Alfonso Ribeiro Talks About Fans Asking Him to do Carlton Dance from 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'

It’s not unusual for people to ask Alfonso Ribeiro to do his signature dance from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” — just don’t expect him to oblige.

Ribeiro says he has grown to understand that most people identify him with Carlton, his classic character from the equally classic sitcom, even if he’s not interested in dancing.

“You come to grips with the idea that that person existed and that reality for you existed and, for me, I’ve come to the realization that when people come up to me on the street and they’re like, ‘Do the dance,’ it’s like, ‘Really? You’re asking me to dance for you?’” he said Sept. 30 on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.

“But it’s really their experience and you learn to get that empathy where you can kind of say, ‘This is about you and what you had in your house and I can appreciate it.’ I’m still not dancing. But I get to appreciate other people’s experience with me as that character.”

The dance, of course, is part of sitcom lore. Ribeiro himself has performed it over the years with the likes of Justin Timberlake, as well as Hoda and Jenna.

But Ribeiro, 51, has gotten distance from Carlton since “The Fresh Prince” signed off in 1996, but he says the cast remains close to this day. He even says he spoke with Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at this year's Oscars, although he didn’t elaborate on what was said.

“I always like to say, I keep those relationships my own and not for the world to have,” he said. “But (I’m) always checking in on him. He’s a friend. He’s family. We do have an entire cast text chain and we all check in on each other and we are still that family that love each other, support each other and care for each other in the best way possible.”

Ribeiro can currently be seen hosting “Dancing with the Stars” with Tyra Banks on Disney+ and says the show gives him a chance to show fans that he and his most famous character are not one and the same.

“They made me play a character, and I was very different from Carlton. I grew up in the Bronx. When you, all of a sudden, you’re this guy, a nerdy guy from Bel-Air, it’s like that’s not my life. That’s not who I am. But I get to be me. I get to be my personality, myself. I get to go on there. Whatever comes out of my brain, I get to say.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com