Comings and goings...
Newcomers Billy Miller and Sterling Sulieman will join the cast of All My Children in contract roles in the next few weeks. The two new roles are the first signs that the show's new head writers are starting to incorporate their own visions into the show's stories. Miller will play "Wes," a new love interest for a character already on the canvas. Sulieman, meanwhile, will play "Dre" and it looks as if he may get involved in a love triangle.
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Real-life couple Justin Bruening and Alexa Havins are both expected to exit All My Children by the end of the year. Bruening has already taped his final scenes with the ABC soap and Havins is expected to exit when her contact expires later this year.
Bruening's desire to leave All My Children hasn't exactly been a secret. The actor, who got his first big break as a model for Abercrombie & Fitch, has been the subject of exit rumors for the better part of 2007. During his four-year run with All My Children, some viewers have felt Bruening has been overly critical of his character and story - while other have said that the actor was merely echoing their own thoughts.
While Bruening is not the first actor to play Jamie Martin - he's actually number seven (eight if you count a pair of twins) on the roster. He is, however, one of the longest-running Jamies in AMC history. Bruening came aboard All My Children at a time when the show needed to "age" the character of Jamie; Jamie was aged from a high schooler to a college student. Other actors to have held down the part include Sean Marquette (1994-1998), Zachary Kady (1998-2001), Todd Harrison (2001-2002) and Micah Alberti (August 22, 2002 to August 2003).
Bruening is married to co-star Alexa Havins (Babe Chandler). Astute viewers will notice that the show's current storyline has Jamie and Babe once again getting closer. It is widely expected that this storyline could have facilitated an exit for both stars. However, soapcentral.com has learned that AMC is planning to recast the role of Babe in the event that Havins does, in fact, exit the show. Officially, there is "no comment" from ABC about Havins' impending exit, but a set source says that it's virtually a done deal that Havins will exit when her contract expires.
Bruening has already taped his final All My Children scenes. He will last air on Friday, August 24th. At the current time, the show will not recast the role of Jamie.
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Who's Coming:
Jenna DiMartini (Corrina)
Chris Henry (Ren)
Sterling Sulieman (Dre)
Three daytime newbies join AMC on 9/4 as members of a garage band next door to Tad's home. All three will interact w/ Sean & Colby. Only the role of Dre is a contract role.
Who's Going:
Justin Bruening (Jamie)
Jamie leaves PV on 8/24 to join his Uncle Jake in Africa. Bruening hopes that when they find out Kathy is Kate someone thinks to drop Jamie a line.
Kelli Giddish (Di)
The actress will now exit on 9/19.
Casting About/Grapevine:
A Josh/Julia romance may be in the offing.
Actress Sydney Penny recently ended her maternity leave and is expected back on All My Children by the end of this month. Despite having been off the set for nearly three months, the 36-year old actress has been relishing the time she has been able to spend with her new baby boy, Chasen.
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On All My Children, Sydney Penny plays Julia Santos Keefer, who, coincidentally, has had a strong desire to have a baby of her own.
Her life has become more stable now that she has friends and a good job. It's everything she was missing during her 10 years [on the run from gangsters], yet there's still something missing, Penny said of her character, who was previously involved with Jamie Martin (Justin Bruening) and has an adopted daughter named Kathy.
Since the writers of the show decided not to write Sydney Penny's pregnancy into All My Children, Penny's Julia was said to be visiting the entire Santos clan in California in the hopes of introducing Kathy to the family.
Julia wants to make her life all about Kathy, Penny said, adding that Julia's relationship with her adopted daughter will be further explored in the fall. Another storyline that Penny said she is looking forward to is the possibility that Kathy is the long-lost daughter of Tad Martin (Michael E. Knight) and the late Dixie Cooney (Cady McLain).
Sydney Penny is scheduled to return to All My Children on August 31.