Alicia Minshew Talks All My Children, The 'Pine Valley' Revival, New Projects, and Much More! [EXCLUSIVE]

Alicia Minshew Talks All My Children, The 'Pine Valley' Revival, New Projects, and Much More! [EXCLUSIVE] Check it out here --->

“My parents, thank God, were so supportive. I think in this business you really have to have a supportive family because you never know if you’re going to get a job or not,” Alicia Minshew said looking back on her journey to becoming an actress. The Daytime Emmy-nominated actress had an innate knack for performance starting with her love of acting out the books she would read to her little sister. Then came the school plays and musicals where she recalled standing on the stage at fifteen realizing that this was where she was meant to be. While in community college she made a decision that would lead to success. She packed up her belongings and drove from Florida to New York City. “Then I started doing what everyone else does. I worked at restaurants and took a ton of acting classes. I started going on auditions and it took a while but in time I started to book things.”

Alicia, who made her debut as Kendall Hart on All My Children in 2002, revealed that she auditioned for the soap more times than she could remember. “I have to say, Judy Wilson, the casting director, she was the one who had so much faith in me. She kept calling me in for different roles and saying one day they were going to find the right one for me. Then she found the one,” she laughed. “She definitely found the best one, I think.” Having mainly done commercial work to that point, she was petrified walking onto the set for the first time. “When I found out that I was playing the role of Kendall which Sarah Michelle [Gellar] so beautifully played before me, I was nervous because I knew I had these giant shoes to fill. I also was nervous because I knew I was playing Susan Lucci’s daughter and she was the queen.” However, all of her fears would be eased with a welcoming embrace from her on-screen mother and a set tour from Cameron Mathison. That really set the tone for my whole first day. I immediately felt at home there.”

Looking back on her time in Pine Valley, Alicia told us that she was grateful that she was able to work with a number of her fellow cast members. From her love of the Kane women to the good times working with Thorsten Kaye (Zach) and her lifelong friendship she found with Rebecca Budig (Greenlee), she joked that she could talk forever about her favorite moments. “I loved the scenes where [Erica] was reliving her rape and she leaned on Kendall to get her through it. And I remember being soaking wet because I had to bring her in from the rain and sit her by the fire. For once Kendall had to take care of Erica. So, it was a big bonding moment between these two characters and between me and Susan. We were definitely a lot closer after working together that day.”

 

Fans of All My Children were excited when it was revealed that a primetime revival of the beloved soap was in the works with Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. We, of course, had to ask Alicia if she would perhaps be making an appearance in the series, which will be focusing on the lives of the children of Pine Valley. “I don’t know who’s a part of it. I know Kelly and Mark are. And probably Susan because you know you can’t have Pine Valley without Erica Kane. She should still be running that town I think. It’s so dear to my heart. I’m sure they will do right by the fans. They’ll make sure to tell the history correctly and make it a fun show for old and new fans. I hope it does well. And hey, if they call me I’m in!”

When asked where she would like to see Kendall now, almost a decade after we last saw her, Alicia joked that she wants Kendall and Zach to be conquering the world together. “Or I feel like she could go into business with her mom and sister. She and Erica could be running some fantastic company together with all the Kane grandchildren helping out in some way. It’s funny because I feel like it was just yesterday that I was playing her. So, it’s hard to believe that it’s been ten years since it went off the air.”

It was recently announced that Alicia would be starring in a series adaptation of Wholly Broken, a series adaptation of a faith-based, musical film that she did a few years ago. The upcoming seven-episode series follows the everyday lives and struggles of a group of people and how their faith sees them through. In it, Minshew plays the lead character’s “estranged, bitchy, lawyer wife. They gotta throw in the bitchy because they know I can do it,” she laughed. While the genre is admittedly that different from what she is used to, having the ability to tell timely and relatable stories is something that she cherishes. She also gets the opportunity to reunite with Susan Lucci, who will be part of the project as well. Alicia will also be singing in the series this time around. “So, I’ve got to start brushing up on my voice lessons!”

Always one to stay busy, Alicia has taken on the role of co-producer on a new film titled Eltingville. “A friend of mine wrote a really fantastic story about a mob family in Staten Island. It’s a family story but it’s also a very dark story about organized crime. I loved the script and he said he wanted my help to produce it. I play a mother whose son almost gets killed. So, that’s going to be some nice, heavy stuff to play. I love playing dramatic stuff like that. It also takes place in the 80s. So, my hair is going to be good for that!”

Through it all, Alicia wanted to share her appreciation of the continued fan support she has received over the years. “Just the other day ABC did the Broadway Cares event. I got to do one-on-one facetimes with fans. And I hadn’t done a fan event in so long. So, it was really nice to reconnect with fans. That’s what I love about daytime. I'm just very grateful to the fans who are constantly supporting daytime and the actors. I just want to say thank you because it really means a lot.”