8 Actor Recasts That Completely Changed Everything

4. Aunt Vivian - The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air

Aunt Vivian was a character from the hit 90s sitcom The Fresh-Prince Of Bel-Air, originally portrayed by Janet Hubert but replaced three years later by Daphne Maxwell-Reid. And in the process Viv went from a smart, capable woman to nothing more than a stay-at-home mother.

There are a ton of reasons why fans preferred the first iteration of Aunt Viv over the second. For a start, she was easily a more three-dimensional character. The new Aunt Viv was more of a fashion icon than an actual woman, ditching her job as a professor to lounge around the house (or more commonly show up in the kitchen) decked out in increasingly stylish (and unrealistic) outfits. Later on the show seemed more concerned about how she looked than what she was doing or saying. In the past, Aunt Viv's academic position led to her doling important advice out to Will, teaching him all kinds of interesting facts and life lessons, shaping his development as a young man. But this was largely dropped by Daphne Maxwell-Reid's character, who just came across as... bland.