Is Will Smith becoming Uncle Phil?

Tony Barnett/YouTube

Will Smith has turned into Uncle Phil—and this picture proves it

Our dads, ourselves.

 

Christine Friar

Streaming

Posted on Mar 14, 2017   Updated on May 24, 2021, 8:50 pm CDT

Before he was starring in blockbuster movies, Will Smith was honing his comedy chops as a goofy teen on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But it seems like over time he may have morphed into another character from the hit show.

During a recent trip to Victoria Falls on the border of South Africa and Zambia, the actor decided to do a little bungee jumping. The company he jumped with was nice enough to upload a video to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtup246CMMY

In it, Smith excitedly stands on a platform above the Zambezi river and takes his leap while holding a GoPro, but fans on Twitter can’t help but notice something a little special: With his salt-and-pepper beard and close-cropped hair, Smith looks a whole lot like his TV dad in the footage. And it makes sense!  The late James Avery was 44 when the sitcom started airing, and Smith is currently 48—right around the same age Avery was during the show’s heyday.

https://twitter.com/_calev/status/840998790723133440

https://twitter.com/GJMcClintock/status/841501978987438082

“This is going to be a cool shot, this is going to be a really cool shot” the actor smiles before making the leap. “Bungee jumping Victoria Falls. I have been wanting to do this for almost 20 years. This is living! This is living right here!”

Something tells us Avery wouldn’t mind the comparison to his TV son one bit.

H/T Uproxx

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*First Published: Mar 14, 2017, 10:19 am CDT