Jaleel White‘s new look for his upcoming Netflix project had fans scrolling down memory lane.
In the Instagram post, the 45-year-old, who sported a straight hairdo, a red hoodie and glasses, disclosed that he has a role in “Hustle.” “Hustle” follows a washed-up basketball scout that discovers a ball player while vacationing overseas.
The film, which is set to premiere on June 8 on Netflix, stars Adam Sandler and Queen Latifah, among many others. “Hustle” is also produced by LeBron James. Without disclosing the character he would be portraying in the project, White wrote in the caption, “What are you up to these days? #Netflix #Hustle.”
As fans viewed the upload, many claimed White’s hairstyle reminded them of Bruce Lee Urkel, a character he played on “Family Matters,” a hit series on which he starred, with the show starting in 1989 and running through the 1990s. Bruce Lee Urkel was introduced in season six of the series in an episode called “The Substitute Son” after Steve Urkel created the alter ego with a potion named Bruce Juice.
“Lol this picture reminds me of your Bruce Lee episode on family matters.”
“Bruce Lee Urkel returns.”
“Reminds me of the Bruce Lee episode.”
“Bruce Lee Urkel let that hair grow lol.”
In addition to the previous remarks, others pointed out that White looked unrecognizable with his new look. One wrote, “You look like a completely different person with this look almost didn’t recognize you.” Another said, “Took me a whole lil minute to figure out that was you lol.”
While expressing their excitement for White’s new role, a third person posted, “I was like waiiiiit…who is this???? Ooooh lol cant wait to see what you are working on!”
This post comes weeks after White admitted that he didn’t want to play Steve Urkel’s alter ego Stefan Urquelle. Stefan Urquelle made his debut in season five of “Family Matters.” He explained during an interview with “The Talk” on May 6 that his reluctance was because he felt the character was boring.
White said, “You know what, I never even wanted to play Stefan. I thought Stefan was boring. I mean, thank God I played Stefan ’cause it allowed Black women to see me and the way I actually am. I had no idea, and now that’s the standard.”
