How Jaleel White Hopes Will Smith reacts to him and reveals he’s falling apart

Jaleel White‘s memoir gave him the opportunity to provide clarity about situations such as his argument Will Smith.

During an exclusive interview with We weekly about his memoirs, Growing up Urkelreleased on Tuesday, November 19, White, 47, shared what he hoped Smith, 56, took away from the passages about their bond and subsequent feud.

“The strange thing is that when you meet each other in our company, you never quite know how much or how little a moment meant to each other. And that can play with your brain a little bit,” White said about sharing his side of the story. “Things didn’t go nearly the way I thought they would with the things I said about my interactions with Will.”

White had one specific message he wanted to leave Smith with, adding, “I just always want Will to know — and I’m not sure he ever did — how much I admired his progress. I saw it coming before the rest of America had a chance to see it coming. I saw it coming in NBA All-Star Stay in School Jam and thought, ‘This guy’s high energy is huge in the room.’ And you don’t necessarily get credit for that when you’re a kid.

In his memoir, White recalls being given the opportunity to pitch a show to Smith after signing an overall production deal with Universal in the late 1990s. The partnership (which came about after White made a cameo The fresh prince of Bel-Air) seemed promising until White was told by those around him – including his agent – ​​that nothing would happen because of other people involved in those decisions.

“I should have called Will directly, and the truth was that I really wanted to work with Will,” White wrote in the book. “Shortly after my meeting with Will, his head of TV was eventually relieved of his duties, complicating the chain of command. And Will became such a big star so quickly that months later I didn’t have the courage to call his phone myself and ask, ‘Hey man, why did you fire your TV head? My agent said no deal was possible. They offer me this show at UPN and I know in my heart that this premise is weaker than ours.’”

White eventually signed on to star in the short-lived series Adults after being convinced that this was the safer option, I wrote: ‘My decision to go along Adults instead of exploring a show with Will Smith, sticking to my guns and being patient with the process essentially ended my and Will’s relationship. There were no more invitations to his house or his movie sets, no more phone calls to say, “How are you?”

After thinking about the incident for his book, White realized how many outsiders were involved in the situation.

“When I had the opportunity to almost work with him, (now) I go back and look at the number of people who conspired to keep us from speaking directly any further,” White said. Us. “It sucks for me. But as long as I got it out there and was able to express it, that’s again one of those areas where the book just becomes therapeutic.

White rose to fame playing Steve Urkel on the hit ’90s sitcom Family matters. Since then, White has continued to work with appearances in films such as Dreamgirls, who made the potato salad? And Rush and guest star appearances Boston Legal, house, castle, bones, the big show show and his current CBS game show Reverse.

The opportunity to reflect on the highs and lows of child stardom allowed White to learn more about herself.

“When I was done Family matters As a wide-eyed 21-year-old, I was so ecstatic to be starting my career as a TV writer. I just knew this was next for me. But I got sidetracked by pressure from my family to go to college. I just wanted to get back into a comedy writer’s room,” White said Us. “But I didn’t understand that many obstacles would come my way. Because of the way I grew up filming that show, I never really understood this clear separation between showrunners, writers, and artists on set. I was actually more inspired by the writers who worked on our show.

White would like to continue writing – in addition to acting – after the release of Growing up Urkel.

“I definitely want to write more. I always keep open the possibility that I will be called to write more for scripted television. I’m not holding my breath, but I’m keeping an eye on that opportunity. I want to do it all,” he admitted. “But at the same time, the media has changed now. I just hope that I continue to be part of entertainment that really appeals to large groups of people. I want to bring laughter, joy and excitement.”

Growing up Urkel is out now.