Carlton Banks is the deuteragonist and is Will's preppy, conservative cousin. He is the second eldest son of Philip and Vivian Banks. He is the second lead character of the series.
"Hey G, would you make me a sandwich?"
Biography
Carlton was born on August 4th, 1974 to Vivian and Philip Banks. He has an older sister, Hilary Banks, a younger sister, Ashley Banks, and a younger brother, Nicky Banks.
Carlton attended Bel-Air Academy and ULA until he transferred to Princeton in the series finale.
The character is based on real-life person, Corey Chambliss.
The character is similar of Alex P. Keaton on Family Ties.
He is the biggest supporter of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, since he is a republican.
Carlton Banks is a conservative republican like his father.
Personality
Carlton is highly intelligent, but sometimes annoying, naive, and arrogant. He's a conservative Republican and is often at odds with his cousin, Will Smith. He is Will Smith best friend and brother figure. He dresses in a preppy style, his favorite singer is Tom Jones, and his idol is Macaulay Culkin.
He is subject to compulsive gambling as seen in the episodes, "You Bet Your Life" and "Viva Lost Wages." However, he does seem to be well aware of this weakness, and as such restricts himself from gaming venues.
Carlton is famous for his dance to Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual"
He almost always sides with his father in arguments.
A common occasion for humor on the show is his short stature, in which Will often pokes fun at.
In season 5 episode 15, Will gets shot. This takes an emotional toll on Carlton. He realizes that if it weren't for him, Will would've been fine. When the whole family is visiting Will in the hospital room, Carlton storms out. Philip follows him to see what is wrong. Carlton confronts his father about how they will never catch the suspect. Philip tries to reassure his son, but fails. Carlton comes back the next day with a newly bought revolver. But Will manages to dissuade Carlton from using it.
An ex-girlfriend of Will's, Jackie Ames, appears at ULA. Although coming from a background similar to Will's, Jackie tends to favor Carlton as a date. Despite her not understanding him being a fan of Bobby Vinton, Jackie liked Carlton for having the confidence to be himself and his more respectful manner towards her.
His siblings tend to get along better with Will than with him as because they usually find their brother awkward and annoying. Despite that, they still love their brother dearly. Although he was an antagonist in the first season to Will, in later seasons Will warms up to Carlton and the other Banks children, ultimately coming to respect the nuclear family of the Banks residence and seeing them as the siblings he never had.