Bel-Air’s Olly Sholotan joins FAULT for a photoshoot and interview

Photographer: Ben Cope

Styling: Daniel Jones

Grooming: Taylour Chanel using AJ Crimson Beauty

Hair: Michael Russaw 

Peacock’s Bel-Air has fast proved itself to be one of the most compelling new drama series to takeover in recent months. Fans of the original The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air comedy ther series is based off have found themselves captivated by the modern retelling of certain storylines, new viewers are learning more about the original series thanks to the subtle references and guest appeareses sprinkled throughout. 

Another selling point for the series is certainly the winning young cast, who have found a way to shape such classic characters into something wholely new and refreshing. Olly Sholotan plays the role of Carlton Banks on the show and has quickly impressed fans with his acting skills and ability to bring the character of Charlton firming into the 21st centry. 

We caught up with Olly to discuss his process, Bel-Air and of course, his FAULTs. 

With Carlton Banks being a much beloved character from the original Fresh Prince of Bel Air series, were you ever worried that fans of the original might not take to the new portrayal of the character? 

There is always the small voice in the back of your head worrying that people won’t like your work. But I have so much trust in these our writers, directors, and producing team that I just know audiences are going to fall in love with Carlton on his journey. And that’s kind of the key word: Journey. We’re all seeing a kid on his journey through life and that involves a lot of growth into the the young man we’ll all eventually know and love. 

What would you say was the most challenging aspect of the project?

The time commitment is definitely a very big adjustment and learning to divide that time amongst important things as well as self care got a bit tough at times. Shooting a TV show is a lot of work; and especially a show that can get this heavy at times? It can be tough to find time for yourself to just recharge and balance all the things you have to do. But Morgan is such a fantastic older brother and leader that he, along with our Showrunners Tj and Rasheed emphasized over and over the important of putting yourself first if you need it. 

Where did you look for inspiration when preparing for the role? 

Oh music is always my way into a character. I LOVE creating character playlists; they’re usually the first thing I do when working on a character. Music just gets me in the head space that I need for heightened emotional scenes, whether sadness or anger; and a lot of the time it can just give me an idea of the feeling I need to chase with my performance. 

You’re also a musician, do you ever find it difficult to make time for both of your creative outputs? 

This goes back to what I was saying about the challenging thing with the show. I’ve definitely had to work very hard to make time for both my passions and try and act at the time time as working on my musical projects. I think where I’ve landed right now is that I’ll kind of go through seasons; seasons of music and being in the studio all day, and seasons of acting and being on set all day, but my current goal is to allow both art forms to inform my work in the other you know? That feels like a well oiled machine. 

When you look to your future, do you like to make long term goals or do you prefer to go with the flow? 

I kind of bounce between both camps to be honest; as I’ve gotten busier in life I’ve found the need to keep an organized calendar and itinerary and all that but in Highschool I used to set my alarm at different times every morning just to keep things spontaneous. Like If I had to get up by 6am I’d set my alarm for 5:52am one day, 5:58 another day e.t.c. I think life should be a healthy balance of both. 

What are you most excited for this year? 

Really just to see how people mess with the show! I’ve loved seeing audiences reactions to moments we’ve created over the last few days and I’m so excited to see what comes going forward. I also have a bunch of musical projects in the works so I’m excited to see what happens with those!

What is your FAULT? (Personal flaw) 

Whew, I can be really really bad at celebrating my victories. The through line that holds between me and Carlton is we can both be really hard on ourselves. I think being driven is a great thing and it’s led me to a lot of very very cool part of my life; but in the last few years I’ve also learned the importance of rest and patience. If you push yourself so hard to the point you break, all the work done will have been for nothing.