‘The First Time’ With Alfonso Ribeiro
Actor Alfonso Ribeiro joined Rolling Stone’s The First Time to share a number of firsts, including dancing with Michael Jackson as a kid, working as a director, and racing in a Grand Prix.
The America’s Funniest Home Videos host started off the episode with what it was like hosting the show for the first time. Ribeiro admitted that he was actually super nervous at first, which is rare for him. “I don’t ever really get nervous… but I knew it was something that was important to me.” He recalls speaking quickly and doing everything “super fast” at first due to his nervousness. But the show’s executive producer, Vin Di Bona, gave him some tips. “[Di Bona] goes, ‘Slow it down and be a little more conversational. Just talk to the guy sitting on the couch,’” recalled Ribeiro. “And I was like, ‘Oh, you mean like I’m supposed to do. Got it.’ And then it was much better from that point forward.”
The actor also told the story of his infamous “Carlton” dance move, which he said he had been doing before joining the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cast. It wasn’t until rehearsals for the show that it became a solidified move. “It said ‘Carlton dances [in the script]’ and I had to come up with what it was,” Rebeiro recalled. “I had [the dance] kind of in my back pocket, and I decided that this would be what the move would be. And I remember doing it and then everybody just like literally cracking up on the floor, dying, laughing.”
Ribeiro also shared what it was like to win Dancing with the Stars with his partner, Witney Carson, back in 2014. “That was an amazing experience for me,” said Ribeiro. “This was something that I recognized was going to change my life by winning. It was one of the most happy moments of my life. I found a joy in that that I hadn’t had in many, many years. So it was a monumental moment for me personally and in my career. Truly one of the greatest moments of my life.”
