Nia Long reveals that Jada Pinkett-Smith was originally casted to play Will Smith’s girlfriend, Lisa, on the 90’s popular show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Nia Long played the character Lisa Wilkes, but she went toe-to-toe with Jada Pinkett-Smith during the audition process. Ironically enough, a year after the casting- Jada would go on to date Will Smith in real life.
Nia revisited the story during a sit-down with Couch Surfing. She says, “First they cast Jada to play his girlfriend,” she continued, “Yes! They casted Jada and they were like, ‘Jada’s too short.’ I’m like, ‘I’m only about two inches taller than her, that does not make a difference, right.’”
Fortunately, the recasting didn’t stop the two from being friends, “The joke that I have with Jada is that I got the job but she got the husband,” Nia added. “That’s like our running joke.”
Check out the interview below.