Floyd Roger Myers Jr., who starred in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as young Will, has died at the age of 42. His mother confirmed his passing on Wednesday. Fans and former castmates mourn the loss of Myers Jr., who brought warmth and charisma to every role he played as a child actor.
Floyd Roger Myers Jr. passes away at 42
Renee Trice, Floyd Roger Myers Jr.’s mother, confirmed in a statement to TMZ that her son passed away at the age of 42 on Wednesday morning. She mentioned speaking to her son just one night before his passing at his home in Maryland.
Myers Jr. served as the co-founder of The Fellaship Men’s Group which focused on men’s mental health. During his acting career as a child actor, he played young Will in a 1992 episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
Later that year, he also went on to star in The Jacksons: An American Dream as Marlon Jackson. Myers Jr.’s last appearance on-screen was in Young Americans, a WB Network drama series created by Steven Antin.
Floyd Roger Myers Jr’s cause of death confirmed
As per his mother’s statement to TMZ, Myers died after suffering a heart attack. She mentioned that he survived three previous heart attacks in the past three years. The Fellaship Men’s Group posted a tribute to him on Instagram mourning his loss.
The caption of the post read, “RIP to our good brother [Floyd Myers Jr.] one of our co-founders. Gone but never will be forgotten. The mission will continue in your honor. Next men’s meeting will be one for the books like we talked about! Love you bro, rest easy, big bro will take it from here.”
Apart from his work with the men’s health group, he also owned an air duct and dryer vent cleaning service company called Dr. Duct, LLC.
Akira Akbar is no stranger to the camera. She has a background in commercials, nine years of modeling experience, and previously, she appeared in series such as “Criminal Minds,” “This Is Us,” “We Can Be Heroes,” “Family Reunion,” and other TV shows.
When she learned that Morgan Cooper’s viral “Bel-Air” short film got picked up to be turned into a TV series, Akbar knew she had to audition.
“My mom loved the show,” Akbar said, of the original series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” “Seeing how different [“Bel-Air”] was drew me to it. It was a drama and not a comedy, so I was like, ‘This is gonna be really cool.’”
In the span of two weeks, Akbar landed the role of Ashley Banks in Peacock’s reimagining of the beloved “Fresh Prince” series.
Now, Akbar, 16, has returned in Season 2 of the series, transforming the ’90s TV darling into a modern day youth activist and working alongside stars she grew up watching. She was particularly fond of Coco Jones — who stars as her sister Hilary in “Bel-Air” and in “Let It Shine,” the 2012 musical film.
In Season 2 of “Bel-Air,” Tatyana Ali — the original Ashley Banks — returns to the franchise, but this time, taking on the role of English literature teacher Mrs. Hughes.
Stepping into her first series regular role at age 16 is no small feat, let alone following in the footsteps of Tatyana Ali, who played the lovable Ashley Banks in the original “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” In Season 2 of “Bel-Air,” Ali stars as Mrs. Hughes, a passionate English literature teacher who is penalized for giving Ashley books by Black authors that are “not a part of the curriculum.”
“I definitely think working with Tatyana was one of the most memorable moments,” Akbar said. “She gave me a lot of life advice and acting advice, but she also told me that I was doing such a great job portraying the role of Ashley. She liked how I put my own spin on it and how I’m bringing her into life again.”
As hysteria grows surrounding “critical race theory” — a scapegoat for conservative white parents to maintain and uphold white supremacy in K-12 education — there is increasing pushback and legislation across the country. In states such as Florida, Gov. Ron Desantis has passed the “Don’t Say Gay Act,” launched an assault on AP African American studies and Black history, and passed legislation subjecting school librarians to criminal penalties for merely doing their jobs.
In Season 2 of “Bel-Air,” the Black Student Union at Bel-Air Academy, where the Banks children attend, organizes a protest in solidarity with Mrs. Hughes. Akbar said that was an excellent moment to illuminate the struggles that both Black students and educators go through.
Through Peacock’s “Bel-Air,” Akbar has transformed ’90s darling Ashley Banks into a young, queer and intelligent student activist.
