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Marlon Wayans May Have Played Will Smith’s Dad, but He’s Also Got an Hour of Stand-Up on the Slap

The comedian wowed fans of Bel-Air with his appearance as Will’s dad in the season finale—but if you didn’t know he can handle drama as well as comedy, you haven’t been paying attention.
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Marlon Wayans as Lou,  Jabari Banks as Will Smith.Courtesy of Peacock.

The first season of Peacock’s Fresh Prince reboot, Bel-Air, was building to this moment. The dramatic, present-day take on Will Smith’s iconic 1990s sitcom had been teasing the arrival of Lou, the absentee father of Will (Jabari Banks). With Tony Award–winner Ben Vereen having famously played Lou for one episode on Fresh Prince, expectations were high for who would be tapped for the role on Bel-Air. And finally in the season finale the “volatile and unpredictable” Lou, first introduced from behind, walked into the Banks mansion, looked around, and then turned to face the camera—revealing comedy superstar Marlon Wayans.

Wayans and Bel-Air were immediate trending topics on social media, with viral tweets about Wayans’s underrated range and some even calling for him to win an Oscar (“They shoot right past the Emmys and go, ‘It’s time to give him his EGOT,’” cracks Wayans). It’s likely the only other person who could have generated that kind of response is the actual Will Smith, who Wayans says was going to play Lou before scheduling conflicts got in the way. It might have been a blessing—the finale episode “Where To” aired March 31, a.k.a. four days after The Slap.

As Smith was dealing with the fallout from the Oscars, Wayans was receiving some of the best reviews of his 30-year career for just two scenes of work, which found the White Chicks and Scary Movie star displaying a vulnerability and fire that he rarely gets to showcase. One second, Lou is wiping away tears, saying Will “deserved better,” only to shortly thereafter explode, grabbing his son by the throat and yelling that he “didn’t come here to be disrespected.” Believing that Will has made his choice and must live with the consequences, Lou once again leaves his family, and leaves us wondering if Wayans will be back, or if, like Vereen, he’ll make the one-time indelible impact and never return to the Fresh Prince universe.

On the heels of his celebrated Bel-Air guest spot as well as HBO Max comedy specials, we talked with Wayans about getting the call from executive producer Will Smith, putting together a stand-up set exclusively about the Slap, and wanting to “save the world and get the girl” in whatever role might come next.

Vanity Fair: Let me start by congratulating you on being able to say you played Will Smith’s dad. That’s a pretty big thing to have on the résumé. Considering the success of this, are you now seeking out any other famous dad roles?

Marlon Wayans: [Laughs.] That's going to my new thing, playing all the famous dads. Like some people go for biopics, I'm just the famous dad dude. Will already did King Richard, maybe I'll do my dad’s story, the Howell Wayans story. It's just him having a bunch of kids.

I’ll admit that I was behind on Bel-Air when the finale dropped, but it was impossible not to be spoiled that you showed up as Will’s dad since the internet was going nuts and you were trending. How surprised were you by the response, and what was it like seeing this kind of support and appreciation for you and your work? There was literally a story with the headline, “Marlon Wayans Has Fans Calling for His Oscar After His Surprising Bel-Air Performance.”

I was like, um, I think it's an Emmy! [Laughs.] They shoot right past the Emmys and go, "It's time to give him his EGOT!" Like, yo, let me get nominated first. But it felt great. And I knew it was a great part. Will had called me—pre-slap—and he was like, "I'm busy, I'm supposed to play it, but it'd be really cool if you played it." I was like, "Yeah, send it to me." I got the script and casting director Vicky Thomas, who I've known for a long time, was like, "He'd be great for this." And I think they needed somebody that... you know, it's crazy that the Wayans Bros. is on Fresh Prince. I think the only one else that could've done it and made the same impact is if Martin [Lawrence] would've played the father. It'd be like, "Oh, Martin's on Fresh Prince?!"

So I just felt like the part had so much substance. I don't know that part because I'm a father and I love my kids. I just wrote my daughter a post on Instagram for her birthday that's like three pages long. I couldn't imagine the pain and the turmoil that somebody removed from his child would have, especially if he thinks in his head that he did it for the right reasons. Then, I didn’t know...it’s two scenes. Like I didn't know they were going to blow up like that because it's literally two scenes. I had to go look at the show. I was like, "What's going on? What did Marlon do?" [Laughs.]

You mentioned Wayans Bros., which began airing towards the end of the Fresh Prince run in 1995. At the time, what was your relationship to both Fresh Prince and Will?

