Meet The Caribbean Roots Actor Who Is Now Part Of The New ‘Bel-Air’ Cast

By NAN ET Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. Feb. 11, 2022: A Caribbean roots actor is part of the new revival of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air sitcom, that will premiere on NBC’s Streaming service, Peacock on Feb. 13th, News Americas has learnt.

(L-R) Simone Joy Jones, Coco Jones, Olly Sholotan, Cassandra Freeman, Jimmy Akingbola, Will Smith, Jabari Banks, Adrian Holmes, Jordan L. Jones, and Akira Akbar attend Peacock’s new series “BEL-AIR” premiere party and drive-thru screening experience at Barker Hangar on February 9, 2022 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/WireImage)

The reimagined reboot titled simply ‘Bel-Air,’ features Caribbean heritage, Great Britain born, Canada raised actor, Adrian Holmes as Phillip Banks. Holmes’ mother was born in Barbados and the actor has never been shy of repping his Bajan roots.

His mother, Beverley Dixon, nee Holmes, moved to England in the early 1970s to work as a nurse. Originally from Black Rock, St Michael, she gave birth to a baby boy named Adrian Randolph Spooner, son of Ronnie Spooner, at a hospital in Wales.

They moved in 1978 to Canada where Adrian grew up in Vancouver and still resides today. In high school he got involved in the arts and took part in the drama club doing musical theatre.

Leaving high school, he wanted something to fall back in in case acting didn’t pan out. Since his mum was a nurse, he was convinced subtly to go to nursing school. He did and after a year of working in a rehab facility he got his big break.

Since a lot of the United States shows are shot in Toronto and Vancouver, which is his backyard, he got the chance to work on a lot of American shows. He changed his last name to Holmes, his mother’s maiden name.

He got a breaking in ‘Twist In the Wind’ and “Neon Ride” in 1991 and has never looked back. Holmes has had a long career,

Slice, as he is nicknamed, has had over 100 film and television credits to his name, and has become one to watch in the entertainment industry. He can be seen starring opposite Ian Somerhalder, in the Netflix vampire-drama series, “V Wars” based on the popular bestselling book series by Jonathan Maberry. The series follows Dr. Luther Swann (Somerhalder) who enters a world of untold horror when a mysterious virus transforms his best friend, Michael Fayne (Holmes), into a murderous predator.

On the film front, Holmes can be seen in the Universal Pictures’ action-thriller “Skyscraper” alongside Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Adrian Holmes repping his Bajan roots on Instagram.

Holmes is well-known for starring as Nick Barron on Bravo’s original award winning series, “19-2” and for his portrayal of Captain Pike on the long running CW series, “Arrow.” In 2017, he took home Canada’s top honor in film and television for “19-2,” with the Canadian Screen Award for Best Male Lead in a Dramatic Series. The show also won Best Drama series at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards and was also nominated for a 2016 International Emmy Award. “19-2” is now streaming on Crave TV, Akorn, and Amazon.

In addition to working in front of the camera, Holmes received a producer credit, for co-producing, alongside Step by Step Productions, the docudrama “Barrow: Freedom Fighter,” which was shot in Barbados.

Additional film credits include Sony/TriStar Pictures’ “Elysium” & “Debug”, WWE Studios’ “Vendetta,” “Frankie & Alice”, IFC’s “Wrecked”, and Warner Bros’ “Red Riding Hood.”

In 2004, Holmes received his first LEO Award nomination [the Canadian Emmys], for his work in the series “The Collector” and then again in 2017 for his work in “19-2.” In 2020 he had won for his work in the comedy Web-Series, “Hospital Show.”

When he isn’t working, Holmes, 47, enjoys traveling, and tries to get back to see his family in England and Barbados as much as possible. He also likes to keep active in his down time and is always up for a good round of golf. Holmes splits his time between Vancouver, LA and London.

Holmes is a happily married man. He is married to Caroline Chikezie, a British-Nigerian actress. She is best known for playing Sasha Williams in ‘As If’, Elaine Hardy in ‘Footballers’ Wives’ and the Cyberwoman in ‘Torchwood.’

Bel-Air

Newcomer actor, Jabari Banks, who is from West Philadelphia and graduated from the University of the Arts will be starring in the iconic role of Will, previously played by Will Smith, who is now the show’s executive producers.

Cassandra Freeman stars as Vivian Banks; Olly Sholotan as Carlton Banks; Coco Jones as Hilary Banks; Akira Akbar as Ashley Banks; Jimmy Akingbola as Geoffrey; Jordan L. Jones as Jazz and Simone Joy Jones as Lisa.

In addition to reintroducing familiar roles from the original sitcom, the hour-long drama will also welcome new characters.

The new series is a modern-day retelling of the classic ’90s sitcom, inspired by a viral YouTube trailer created by Morgan Cooper. Per the show’s official tagline, Bel-Air will “dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.” Ahead of its Super Bowl Sunday premiere, the show has already been picked up for two seasons.