“It’s a moment for Black teachers to realize that they aren’t alone on the journey,” Akbar said. “Black storytelling is basically the most important thing to the world of ‘Bel-Air.’ In this season, Ashley finds herself in this new position, and the storyline definitely gives the audience a path to Ashley’s activism.”
For Akbar, she said she brought a lot of her own takes to Ashley. It made her reflect on her experiences with Black teachers in the classroom or rather, lack thereof.
When she’s not attending premieres and awards shows or sipping on a juice box from craft services during filming, the actor is a regular teenager.
“I’m still a young girl who goes to school, who lives a regular life, but I definitely think people have treated me differently, which is also why I tend to hang out with my cousins most of the time. People are just weird. They’re like, ‘Oh, it’s the famous girl.’ And I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’m just trying to exist,’” Akbar laughed.
Although she’s the youngest on set, Akbar is the second oldest of six siblings. Hailing from Orange County and now residing in Temecula, California, she has one older, college-aged sister and four younger siblings. Akbar’s entire family is involved in the arts and entertainment business; her mother is a hair and wardrobe stylist.
Before landing her first series regular role, 16-year-old Akbar appeared in “Criminal Minds,” “This Is Us,” “We Can Be Heroes,” “Family Reunion,” and other TV shows.
Maarten de Boer/NBCUniversal
“My sister,” Akbar said, “She played the younger version of me in ‘Captain Marvel.’ My mom put my little brother in [the business] when he was super little. He played a baby in ‘Lucifer’ or something. I’m not really the odd one out.”
Akbar also hopes Ashley is a vessel not only for her experiences, but to also show Black queer youth that they deserve to be represented on screen. In addition to leaning into her activism, Ashley begins to unpack her sexuality more this season, Akbar said.
“I’m glad that the show is putting stories, LGBTQ+ stories like Ashley’s in the show, because it’s important for people [of] Ashley’s age to realize that they’re not alone,” Akbar said. “I honestly feel honored that I get to explore her and her coming-of-age story.”
In Season 1, Ashley discloses to her sister Hilary that she has a crush on her friend Lucia. When Akbar first read that the character was thinking about her sexuality, she did expect there to be some sort of discourse online — but she didn’t pay much attention to the negativity.
“Black storytelling is basically the most important thing to the world of ‘Bel-Air,’” said Akbar.
“I don’t think I really cared what people thought that much,” Akbar said. “But I feel like there were mostly good thoughts — that people thought that it was a good change for Ashley.”
In Akbar’s words, Ashley is open-minded and selfless, often caring more about others than her own self. But in this season, Ashley begins to take a stand for herself and her values. As excited as Akbar is to see Ashley blossom into a young woman, her hope for her character is that she pours into herself as much as she pours into others.
“I think Ashley pays attention more to what’s going on with the world and making sure that other people are okay before she is,” she said. “So, I just want to see her have more fun.”
Over the course of a television show, we grow close to the characters on screen. We see them in a wide range of situations, learning much more about their quirks, habits, and core beliefs than we ever could from a single feature film. We cheer along with them, get angry at them, and find bits of ourselves in them. And then, sometimes, they come back as a completely different person. No, we’re not talking about TV characters with unexplained personality shifts. We’re talking about instances where the actor playing a role is completely recast with someone else. In many cases, there isn’t even an explanation — the show just continues along, as if nothing’s changed.
Why do producers do this? One might argue that it completely takes the viewer out of the constructed world of the show, and to a degree, it certainly does. But in some instances, there seems to be no other choice. Producers can fire an actor for any number of controversies, whether it be a disagreement on the character’s creative direction or a dispute over working behavior on set. On the flip side, an actor can also sometimes get out of a contract if there’s a major issue that can’t be resolved any other way.
While an actor’s departure from a TV show is often chalked up to “scheduling difficulties,” there are plenty of other reasons why producers may choose to recast a certain role. Below, you can learn about 10 TV actors who were replaced on their respective television shows due to controversial reasons.
10 TV Actors Who Were Replaced For Controversial Reasons
These actors were replaced from hit shows under clouds of controversy.
10 Popular TV Shows That Were Almost Cancelled Too Soon
