Jada Pinkett Smith felt like she had to 'earn her stripes' on 'A Different World'
'A Different World' star Jada Pinkett Smith has recalled her experiences joining the sitcom partway through its run.
Jada Pinkett Smith felt like she had to "earn her stripes" on 'A Different World'.
The 53-year-old star's breakout role came in 1991 as Lena James in 'The Crosby Show' spinoff, and she admitted it was a strange experience joining the sitcom in its fifth season.
Appearing on Lemonada Media's 'Legacy Talk with Lena Waithe' podcast, she said: "There was already this deep camaraderie, you know what I mean? With Kadeem [Hardison] and Jasmine [Guy] and Cree [Summer] and the whole cast.
"We're the new blood, so they were kind of like, 'All right, whatever.' Not in a funky way, but definitely like, 'Earn your stripes.' "
On her first day filming, Jada recalled feeling anxious as she'd never pictured herself as a "comedic actress" until then.
Recalling the vibe on set, she added: "Earn your stripes. Be funny. You got to earn your place. You got a live audience and so it wasn't no play-play. Everybody had to hold their own.”
When it came to developing her character, the 'Gotham' actress was influenced by both her own personality, and the technical challenges of the shoot.
She explained: "I did an extreme version of Jada. Four-camera sitcom, you gotta catch the rhythm.
"You gotta catch the rhythm of your cast members — versus when you're doing one-camera drama, that's a different game."
As time went on, Jada noticed the likes of Kadeem, Jasmine and Cree starting to warm to her on set and she became part of the family on and off screen.
She said: "I just remember how the older cast was not starting to relate to me. That's when I knew - I was like, 'Okay, I'm good.' "