There was a point where Wayans Bros. was probably going to be on NBC and follow Fresh Prince, but that didn't happen. We wound up at the WB, but sometimes I would go down to Will's set, Will would come down to my set. We were all young Black men on sitcoms, so we'd all hang out sometimes. Martin and him were like the big brothers. Will was leaving Fresh Prince and Wayans Bros. was just starting to find its rhythm; it just stopped being the show that was going to get canceled. But it was a fun time in the '90s when we were all really forwarding pop culture. Will went off to do movies, and me and my brother Shawn started writing Don’t Be a Menace and Scary Movie, so we all kind of went our separate ways.

Bel-Air co-showrunner Rasheed Newson said they pursued you because they knew you’d be good but also surprising and fresh. They didn’t want it to feel like someone was reprising a role or doing something similar from their past. Going back to Requiem for a Dream, you’ve done some dramatic work for 20-plus years, but you’re primarily known for your comedy. How much of your decision-making process in selecting projects nowadays is wanting to step out of the box that people try to put you in?

It's funny because Vicky Thomas knew I could do it. She knows my acting chops; she's probably been seeing me audition for various projects since I was 19 years old, just first coming into the industry. I went to a performing arts high school, so drama is actually something I do as well as, if not better, than comedy. Comedy was something that I had to learn. Drama is something I had to learn too, but I find drama a little easier because we all have pain. Comedy is taking your pain and making people laugh with it, and that's the hardest part of that science.

But I read roles and I go, "Oh, I can do this." And if I feel like I can do it, then I'll pursue it. When I read Respect, I was like, "I can do this." When I read Requiem for a Dream, I was like, "I can do this." When I read Bel-Air, I was like, "I can do this." I'm glad they trusted me, and me and Jabari really got into some heated scenes. It's dope when you can trust your actors, especially when they're younger. When he got up in my face and I got to choke him, that felt good because that felt natural to what the character would do.

You mention that fiery sequence between you and Jabari. Lou is described by Phil as “volatile and unpredictable,” and those words would also accurately describe the Lou and Will face-off. Was that all scripted, or did you and Jabari collaborate in reaching that point?

The writers and producers gave us a great script to work with; it had all those dynamics in it. But the purity and the truth and the hate and the love and all that was happening between father and son kind of came organically. The battle of egos, the prize, the placing blame, the trying not to blame, it just had so much texture, and Jabari and I just trusted each other and went with it. We got violent and everybody on the set was like, "Oh my God, oh my God." And you know when you're doing something special because between takes I'd be like, "You good? That was great work." But you don't talk to each other because you're staying in it, you're staying present. It felt good to express that. It felt like when I used to do the scenes back in high school.

This felt like the most-talked about scene in season 1 of Bel-Air, and it’s interesting because probably the most famous scene in Fresh Prince history is Lou (Ben Vereen) leaving Will and the resulting heart wrenching interaction between Phil (James Avery) and Will. How familiar were you with that original scene, and coming into this, is that something that was on your mind or that you sought out?

I honestly didn't want to watch it, but I did because I was confused at first. I wasn't watching [Bel-Air], I was busy doing so much, so to get a context of what I was doing I watched some of Bel-Air and then I went back and revisited Fresh Prince. I think that scene was the first time that America and people were like, "Yo, Will can act." I mean, Ben Vereen was amazing in that, but I think that was a coming out party for Will, like, "He’s got chops. He has some real, as Will would say, horsepower in his engine." I think this one was another coming out party for me, reminding people, like, "Oh, Marlon can act!" And it felt like a safe place to express that, and I'm glad it was received the way it was.

On Bel-Air, Lou leaves pretty pissed off and says that Will has made his choice, and Ben Vereen actually only had that one appearance as Lou on Fresh Prince. With all that being said, have there been any conversations yet about Lou returning for season 2?

No, I haven't even thought about it. I don't know if the producers have thought about it. The comedian in me, I have this sick, twisted brain, and there's always a joke in the back of my mind where I'm like, "If I don't return, what if they replace Lou like they replaced Aunt Viv?" [Laughs.] I think it'd be great, if we talked about it.

All this talk about a career turn into drama but simultaneously you’ve released two comedy specials on HBO Max. I was kind of shocked to realize that you only started doing stand-up in the last 10 years or so. Having already been so successful in the world of comedy, what drove you to fully immerse yourself in stand-up and work to perfect another part of the craft?

