It’s relatively well known that DJ Jazzy Jeff and Will Smith turned down the opportunity to star in 1990’s House Party — roles that eventually went to Kid and Play. Not such a bad deal, as Smith is now so successful that he’s turned to making his children into stars, while Jazzy Jeff… well, at least Jazzy Jeff has a Twitter account.
However, as Christopher “Kid” Reid revealed in a red carpet interview (see video below), Kid and Play turned down the NBC sitcom that would eventually become “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Ooh, dat’s gotta hoit.
“Later on, we were talking about doing a sitcom over at NBC. We backed out of that because they canceled our cartoon series. So we were pissed off and were like, ‘Eh, we’re not working with you.’ And then Will got that slot — ‘Fresh Prince’ became that. So that stuff kinda evens out. What ever happened to Will Smith? I never see the guy anywhere.”
That’s incredible to me. Think about the alternate universe where Will Smith’s stardom peaked with House Party before he withered into a footnote of ’90s pop culture. And Christopher Reid is a household name, arguably the biggest movie star in the world. Married to Halle Berry, probably. Now that I think about it, I really have to credit Kid for not committing suicide. (Yet.)
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[via moviefone]
