‘Bel-Air’: Joseph Marcell & Jimmy Akingbola Compare Their Geoffrey Portrayals

It’s the summertime in Bel-Air, and the temperature isn’t the only thing heating up. For Season 3, the popular Peacock drama brings in a guest star fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air will know in Joseph Marcell, the Banks’ butler Geoffrey. The veteran actor doesn’t return to the iconic role from the 1990s hit sitcom but someone from the family’s past. 

Jimmy Akingbola, who plays Geoffrey in this Bel-Air iteration, was happy to have Marcell on set and the opportunity to work together. His Geoffrey has a lot going on helping the Banks sift through their own drama while worrying about his past catching up with him. Geoffrey’s son Frederick is also in Bel-Air, which is set to bring more revelations. We caught up with Marcell and Akingbola to talk about this tale of two Geoffreys. 

Joseph, what were your first thoughts about joining the show when this opportunity came about? 

Joseph Marcell: It was exciting. I was up in Liverpool, England when this thing happened. It was just pure excitement. It was completely removed from what I was doing at that time and what I did afterward. To be with Jimmy and [EP] Morgan [Cooer] and all those people were just marvelous. For them, mostly to remember and think of me was beyond words. 

What are your thoughts on each other’s shows? 

Jimmy Akingbola: For me, the original OG show with the OG Geoffrey is a dream come true. That show and what Joseph, Will [Smith], and everyone on the show did impact everybody on a global level. I don’t think people realize how impactful that show was. It was an iconic cultural show that transcended it all. Being part of Bel-Air and that Fresh Prince family is something as we go into Season 3. I’m just really cherishing it. Being Geoffrey and having Joseph on the show has been mindblowing. I still think I’m processing. There was a moment when Joseph said, “I can’t believe this is happening.” 

I felt the same way. When it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. I think the show got anointed in some way and was meant to be on so many levels. For this to come off the back of the anniversary of the original. For me to play Geoffrey who is so connected to Joseph’s original character, even to the point where we’re peppering in some of the Caribbean stuff, which speaks to Joseph and where he is from. We honor him. 

Joseph: I think what you’ve done with him is give him a kind of grounding. I didn’t know how I could as Geoffrey. I had to see myself in a kind of younger form. Arriving and meeting the whole gang and remembering how I did it, what I did, and who I am now, who you are, Jimmy. 

Pictured: (l-r) Jovian Wade as Frederick, Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey, Akira Akbar as Ashley — (Photo by: Greg Gayne/PEACOCK)

Frederick is a shady character in the original and right now. How would you compare their father-son relationship? 

Joseph: Ours was at a different time, different decade even. Expectations and aspirations were entirely different. There was a lot of necessary smokescreen with human relationships and how people behaved. What Bel-Air has presented was the reality of it. One presumed Geoffrey arrived and had this wonderful job as a butler with this incredibly rich family and well-connected people. Life was a dream… For me, it’s the old joke of I’m an overnight success after 40 years. It’s that kind of thing. You have the overnight success in the 1990s and what it took to make it what it is. I still think the most important part of Bel-Air from what I have seen is that like the first one, everybody in their fashion, operates from love. 

Jimmy: To that I feel G’s relationship with Frederick is a beautiful expanded version of what Joseph did with the original. He is out here in Bel-Air living an amazing life, but there is a sacrifice that comes with that. Now this version we’re getting to understand more about that sacrifice and also see we love Geoffrey, but realize he is a human being. He is flawed. There are some things he wishes he did a little differently with his son. Also, what I love is Geoffrey’s first seen meeting Will in the original, and G’s meeting with Will is similar here. There is almost a bit of friction at first. You see where they are now. What I love is if you track scenes from the original The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Bel-Air, the scenes with G and Will. 

It mirrors the absence of Frederick on a subconscious level. When he is trying to help Will and having the chats and all those things. His heart is a bit moved that he isn’t able to do this with Frederick. That has been a great and interesting journey to do. Now we’re in Season 3 where Frederick is in Geoffrey’s life. Now it becomes how do you handle this grown kid. He is not happy you’ve not been around him for many years, but been a father to his other kids. 

Geoffrey has this history and dark past we are just finding out about. He was like this hitman or gang leader. It’s almost liek we need a separate Geoffrey spinoff or origin movie story. Here for that. 

Jimmy: Talk about it, Scott. Put it out there. Let’s go! We’re here for it. 

Joseph, tell us about your thoughts on the character you play in Bel-Air. People saw you in the teaser and were so excited. You said the words, “There is always going to be a price. That’s on you.” 

Joseph: That’s an interesting line and an interesting headline for the episode. It’s simply Jimmy is G and Geoffrey and Joseph is this OG. I think within itself there is the philosophy that everything has a price. Whatever it is. The meeting of these two may be the price. Who knows? 

I’m just picturing the old Spider-Man meme where you’re both pointing when you meet. Is this one guest spot or can we expect more? 

Joseph: You’ll have to talk to Mr. Morgan and Mr. Smith. I’m available for weddings, bar mitzvahs, all of it. 

Jimmy: Scott we got to speak to them. Let’s get the Gs spinoff going. The two Gs. We can do sitcoms and drama. 

Karyn Parsons, Joseph Marcell, Janet Hubert, Alfonso Ribeiro, Tatyana Ali, James Avery, Will Smith on ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ (NBC / Courtesy: Everett Collection )

What is it like honoring the legacy of the past while also moving forward into today’s time? 

Jimmy: I’m standing on the shoulders of giants and icons. Joseph is one of them. I  feel honored I’m able to play with a character he created and expand upon it. The fact he is happy with it too. I was very nervous and respectful as I really wanted to do something Joseph would be happy about, as well as the audience. I feel like by standing on these great iconic shoulders 

The show is in a really special place right now and on the back of the strike, the pandemic, Black Lives Matter. If you look at the state of TV and think about inclusivity and diversity, seeing a show that highlights black excellence in the way this show does is a breath of fresh air. It’s very important. It’s about education, history. The details of the show, the artwork, the books people pick up, and the cameos of black entrepreneurs. 

It’s done in an unapologetic, effortless way. I say this all the time, that’s what the original did. We’re just respecting and honoring the original but in a 2024 way. That also means embracing the original OG cast. I feel like I’m living my dream. Me and Joseph looked at this thinking, “This is absurd.” I remember the first time Joseph told me about when he booked Geoffrey, and I’m sharing my story. I think from when Morgan Cooper created the show. For him to see how this unfolded. He must be on Cloud–200. It takes a village. It takes Will backing it. It takes Peacock backing it, the amazing showrunner and writers. 

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Joseph: Jimmy has made me a legend. What more can I say except thank you? Within our traditional environment, to see a young actor, non-white actor move from Britain to the United States and be in a successful show is what we all wanted. Seeing how this man has made this special and given me a backstory and been the most open is wonderful. I’m beyond grateful. It has been magic. The whole of Fresh Prince world led by Will has been magnificent. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

New episodes of Bel-Air Season 3 drop Thursdays on Peacock