Technically, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" is what happened to Joseph Marcell. He was a Shakespearean actor before, and he went back to the stage afterwards.

In fact, he believes it was his stage work that got him the job. Primarily based in England, Marcell went on tour with London's Royal Shakespeare Company in the early '90s. He recently told British newspaper the Mirror that the "Fresh Prince" casting agents saw him at a show in Los Angeles and were impressed.

"I don't think anyone had seen a black person perform Shakespeare before. I think that's the reason I was asked to play Geoffrey."

The character was, of course, notable for being very proper and well-spoken, which was often played off against star Will Smith's slangy and streetwise character.

Though Marcell devotes most of his time to the stage, he has kept a hand in the screen business. On TV, he's had brief runs in the British soap "EastEnders," and the American soap "The Bold and the Beautiful," and guest spots in a number of other shows, most recently in the hit British detective show "Death in Paradise." He's done some film work as well and recently signed on to appear in the Shakespeare-themed (though not Shakespeare-written) indie film "Thrice."

Marcell summed up his priorities in another quote to the Mirror: "Theater is where my heart and my brain are. But I'd be in 'Game of Thrones' in a second."

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