Kendall Hart
Kendall Hart is a fictional character from All My Children, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was portrayed by Sarah Michelle Gellar from February 24, 1993, to July 3, 1995, and by Alicia Minshew from January 2002 until the show's series finale on September 23, 2011. On March 7, 2013, it was announced that Minshew would guest star on the Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children. She appeared on the second July 8 episode.
Kendall is the daughter of Erica Kane, a child conceived when Erica was raped on the night of her 14th birthday by movie matinee idol Richard Fields. Emerging as one of daytime television's most popular and layered characters, Kendall was originally written as a complex villain, described as a "complicated bad girl" and "the scheming daughter of the biggest schemer of them all, Erica Kane," but was later reformed. The writers scripted her as a heroine, while keeping devious aspects of the character intact.
Background
Rapid aging
Kendall has been the subject of Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome, which caused the show's producers to "de-SORAS" her mother, Erica Kane, portrayed by Susan Lucci. Lucci says that Erica was 15 when the show began in 1970. "I love playing her. I enjoyed playing her when she was a 15-year-old high school girl, the naughty girl in town, and I enjoy playing her now, when she's still the naughty girl, but she's broadened her area of operation to include the entire world," said Lucci. Erica being 15 in 1970 placed her birth year at 1955.When Kendall first appears on the show in 1993, she is 16 years old, portrayed by a then 16-year-old Sarah Michelle Gellar. This was despite the fact that Kendall was conceived when Erica was raped at the age of 14 before the show began in 1970. Fans protested the age differences due to the changes making Erica and Kendall too young compared to Erica's original 1955 birth year. In response to this, the show's producers rapidly aged Kendall to 23, which moved Erica's birth year one year forward to 1956.
When Minshew took over the role in 2002, the character's birth year was changed to 1976; Erica's birth year was subsequently pushed even later than where it was before, to 1962. Though Kendall's birthdate was changed to September 25, 1970, in 1993 as a result of SORAS, her birthdate was revised to September 25, 1976, in 2002, closer to her intended birthdate when she first appeared as a 16-year-old girl on February 24, 1993.
Casting and character portrayal
Sarah Michelle Gellar
For at least two years, the producers of All My Children had been thinking about introducing a new character to complicate Erica's storylines. A casting call went out for a young actress to portray the part of Kendall Hart, Erica's long-lost daughter. Many teenage actors in New York auditioned for the role, and the show's producers were adamant about keeping the character's storyline a secret. The actresses were told that Kendall would be Erica's new assistant. "I didn't know when I auditioned for Kendall that she would turn out to be who she is," stated Gellar. "I had heard rumors, but everybody was denying it. Besides, I was scared enough at the thought of working with Susan," she said. Bearing a resemblance to Lucci, Gellar was complimented as having the acting talent and the "forceful personality" needed to go up against Lucci's experience; a "chip off the Kane block", Kendall was to be like a younger version of Erica."When they told me I was playing her daughter, I was like, 'What? Daughter? Me?' I remember on my first day when I walked into the rehearsal hall, Susan and Michael were rehearsing a scene," said Gellar. "I was very nervous. I kept thinking, 'What if I'm really bad and they fire me?' I just snuck in the back and tried to blend in with the coffee machine, when all of a sudden, Susan said, 'Hold it, we need to stop for a minute.'" Gellar said that Lucci walked over to her and said, "Congratulations! I'm very glad you're here" and hugged her. "She put her arm around me and said, 'Don't worry, nobody bites.' And then she introduced me to everyone who was there. She really did help me and always made sure I was okay during my first couple of weeks when I was still unsettled. Both Susan and Michael made me feel comfortable," Gellar stated.
Kendall made her All My Children debut on February 24, 1993. She was angry for being "abandoned" at birth – even though going through the pregnancy had resulted from a rape, which Kendall was unaware of – and determined to exact revenge against Erica as payback. Gellar stated that Kendall was "the most terrible daughter" on daytime during her reign while acknowledging Kendall's want for her mother's approval and the multifaceted aspects of the character; she added, "I think that's what's the most fun about her. She's unpredictable, and it allows me to play different aspects of her. She's weak, she's strong, she needs men, she doesn't need men." Regarding the character's years on the show, Gellar said, "I seduced my stepfather, and when he wouldn't sleep with me, I slept with the stable boy, cried rape, and my mother stabbed him with a letter opener. Then I went to jail for perjury, burned my parents' divorce papers, and locked up my little sister. I think that was all in the first week." On portraying Kendall, Gellar stated, "I chose to see Kendall as misunderstood, which was how, as an actress, I justified her actions. It was amazing, though, playing a psycho-looney."
