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The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air played host to many notable names in guest roles, and one of them was almost Will Smith‘s future wife Jada Pinkett. Hollywood power couples have been a thing since the early days of cinema, and in recent decades, few have been more prominent than Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Will is one of the biggest box office stars of all time, and while Jada isn’t quite on that level, she still sports a stacked resume of high profile movies and TV shows.
Will and Jada have been married for over 20 years at this point, a rarity for any marriage comprised of two Hollywood stars, with many such unions crashing and burning within two years or less. One odd thing about the couple is that they rarely act together onscreen, which seems like a natural thing to do when both halves are talented. The most prominent instance of them doing so is the 2001 biopic Ali, in which Will played the legendary boxer, and Jada played his first wife Sonji Roi.
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The funny thing is, Will and Jada not acting together is actually what led to their marriage. The two first met on the set of Will’s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but while Jada found a future husband, she didn’t land a role.
Fresh Prince Almost Cast Jada Pinkett Smith – Why It Didn’t
In 1994, Jada Pinkett Smith auditioned for the role of Will’s season 5 girlfriend Beulah “Lisa” Wilkes on the set of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She came close, but didn’t get the part, apparently due to producers thinking she looked too short when sharing the screen with Will Smith, and according to some reports, feeling she had a lack of romantic chemistry with him. Considering they began dating not that long after meeting on set and were married within three years, the idea that they didn’t have chemistry is hilarious in hindsight.
Actress Nia Long ended up playing Lisa, whose relationship with Will lasted for most of season 5. The two characters attempted to get married twice, but backed out both times. Lisa didn’t return for season 6, and that was that. One wonders if Jada had gotten the role, whether or not it would’ve altered the course of her eventual real-life romance with Will Smith. In this case, it’s possible things ended up exactly the way they should have. Amusingly, Long once said that she and Jada Pinkett Smith have a joke about the the role they both auditioned for, Long got the job but Jada got the husband.