Actor Jaleel White is opening up about his time on the hit comedy, Family Matters, which had a nine-season run until 1998.
Entertainment Weekly reported that White discussed playing the dorky character, Steve Urkel, and his cooler serum-induced alter-ego, Stefan Urquelle, in a September 2025 episode of comedian Pete Holmes‘ podcast, You Made It Weird. During the interview, Holmes said he had previously theorized that White started playing Stefan because he wanted “to be cool” and less cartoonish on Family Matters. White replied that that wasn’t the case.
“I was always comfortable in my skin, man. I actually found the character to be boring,” said White in the interview.
He then explained that he believed the character of Stefan “was a one note joke.”
“So I was really taken it back when everybody just fell in love with him,” continued White on the You Made It Weird episode.
In the interview, Holmes said he appreciated the introduction of Stefan during the show’s 5th season. The comedian explained that he understood how Urkel felt when his mostly unrequited love interest, Laura Winslow (Kellie Shanygne Williams), took interest in Stefan.
“But these are all storytelling tropes though that keep you locked in. So they don’t necessarily have to run parallel to real life. They just have to hook you,” replied White.
White made similar comments about Stefan in a December 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight. He said that he had always thought the character was uninteresting.
“I didn’t think anybody would take me seriously that way,” recalled the actor.
He said, however, he realized he was mistaken when the show’s live audience members had an excited response to Stefan’s introduction in Season 5, Episode 8, titled “Dr. Urkel and Mr. Cool.”
In addition, White, who was originally hired to play Urkel for one episode, explained why he believed the geeky character has resonated with fans throughout the years. According to White, Urkel is “kind-hearted” and “well-intentioned.” In addition, while “his love [for Laura] was unrequited,” he always loved her unconditionally.
“I think a lot of people can just identify with what he wanted and also feeling awkward in the room,” said White in the 2024 interview with Entertainment Tonight.
