Uncle Phil Is The Fresh Prince

And after a beat, Will starts crying and says, “How come he don’t want me, man?”

Uncle Phil, yo!!

May 9, 1994: Papa’s Got a Brand New Excuse.

Season 4 Episode 24 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

That classic sitcom moment where Will’s father walks out on him again…

In Will Smith’s most excellent memoir Will (highly recommended) he writes this about this pivotal scene and the impact it generated.

So good…

“You can do jokes with your eyes closed,” he’d say. “You have that
naturally, and it’s beautiful to watch. But you have deeper talent in there,”
he said, tapping on my chest emphatically, “that you can’t even imagine yet.
And you’re never going to find it if you don’t reach for it. There’s a
difference between talent and skill. Talent comes from God — you’re born
with it. Skill comes from sweat and practice and commitment. Don’t just
skate through this opportunity. Hone your craft.”

This was the most demanding dramatic scene for my character of the
entire series. It was me going toe-to-toe with James Avery. Master actors
revel in the opportunity to go head-to-head in a scene with other masters.
But I was not a master — I was a scared little boy in the shadow of a giant.
When actors have…