What's crazy is that I've been in the business for 30-something years, and I do so much: I act. I write, I produce, I do stand-up, I can host. I do so much because I keep learning new things. Stand-up, I didn't start until I was like 39 years old, and, to me, starting it late is a benefit because it's still fresh. I'm on the road every weekend because I'm trying to grow and learn and get better. In my head, I literally got my next three or four specials already worked out. I could drop a special next week and the week after it, that's how much stage time I've been hitting. And it just feels good to see what I'm blossoming into, as a comedian and a dramatic actor.

It takes time for you to figure out what to do with you. It's like you got all these powers and you just try to figure out what to do with them. And you do it all. I feel like I'm getting better 30 years in the game. I'm getting better because of standup, because of hitting the road every week, knowing what's funny, knowing what's inappropriate, almost getting canceled every week. It's so much fun. Dodging canceling yourself is like tag every week — it's amazing.

Cancellation has been such a hot topic in the last couple years when it comes to stand-up, and then you have whole new debates beginning when something like the Chris Rock–Will Smith slap happens. But it sounds like you’re embracing that element of being a comedian today.

It's the best. I love it. Because of all that, I love it even more. I like the dangerous aspect. I like the fact that every time you tell a joke there's this pressure that there's a landmine that you're about to step on and blow yourself to smithereens. I love it because it teaches you in the moment, "What can I say? How do I say this dark thing I want to say in a way that's going to make the audience laugh?" Or just go, "Fuck it. I'm going to say it and just live in that and live in the 'Ooh.'" Sometimes I learn when they go, "Ooh," that means they're listening and your best joke is on the other side of that "Ooh." I love living in that space.

I love the Chris Rock–Will Smith thing. What people don't understand is behind the stage at [Dave] Chappelle's show, that's all we're talking about—with Chris! And we all got jokes. I have an hour on this slap. I may get slapped by both of them. I love it. I love where it's going, I love the art form that we have, I love that we can express and we can create and we can talk nonsense. Comedians, as damaged as we are, we are healers. We're trying to go into these dark caves and come out with this little light called the joke. A laugh has this power to bring us all together. You may think this way, I may think that way, but when we laugh, that means we're coming to the fence and we can talk about it. And that's what I love about comedy.

Maybe I’ll have to wait for this impending hour-long special, but, speaking of the Slap, I feel like you have a unique perspective on it. You know Will, you were just kind of semi-employed by him, but you also know Chris, and, like Chris, you’re a stand-up comedian. So what was your initial reaction to what happened and then the whole aftermath of it?

Oh, you got to see the hour, it's crazy. [Laughs.] I may just slap it out there. There's so much, I don't know where to begin. But all I will say is it is hard for me because I've known both Chris and Will for so long, and I am an actor, and I am a comedian, and I know Jada, and I'm a Black man. When I saw Will Smith slap Chris Rock, it literally felt like I slapped myself onstage. It was that close to home. Look, they're going to iron it out, they'll work it out. It's a moment in time—a great moment! This is what's crazy about comedy: Where everybody sees tragedy, we go, "Oh, there's jokes there." We see comedy, always. So those moments are meant to make great material. Damn I got a great hour out of it.

I couldn’t help but notice that your last few acting roles have leaned a little more dramatic, from Bel-Air to Respect to On the Rocks. Is that a coincidence, or an active choice?

I think it's what God is presenting me. I'm at a point in my life [where] you hit that apex. For 30 years, I got to grow and learn under my brothers and learn by myself how to write, how to produce, how to go to performing arts high school and learn my dramatic skills. Now I'm maturing, and I've finally got a chest and I'm developing into a man and I have a beard. I've always been a late bloomer, so, at 49, I'm finally starting to have the body of a leading man. It just took me 49 years to finish puberty. I don't know why God's crafting it this way, but I trust him and I know that my best years are ahead of me. As much as the first 30 were so much fun, these next 30, this is where I put it down. This is where you make a legacy.

What’s left to do? What boxes are you aiming to check off on the way to building this legacy?

I think it's becoming one of the prominent box office superstars. We want to be one of those top 10 guys that get the scripts. I want to be able to do a Top Gun. I want to be able to do my buddy action comedy. I want to be able to save the world, get the girl. I'm looking to do Marvel movies, I'm looking to do much more action, romance, romantic comedy. And that's why I've been taking on more dramatic roles because I think it just tethers you to the ground and you become more relatable. And my female audience is coming up, like, "Ooh, Marlon gives me zaddy vibes!" So these are the years to save the world and get the girl.