Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Young and Restless recently added a new Harrison Abbott to the canvas. It’s not uncommon for soap operas to age up younger characters, and Harrison is the most recent victim of SORAS (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome), albeit a mild one. Originally played by Kellen Enriquez, Harrison is now portrayed by Redding Munsell, who made his debut back on April 12. His on-screen father, Michael Mealor (Kyle), weighed in on the latest changes. “I can’t say enough good things about him. He definitely brings a different energy.”
It’s never easy for any actor to take over a role established by another actor but especially sensitive for younger actors. “It’s hard,” Mealor explained, as an actor who has gone through the same experience. “I think as a kid of when I joined, there have been multiple Kyles and it’s kind of the question of whether you pick up where they left off or not. And I don’t know if he can ask a 6 or 7-year-old to necessarily do that.”
Saying goodbye to the actor exiting the role is not easy either. “Kellen was my first onscreen son, so, of course, I’m sad to see him go,” Mealor reflected on Enriquez’s exit. “But basically, the show decided to kind of age Harrison up a little bit.” That was probably due to his challenging storyline of getting kidnapped by Jordan (Colleen Zenk).
With a new actor comes a new chemistry and Munsell showed up ready to impress. “They hired Redding and Redding’s fantastic. It’s a totally new energy,” the actor enthuses on Munsell’s interpretation. “Redding is excited to be there and he’s one of the smartest 7-year-olds I’ve ever met. And he’s pure talent, which it’s fun to watch him come on set and see what he has to do because he has ideas and that’s an exciting thing, to work with a kid. Redding is a welcome edition. He’s fantastic.”
Diane Brounstein
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