Today, we look at the actors who played Kelly and Bud on Married…with Children BEFORE Christina Applegate and David Faustino got the roles.
This is “Just Like the Time Before,” a feature where I examine instances from pop culture history where creators did early versions of later, notable characters and plot ideas (including actors in famous roles who were recast early on). Essentially, the “test runs” for future famous characters and stories.
Casting a TV show is obviously very difficult, especially when different actors have different chemistry with other actors. That is why you will often see instances where shows will cast PAIRINGS instead of individual actors. In the case of Married…with Children, Christina Applegate and David Faustino were the pairing for Kelly and Bud, the children of Al and Peg Bundy on the series. And they then…didn’t get the role.
Instead, Tina Caspary and Hunter Carson were cast as Kelly and Bud Bundy. See them in this clip from the unaired pilot…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIaOOWq59Nw
Ed O’Neill just didn’t feel the same chemistry with them that he felt he had with Applegate (perhaps why they’re still close to this day) and Faustino (some versions of the story say that he just outright didn’t like them, which is possible, as well), and so after the pilot was completed, he successfully lobbied for a re-casting. I assume that a test screening was involved, as well, before the change was made.
Here is the first scene in the unaired pilot…
compared to the first scene in the aired pilot, with Kelly and Bud now played by Applegate and Faustino…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnaSKMUUKoU
The show ran eleven seasons and Christina Applegate just got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, so they probably made the right call.
If you have a suggestion for a future Just Like the Time Before, drop me a line at brian@popculturereferences.com.
