Reginald VelJohnson, who played a Chicago police officer on the TV show “Family Matters,” said he would love to be a part of a reboot of the ’90s show but he’s not sure if people would tune in.
“Do people want to see (Steve) Urkel as a grown man? I don’t know,” VelJohnson told The Hollywood Reporter in an article posted online Monday.
VelJohnson portrayed Carl Winslow in the Chicago-set show, which was mostly filmed in California and aired from 1989 to 1998. Jaleel White, who played the socially awkward Urkel, recently talked to The Huffington Post about what a “Family Matters” reboot could like. VelJohnson said he still keeps in contact with White.
“My years on ‘Family Matters’ were precious to me. During the run of the show, I saw many births, deaths, weddings … The actual family on the show became my family. We still talk to each other to this day,” VelJohnson said. “Bringing us back together again would be wonderful, and I would love to be a part of something like that.”
VelJohnson, who had a role in the TBS show “Clipped” until it was canceled last month, said he was up for the part of ghostbuster Winston Zeddemore in “Ghostbusters” but lost to Ernie Hudson. He ended up with a small part in the 1984 movie, which is getting a reboot next year.
“They flew me out to California, and it was between me and him,” VelJohnson said. “And since it was so much trouble, (director) Ivan Reitman said ‘let me do something for you,’ and gave me the prison guard.”
Since “Ghostbusters,” VelJohnson has played a lot of cops — in “Die Hard,” “Turner & Hooch” and “Die Hard 2” — but said he doesn’t mind the typecast.
“I don’t know what it is about me and this cop thing, but I get a lot of cop offers,” said VelJohnson, 63. “Everyone always assumes that I’m someone on the force, but as long as they are paying me, I will play a cop until the day I die.”
