Simone Joy Jones has become a household name starring as Lisa in “The Fresh Prince” remake, “Bel-Air.” Season three of “Bel-Air” came out in August and it was the juiciest, most dramatic season to date. Rolling out caught up with the young star to talk about the latest season and some of her new roles.
When you first auditioned for the role of Lisa, did you think you were gonna get it?
I feel like I go into every audition thinking that I got it. what’s the point if not? I give my best to everybody. I see myself as the character, and sometimes they don’t get it. I’m, like, damn, they didn’t get it. Sucks for them, and then I move on. But it was really, really cool to get this one.
The hardest part about being in a remake as iconic as “The Fresh Prince?”
I’m so grateful for the team that we had because a lot of the things that you do have to worry about with a remake, I didn’t have to worry about because Morgan Cooper, T.J. Brady, Rasheed [Newson], and Will Smith all had a vision of what they wanted this remake to be and the tone they wanted it to have.
Who was the first cast member you really clicked with and became friends with?
I think Jabari [Banks], because we had all of our scenes together. and literally, after shooting was done for the day we’d hang because we didn’t have nobody else out here. We had both moved from outside of the state, so we spent so much time together. That’s my dog.
Was there a scene you watched back that you know you killed the scene?
I think in the last season, it was in episode three where Jackie comes in for the pool scene and we [me and Jabari] didn’t know that she was coming. And I’m looking at Will, like, what is going on? Funny enough, a lot of that scene was improv because he was just making up stuff. And I’m looking at him like, you better shut the f— up because you are not out of the doghouse yet. So a lot of the times, Jabari and I will rip off of each other — with our script, of course. And I love that he’s such a playful actor.
Out of your new shows and films, which one would you recommend people to watch and why?
Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter Is Dead, because it was such a fun process to make, and I feel like they took care of it. It’s another remake. At first, I was like, y’all, I am not doing this, but then they were like, read the script and meet the director. I met Wade Allain-Marcus, and he’s just brilliant. The way that he sees the story, I was just laughing off the page. Chuck [Hayward] is the writer of the movie; and [Allain-Marcus and Hayward] just did such a beautiful job, and that brought the story to life. And it’s my first lead in a movie, so hopefully you’ll see it and you like it. The kids are just so good. Like, everything all around is really, really great. Y’all got to go watch that.
So end this debate for us, is “Bel-Air” a drama or comedy?
A drama, 100 percent. I think [the show’s strength is] that you kind of battle that it’s a comedy because there’s light moments in it and they make you laugh. Like, that’s life, you know? It would be the worst if it was just, like, damn, they can’t do nothing fun in this.
What can you tell us about Season four of Bel-Air?
Stay tuned. That’s all I can tell you. You’re not gonna’ get me in trouble at all.
