‘All My Children’ Casting Director Had To Fight For Mark Consuelos
Mark Consuelos is known for his co-hosting duties on Live With Kelly and Mark. However, he originally got his start on All My Children. Recently, one of the soap’s crewmembers revealed that they had to fight for Consuelos to be on the soap.
Mark Consuelos Owes A Lot To All My Children
Consuelos’ first acting role was on the educational serial, Connect With English. However, his breakout role would be playing Mateo Santos on All My Children in 1995.
The role would be very impactful for Consuelos, as it on the soap he would meet Kelly Ripa, his onscreen love-interest and future real-life spouse. In fact, the two married by 1996.
Later, Consuelos would become his wife’s permanent co-host on Live With Kelly and Mark in 2023. Notably, he had been a guest co-host on the series for years, with Ripa joining the talk show in 2001.
However, as noted by People, it’s recently come to light that things could have gone a lot differently for Consuelos. The series’ casting director, Judy Blye Wilson, recently revealed that she had to fight to keep him in his role on All My Children.
Wilson recently made an appearance at the 92NY in New York City. She was attending the Susan Lucci in Conversation with Andy Cohen: All My Children at 55 where she talked to the audience.
As Wilson shared, “I don’t know why they were dragging their heels on it, but they actually had him play the role. So he started playing the role, and I had to continue to search for another person.
“So we screen-tested Mark several times. Finally, I begged the producer, and she relinquished, and it turned out to be the best, one of the best parts I ever cast.”
Judy Blye Wilson Wasn’t The Only One Who Thought Mark Was A Good Fit
Wilson also revealed she had a bit of help when it came to casting Mark: his future spouse, Kelly Ripa. As she shared, “They couldn’t make a decision about Mark, and I was so behind him. And I brought Kelly into my office, and I showed her a black and white picture of him and his head shot, and she really liked him, really.”
As the publication noted, Ripa previously talked about the incident during a 2019 interview with Bruce Bozzi during his radio show. At the time, she noted she found “the one” when seeing Mark’s photo.
Ripa noted, “They had been looking for this character for some time. They were looking really for a Latino actor.”
“And so I had auditioned every Latino actor in the city and around the city and then California. And then all of a sudden, Judy Blye Wilson, who was the casting director at All My Children, said, ‘I found him.’”
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