Alfonso Ribeiro is widely known for his unforgettable role as Carlton Banks in the hit comedy series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. While the role catapulted Ribeiro to stardom, it came with a price, as he says the high-profile part in the TV series doomed his acting career.

During an interview with Closer Weekly, Ribeiro was asked about the sacrifices he's had to make. He said that his Carlton role was actually a sacrifice, because the association with the character made it too hard for casting directors to consider him for other parts. Ribeiro isn't denying that playing Carlton did wonders for his career in show business, and that he's fortunate to have been cast, but that it nevertheless finished his run in acting.

“Playing Carlton on Fresh Prince became a sacrifice," he said. "I used to always say doing Carlton was the greatest and worst thing that ever happened to me. It was one of the greatest roles that I ever was fortunate enough to play, but it was also the role that stopped me from acting again because people couldn’t see me as anything else. The sacrifice was not having an acting career anymore.”

"It was one of the greatest roles that I ever was fortunate enough to play, but it was also the role that stopped me from acting again because people couldn’t see me as anything else."

Ribeiro is not bitter about his role in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He also shared how he has a lot of fond memories of working with his co-stars from the classic sitcom. Ribeiro still remembers the time spent listening to music with Will Smith to prepare for filming days.

“It was about the cast and spending time with them," he said. "Before every show, we would go into Will Smith’s dressing room, and we’d play music and dance and just have a great energy buildup to get ready for the show. Those are some great memories of just being together.”

Would Alfonso Ribeiro Return to Acting?

These days, Ribeiro is still a television star, but it's from his work as a host. After previously winning Dancing with the Stars, Ribeiro now serves as co-host of the show alongside Julianne Hough. He also hosts the ABC shows America's Funniest Home Videos and Jack Hanna's Passport. He seems to be happy enough with where he's ended up, but Ribeiro hasn't closed the door on doing more acting.

I’m enjoying being a host and am very happy with it. But, yes, I would go back to acting if it was exactly the right thing,” as Ribeiro said.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is streaming on Max and Hulu.

Source: Closer Weekly