Jabari Banks, a 24-year-old aspiring actor, new to the Hollywood scene, is most popularly known today for playing the character Will Smith in Bel-Air.
Having turned 24 some days ago, the talented young actor took the time to thank his fans for all the wishes via an Instagram post.
To find out more about this interesting young talent and what next he has planned for fans, read on for more.
Who is Jabari Banks?
There is no denying that Jabari being cast on “Bel-Air,” the reimagined version of the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in modern times, put a spin on his professional acting career for the better.
Before being cast for this role, not many of his fans would dare say they knew a thing or two about him.
One of the perks of being a celebrity is having strangers wanting to find out more about you, privacy damned. Later in this post, you will discover who Jabari Banks was before becoming someone’s TV Show crush.
Early Years
Born August 2nd, 1998, Jabari Banks was born into a family of Christian parents in West Philadelphia.
The names of Jabari’s parents and siblings are not yet known to the public for some reason, but he seems to have a loving relationship with each of them.
Jabari, who speaks English fluently, is of American nationality and an Afro-American by ethnicity.
He grew up and attended the local high school in his hometown before earning a degree in Musical Theater from the University of Arts in Philadelphia in 2020.
In his earlier years, Jabari was more of a rapper than an actor as he loved reading poetry, writing down words he felt, and even playing the piano.
The talented young actor has admitted to dressing up as the “Fresh Prince” back in high school with other classmates and owning some Will Smith sweaters.
Family
Jabal has been interviewed severally, but he has not said much about his family. His parents’ and sibling names remain undisclosed to the general public.
It is clear, though, that they have supported his growth as an adult interested in a successful acting career.
Several reasons can answer why not much is known about his family, with the first being privacy.
His parents and siblings may not want to have their faces and names on the net so they could still keep their normal daily routine.
Life Before Acting
After graduating in 2020, Jabari Banks got a job with the help of his mum. He worked at a factory in Temecula, California, for about a year. Before Bel-Air, Jabari had never participated in commercial or media projects.
After his brief time working at the factory, he finally landed his first big role as Will Smith in “Bel-Air.”
Career
2022 can be described as the year that truly kickstarted the rise of Jabari’s career in acting. His rise to fame could not have been through a much better means than by being cast as Will in ‘Bel Air”.
The 2022 TV show, a modern-day perspective of Will Smith in “the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” set in West Philadelphia, is why people know and have come to love Jabari Banks.
It was a sitcom he loved greatly from when he was little and still inspires him in his acting journey today.
A very interesting fact you should know is that Jabari had not even been born when the first episode of “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” was aired in 1990 and when it got wrapped up in 1996.
He was born after the popular show filled the mainstream media, but he still grew up to love it thanks to his parents, who got hold of the season 6 box set.
The actor said in an interview that he repeated the show several times when growing up, which helped him settle into the character he plays on “Bel-Air” today.
“Bel-Air” is not the first show Jabar has been on; he has also played a character on “The Amber Ruffin Show,” released in 2020.
Jabari still shows great interest in pursuing a fulfilling acting career, as being cast in action movies is his dream.
Awards & Interviews
In the meantime, like Lenny Kravitz, Jabari has not received any awards or recognition for his roles in movies and TV shows.
It may not be now, but one thing is that it is a very achievable feat with a talent like his. He may be up for nominations sometime in the future if he continues to do great.
Jabari may not have been up for nominations, but he has had the privilege to be invited to the Vanity Fair event, BET Awards 2022, and a host on the Jimmy Fallon Late Night Show.
You can always find these videos to watch on Youtube if you want to know what Jabari wore for such events and his time on the Late Night Show.
Social Media Profiles
Jabar does exist on some major social media platforms as it is an important thing to do as a newbie to Hollywood. These platforms allow celebrities to stay in touch and interact with their fans.
You can find Jabari’s official pages as “jabaribanks” on both Twitter and Instagram.
He started running his Instagram account on February 19th, 2021, and today, he has over three hundred thousand followers and eleven posts.
Relationship
No girl has been sighted close to Jabari Banks to spark the rumors of a relationship, so the answer is no.
The chances of Jabari Banks being in a relationship is low, resulting from him being focused on his career or keeping his private life private!
Scandals
Nothing reputation-shattering has been reported to exist about Jabari as he is known to have a sealed mouth about his family and other private affairs. He is not involved in any scandalous affairs so far.
Hobbies and Interests
Acting is not the only fun thing Jabari loves to do. Singing, rapping, composing music, playing basketball, juggling, and cleaning are some of the things he loves as well.
The young actor has a passion for fashion and has even commented on starting his clothing line in the future.
Net Worth
Jabari’s current net worth is estimated at one million dollars as he has had a great start in the acting industry. This makes him one of the richest persons in the world, next to the likes of Bishop Lamor Whitehead, Tim Curry, Jimmy Humilde, Scooter Braun and more. It will likely increase to multiple figures shortly as it does not look like Jabari is leaving the acting world soon.
Jabari Banks on Becoming Will in Bel-Air
Jabari Banks has said a lot about his process of settling to become Will Smith on Bel-Air. Before shooting for the TV show began, Jabar found out that he got the part after auditioning in the best way possible. Will Smith broke the news and congratulated him on getting the role via Zoom.
Having watched the original TV show from where Bel-Air was a spin-off many times while growing up, Jabari has expressed that both he and Will had similar paths while growing up in West Philadelphia.
Being born in the same city and having experienced very similar challenges, settling into the role was not a hard task for Jabari. It was more like his whole life prepared him for landing the role of Will Smith.
With Will Smith being the executive producer, it has been a great guide to Jabari on set as they both work together to bring the best out of each scene.
Jabari, in an interview, said that at first, when his manager told him about auditioning for “Bel-Air,” he did not know it was going to be about “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” until much later on.
Other Interesting Facts About Jabari Banks
Jabar Banks weighs about 80kg and stands tall at 6 feet. One distinctive feature about Jabari is his perfect jawline. He has black eyes and hair.
He does keep his hair short and even has tattoos, just in case you were wondering.
In addition to the list of things you do not know about Jabari, he loves to sweep as he described, which has a calming effect on him.
Regarding fashion, some clothing accessories Jabari has admitted he loves wearing are caps and shades. You are likely to catch him wearing diamond studs on his ears outside too.
There is denying that Jabari will have a promising acting career shortly. He is a personality to watch out for, having landed an incredible role for his first acting gig.
Not many celebrities can say their acting career started great by landing a huge role, but Jabari can.
Conclusion
If you want to see more of Jabari and more great acting skills, you can always start by watching “Bel-Air” now and patiently wait to see more of his budding talent on your TV screens!
