He had more negative actions because of his immaturity and lack of foresight, rather than unkindness. In the show, Will's age changes very slowly throughout the series; for the first three season, he is said to be 17 and does not turn 18 until the fourth season, and was 19 by season five; however this would eventually contradict the season one episode "Lucky Charm", in which Will says his birthday is July 3, 1973 (given that Will does not turn 20 until the sixth and final season, which aired during the 1995–96 television season). Although he often teases the Banks, especially Carlton and Philip, he cares for them deeply and always tries to make up for what he does wrong. He is closest to Ashley, who admires Will and is more understanding of the different lifestyles they have.
While Smith sometimes perceives Phil as being overprotective of Ashley, he himself also can be; when Ashley asks him about sex, Will became shocked by Ashley's inquiry, which led him and Carlton to go to a clinic to talk to a doctor about how to discuss sex with Ashley and receive pamphlets on the subject. In the same episode, Phil and Vivian proceed to question the pamphlets that Will and Carlton got to educate themselves on how to get Ashley not to have sex, but ended up admitting they were for Ashley. His father, Lou, who had abandoned him at childhood, returns in one episode. His dad promises to take him on the road with him, but later drops Will, which makes him upset. It was by then he realized Philip was the closest to a father he ever had.
Though Will often teases his Uncle Phillip due to his weight, he genuinely respects Phillip as a father figure and fiercely defends him when his image or integrity are attacked by outsiders. In an episode, Will is shot at a bank protecting Carlton from a robber. Carlton then feels that Will could have died because of him. During one of Will's visits back to his old neighborhood, he confronts the old park thug, Omar, to restore his damaged reputation. When Will challenges him, he is startled when a reformed Omar refuses to fight back. Omar misses Will, and through him Will gradually realizes that his reputation is not important.
At the conclusion of the show's run, the Banks family decided to settle in New York, while Will remained in Los Angeles to finish his last year of college. Will eventually has become considered a close member of the Banks family.
External links
- Will Smith at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...