AMC Seeks Iraq War Vet for Role

AP — An open casting call for All My Children is far from business as usual: The soap opera is seeking an Iraq war veteran to play an injured veteran.

The ABC daytime show has created a romantic story line to combine entertainment and a window into the challenges faced after combat, said executive producer Julie Hanan Carruthers.

AMC has launched a broad search to fill the role, inviting veterans to contact the show's New York casting director. The series also is working with a veterans' support group, USA Cares, as well as the military.

"It will make it such a heightened experience for the audience and for us ... to cast a real-life soldier, a veteran, and bring him into our created drama," Carruthers said.

The veteran-turned-actor will play the character of Brot, a key figure in a plot that's already under way and involves a visitor to fictional Pine Valley, Army Lt. Taylor Thompson (Beth Ehlers).

Taylor, who was stationed in Iraq and is on medical leave, has come to town to deliver medals to fellow soldier Dr. Frankie Hubbard (Cornelius Smith Jr.). But it's Brot, the soldier and lover she believes died in combat, who's on her mind.

Brot, however, survived. Unwilling to involve Taylor in his suffering, he's allowed her to think he's dead.

Their story will begin unfolding when the right veteran is found for the part, Carruthers said. The casting call isn't limited to those who were wounded in the war, an ABC spokesman said.

But the role will shaped around a veteran's experience, possibly including a war-caused disability, Carruthers said.

"It's a very delicate subject to begin with. There's so much about the individual person that's going to help us create the character, and whatever they bring and whatever their challenge is will be fit into the story," she said.

The show has woven potentially controversial events and themes into drama before, from the Vietnam War to, in recent years, a plot involving a lesbian mother who was forced to give up her daughter.

Also figuring in the wartime story is Jake Martin (Ricky Paull Goldin), an anti-war physician who provides differing social and political points of view.

Viewers accept tough issues in TV shows when they are dealt with on a personal rather than a political basis, Carruthers said.

"The audience embraces it because they relate to the people involved, who they care about," she said, allowing viewers to "surpass personal biases."

USA Cares, a nonprofit group that provides financial and other support to wounded soldiers and their families, is helping the show's writers assess the accuracy of medical and military details, said spokesman John Revell.

"They're great at drama but there are many nuances that can be left out without getting the reality from the troops themselves," Revell said.

The show also has sought help from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Carruthers said.


All My Children casting director: Judy Blye Wilson, 320 W. 66th St., New York, NY 10023.

CASTING NEWS: Beth and Ricky Reunited Again

It didn't take long. Right on the heels of Ricky Paull's Goldin exit from Guiding Light as Gus Aitoro, his friend and co-star Beth Ehlers has chosen to leave the Light as well. Goldin is now the new Dr. Jake Martin on All My Children, and AMC has wisely decided to capitalize on the duo's popularity by hiring Ehlers. Rumor has it she will be the new Liza Colby, last played by the marvelous Marcy Walker who is now a children's minister outside of Charlotte, N.C. AMC won't confirm the role of Liza is now Ehlers' and may, in fact, have another part for her in mind, but either way, I'm sure she will be sharing scenes with Goldin, if not paired up as his love interest.

When Goldin and Ehlers had great story, they were must-see TV. I hope the writers for AMC can do them justice. With a lot of fans and actors disgruntled with GL's new format, I'm worried this might soon be the last of the Light, a soap I've watched since I was 8 years old. Maybe they can use the budget freed up from Goldin's and Ehlers' contracts to return to the traditional 3-camera studio format and hire back some old faves like Grant Aleksander (Phillip), Paul Anthony Stewart (Danny), Jerry ver Dorn (Ross, now Clint on One Life to Live), among others.

Question for GL fans out there, will you be tuning in to AMC just to watch Goldin and Ehlers?

Beth Ehlers and Murray Bartlett Q&A

Guiding Light actors Beth Ehlers (Harley Cooper) and Murray Bartlett (Cyrus Foley) answered your questions about the new set design, their characters' relationships, their favorite storylines and GL spoilers!

Check out their videos on iVillage:

tvcocktail.ivillage.com/entertainment/archives/2008/04/guiding-light-stars-qa.html