Celebrating the Stand-In Dads with a Will Smith Throw-back

Father’s day is a time to celebrate fathers right?? Right…. buuuut, what about those of us who grew up without our biological father’s? Grandfathers, uncles, ya moms friends, even the neighbour down the street often step in and fill that role for the young impressionables who need someone. Let’s celebrate them too.

Here’s to the fill-in pops who went above and beyond their duty to make an our lives amazing.

We don’t see a lot of these types of role models in pop culture, but the one that sticks out in my mind is Uncle Phil. Haha, yep, Will Smith’s loveable uncle from Fresh Prince who helped rescued him from trouble in Philly. Anyone who grew up watching Fresh Prince remembers the episode called “Papa’s Got A Brand New Excuse”, where Will’s biological father hops back into his life for a brief moment, only to skip out again. Yes, we all cried along with Will through the closing credits…and If you listen closely, you can even hear audience members breaking down for the emotional spot. BUT did you know, that monologue was mostly unscripted?! Will Smith improvised the scene, drawing on his experiences with his own absent father and delivered what is possibly the realest acting moment of his career. While it was heart-breaking, doesn’t it make you love and respect the stand-in dads just that much more?

Watch the touching clip here:

Happy Father’s day to all the real men!