Bel-Air is one of the most captivating shows currently on streaming services. Airing on Peacock, the series is a retelling of the classic sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and the third season is poised to be the most exciting yet, as the Banks family attempts to navigate through various obstacles while being Black, wealthy, and powerful.
Boasting an ultra-talented ensemble cast, Jimmy Akingbola has become a fan favorite for his portrayal of Geoffrey Thompson, the House Manager of the Banks estate. With his tailored suits and mysterious aura, Geoffrey constantly deals with the ghosts of his past while trying to protect the Banks family.
Born in London to parents of the Yoruba tribe who had emigrated from Nigeria, Jimmy Akingbola is an accomplished actor with an impeccable resume. He graduated from the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts (ALRA) in Wandsworth, London. After working in theater for several years, his breakthrough success in TV in the U.K. came when he starred in Holby Blue, Holby City, and Ted Lasso.
In his portrayal of Geoffrey, Akingbola said he wanted to bring an entirely new element to the beloved character in the dramatic retelling of the series he grew up watching across the pond.
“The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was huge in the UK. It was on the BBC at 6 pm every Tuesday or every Thursday. We would go from eating our dinner, turn the channel on, and then everybody would start singing the theme song,” Akingbola told HOT97.com. “Having a British actor like Joseph Marcel was even more impactful for me because he was somebody who sounded like me and was from where I was from. He’s been on stage in the UK on our TV screens before, so we were aware of him. It was a big thing for him to be on the show with Will Smith and the entire cast.”
Not only did he grow up being influenced by Marcel, Jimmy Akingbola got a chance to work with him on a TV show in the U.K.
“About six or seven years ago, we worked together on a BBC show called ‘Death in Paradise’ and he played my father,” he recalled. “There’s a picture of us that I have somewhere with us on the beach on our deck chairs in Guadalupe in the Caribbean. I remember asking him, ‘Does this ever get old?’ I remember him saying, ‘Dear boy, never.’ He was still very grateful for everything.”
For his portrayal of Geoffrey, Akingbola said it’s primarily based on the sitcom character, who he considers the “glue of the Banks family.”
“My inspiration is from the original Geoffrey. I remember how he loved the kids and how he has a different relationship with every member of the family, including Uncle Phil and Aunt Viv,” he said. “I really wanted to keep the spine of that in my version of Geoffrey along with some new elements because he’s like a version of myself. I’m a Black Brit who moved to the US, works in the US, and lives in the US. So there’s a lot of sort of synergy there.”
BEL-AIR Is CERTIFIED ‘FRESH’
Jimmy Akingbola also noted that the debonair style and stoic disposition of Geoffrey came from some of the hustlers that he grew up watching on the streets of East London.
“Morgan Cooper, the creator of the show, took me out for coffee when I booked the gig and he shared the whole backstory of Geoffrey. I said to myself ‘I know who this guy is.’ I wanted to create someone that was nuanced and a bit of a shapeshifter,” he said. “He knows the streets, but he also knows the offices, mansions, politics, he can talk money, he knows it all.”
“I remember seeing some older guys who would be driving a nice car with all the nice clothes. I didn’t know what they did but I did know they had the jewelry, the new convertible, but they would always have time for the youngins,” he added. “They would tell us to stay in school. While it wasn’t quite obvious what they were doing and some of them did terrible things, I wanted to create a version where Geoffery was intelligent and knew that that life couldn’t always be the life.”
Akingbola also used his former youth worker in London to construct his version of Geoffrey.
“Back home, my youth worker was a highly educated Black guy who drove a nice car, wore thick gold chaps, spoke eloquently, was 6 ‘5, and knew Jiu-Jitsu. All of these examples I drew upon, and put them together to make the new Geoffery in 2024,” Akingbola shared.
As a runaway success, Bel-Air has captivated audiences who watched the original sitcom, as well as a younger demographic who are now going back to watch the sitcom for the first time. With immense gratitude, Akingbola says he is blown away by how he’s been embraced by fans of the show.
“All the comments that I received, I just thank you all for my heart and it’s humbling. It also makes me tear up sometimes because I’m a fan of the original show, and those moments remind me that I’m in the show. I don’t take it for granted because this is a special show. A lot of people were worried that we were going to mess it up,” Akingbola laughed.
“But when people come up to me saying that Geoffery is one of their favorite characters, it means the world to me,” he continued. “It really does move my heart, and it makes me just want to continue to walk in the footsteps that Joseph Marcel walked and I honor the legacy of The Fresh Prince and now Bel-Air. This season is the best one yet!”