Gellar praised the show for casting her in "a role in age category which is so complex," and stated, "I thank Judy Wilson so much for giving me the chance to actually be a teenager playing a teenager on the show. To get a role like Kendall, I feel so lucky because it's so rare." When Kendall was aged to 22/23 years old, the audience was bothered by the series having a 17-year-old actress portray that age range. "I may not physically look 23, but then again, not all 23-year-olds look their age," said Gellar. "I think people should just forget about that. Age is a personal vision. Besides, I know that at 17, Sarah is more mature than Kendall at 23."
Gellar's stint on the show was successful. "Longtime fans of the soap saw her as the second coming of Erica." The more Gellar demonstrated that she could handle the work, the more the writers showcased her. She became a household name to the soap opera medium, and "ans wrote to her to tell her she reminded them of Natalie Wood and people stopped her in the street". Gellar won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1995 for the portrayal, but eventually left the role in June 1995 to pursue other acting opportunities, last airing on July 3. Gellar briefly returned to the series as part of the series finale week in September 2011; her cameo was that of a mentally ill patient who claimed to see vampires and that she started seeing them "before they were trendy", and that she was Erica Kane's daughter. Both were nods to Gellar's role as Kendall Hart and her iconic role as Buffy Summers on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Alicia Minshew
The show waited six years before recasting Kendall. Minshew, like Gellar, was unaware that she was auditioning for the role of Erica's first born when the casting call came. "No, I honestly had no clue I was auditioning for the role of Kendall," she stated. "I had auditioned for several roles on All My Children several times and thank God Judy Wilson called me up one day and said 'we are casting a part we think you would be excellent for,'" Minshew stated. "At the time, the role was being called 'Candy' because they were keeping it incognito... Wilson told me she wanted me to come in and just be my fun, sassy self, be strong, be sassy, do what you always do." Minshew screen tested with Josh Duhamel, stating:Love him, love him, love him. Wish I got a chance to work with him! Oh my God. I really think he helped me with my screen test because he was so present for me, so charming and so touchy-feely. He was right there for me. He gave me so much. I remember forgetting my lines and the two of us improvised a little bit, just played off of each other, until I figured out where I was. It was so real! I thanked him. I gave him a big kiss. I said, 'Thank you, you made my screen test so fun. I had such a good time, I forgot that I was trying to get a job.' They had a couple rounds of auditions. we did the exact same scene. He said, 'All right, it's you again! We get to have some fun!' We already had a nice rapport going on, so I was excited. I was like, 'Whatever happens, this is fun.'
It was after the screen test with Duhamel that Minshew was told that the role was actually for Kendall Hart. "Judy pulled me into a room after my screen test and told me, 'I want you to know that the role is for Susan Lucci's daughter Kendall who was originally played by Sarah Michelle Gellar,'" said Minshew. "And then I got so nervous and thought I don't know if I can do this and Wilson said...that I had a pretty good shot at the role, to which I thought ehhhhh she's kissing my butt." Minshew said, "I always tell people that I truly believe one of the reasons why I got this part was Josh...he made me feel so comfortable and I had so much fun playing with him and I was just able to let go, forget I was screen testing and just throw myself into the part...whatever I did was good and they liked me. I started 3 days after I screen tested."
Minshew detailed her working relationship with Lucci as healthy: "She's just such a strong presence. For a little tiny lady, she's a beautifully strong presence. I've always known who she was. So I was like, 'Wow! That is really cool!' My first day on the show I worked with her. I said, 'Hi, I'm playing Kendall, and I think you're beautiful.' She warmed up to me immediately. We've had a great rapport. She's just... She has only been good to me."
When asked of her portrayal of the character, Minshew cited Kendall's complexity. "She is a hard character to play. When I first came to the show, I was a little off...I had never done daytime before, had never watched the show, so I was not familiar with Sarah Michelle's portrayal of Kendall... I was a newer actress and really, really green and it took me a while to delve into the character and find out who she really was and to make her more real and vulnerable."
As Minshew grew to understand the character, she became more connected to Kendall. Her acting improved with each newly discovered aspect. Years later, Minshew stated, "Now I feel like I love Kendall so much. She has become part of me. I find myself sticking up for her and defending her...the character means a lot to me on a personal level and it's nice to see the fans enjoying Kendall as much as I enjoy playing her."