10 Unexpected Breakout TV Characters
8. Carlton Banks (The Fresh Prince Of Bel Air)
Now this is a story all about how Will Smith's life got flipped turned upside down when he left Philadelphia for Bel Air. In the end, everyone was tuning in for Cousin Carlton. When the TV version of Will Smith moved in with his uncle and aunt in California, he also moved in with his cousins. That included one Carlton Banks.
Carlton starts of the series as snooty, holier than thou and judgmental. By the end of the series, he became perfectly ridiculous and the much beloved comedy relief for so many tense, emotional moments. The Carlton Dance has become iconic, a permanent part of our TV lexicon. When The Fresh Prince of Bel Air started, no one expected Carlton Banks to be the character that people gravitated to but he was.