Alfonso Ribeiro: "I'm starting at zero just like everybody else"
From "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" to the ballroom of "Dancing with the Stars, actor Alfonso Ribeiro has us glued to his moves. You remember The Carlton Dance, don't you?
Ribeiro and his pro-partner, Witney Carson, kicked off the season 19 with an impressive score of 36 out of 40, receiving nine points from each judge. He also drew attention by taking on a routine to "Getting' Jiggy with It," a track by his friend and "Fresh Prince" co-star Will Smith.
Smith, for one seemed impressed with Ribeiro's skills. "He did see it," Ribeiro told CBS News, "and he thought it was great."
But Ribeiro, who in 1983 starred in the Broadway musical "The Tap Dance Kid" and also appeared as a dancer in a Michael Jackson Pepsi commercial, has received some flak from critics who argue he has an unfair advantage.
Ribeiro, though, disagrees.
"I'm constantly battling this whole -- people thinking I'm a professional dancer and it's so not the truth," said the 43-year-old actor. "It's like, 'Yeah, I did tap dance.' But I actually learned to tap dance to do 'The Tap Dance Kid.' It wasn't like I was already in class. And then everything else I've done is just based on me looking at it and just kind of learning it. I've never really taken classes. I've taken a few jazz classes in my life but that's about it."
When "Dancing with the Stars" airs Monday night, Ribeiro plans to stay focused on his routine -- a quickstep that he says is the most challenging dance yet.
We caught up with Ribeiro on Monday during a short rehearsal break to chat about "DWTS" and why he's teaming up on a separate project with actor Ralph Macchio and pro wrestling Hall of Famer Steve Austin.
On this week's routine: "This is by far the hardest week. We're doing the quickstep, which is a ballroom dance and the ballroom hold is really really foreign to me. It's just really really difficult to do while you're trying to remember all these quicksteps. It's been a really difficult week, but we made a breakthrough yesterday so I'm hoping that that breakthrough works today and we can deliver a good performance tonight."
On if there's pressure after first week's high scores: "It doesn't add pressure to me simply because I don't look at things that way. I never look at the end result. I'm always looking at each individual thing. I play a lot tournament golf and when you're playing a tournament, you literally have to go one shot at a time, one hole at a time. So you never really look ahead. So each week it's about how are we bringing it, what's our game plan -- and working hard to learn each dance."
On criticism over his previous dance experience: "That's the more difficult thing for me than anything -- these expectations that are so not the truth. And when I get in to the studio on either a Tuesday or a Wednesday whenever we start rehearsing the next dance I'm starting at zero just like everybody else. I'm learning the core fundamentals of all of these dances just like everybody else. So that's where the pressure kind of comes that they're making me the frontrunner and really judging me on a different criteria because we came out blazing in week one. But the thing about it for me is that I work really hard...Even when I leave rehearsal, I come home and on material for three, four hours. I'm putting in eight hours a day into learning this stuff. And that's the only way for me to get to where I want to by the end of the week. So it is tough."
On his weight loss: "I've lost 17 pounds. When you're working eight hours a day...you're going to lose weight. It's a lot of work, a lot of fun."
Ribeiro's stint on "DWTS" recently caught the attention of Wendy's, who booked him -- along with Macchio and Austin -- for a new parody video series campaign for its new BBQ Pulled Pork menu. The trio of stars appear in a funny "faux cause campaign" that "raise awareness of the widespread barbecue inaccessibility in the U.S." with the #bbq4Merica.
On why he signed on for the part: "I'm always looking for something that's kind of unique to do, something different. When they [Wendy's] came to me it felt kind of fun to do especially now that I'm doing 'Dancing with the Stars.' It's hard to find authentic, funny things to do out there...because typically what I get asked is 'Can you come and do the Carlton Dance?' So this was something that was kind of different so it made it a lot fun. I do love BBQ. I'm good on the grill here in the house. There's certainly not a lot of good BBQ places in Los Angeles. I though it would be kind of funny. My wife was one of the Pork Queens of Iowa. So the family has a unique connection to pork."
On Oct. 8, Ribeiro will host a 24-hour Tweet-a-Thon, where people win swag, check out celebrity cameos, interactive skits and more.
"It's really over the top," he said. "We're going to be answering questions in real-time on Twitter."
"Dancing with the Stars" airs Monday (tonight) at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
