When you watch new stars like The Lying Game’s Alexandra Chando you can’t help but wonder where they came from. How did Alexandra Chando land the part of the infamous twins Sutton and Emma Mercer? Well, in her case you don’t have to wonder, her debut as an actress was documented from the beginning by none other than MTV’s True Life: I’m Getting My Big Break in 2006, when she was nineteen years old, and for lack of a better word, a ” nobody.” True Life followed a much younger and inexperienced Alexandra around on set during her acting debut on As The World Turns as the perky, fresh-faced, “Maddie Coleman.” The Pennsylvania native dropped out of college in Manhattan to pursue a career in acting, after several auditions As The World Turns was her first job. The MTV crew was able to capture her sharing the news with her close friends, rehearsing her lines with her manager, getting to know the cast, and her first day on set along with her first day jitters. On her True Life episode you can also see Alexandra’s first kissing scene, which she was extremely nervous about, but eventually nailed. As well as the behind the scenes clips you were able to get a real, raw look at Alex’s personal life, meet her parents, her friends, and her nineteenth birthday celebration was also videotaped.
Little did Alexandra realize that As The World Turns really WAS her big break, and would eventually lead to a major role on ABC’s drama, The Lying Game. The exposure she received from As The World Turns helped her land roles on Rockville CA, Glory Daze, Medium, Talent: The Casting Call, and then she was picked up by ABC Family.
Alexandra is not the only star to start her career on As The World Turns. Noelle Beck recently landed the part of Ginny on The Carrie Diaries; she started her career off as Lily Snyder. Peyton List played Lucy Montgomery on As The World Turns for two years, and that role helped her acquire parts on multiple shows like Windfall, CSI, Smallville, Mad Men, and 90210. As The World Turns even launched world renowned superstar Meg Ryan’s career.
Ironically, back in 2006 when Alexandra was kicking off her career on As The World Turns, her handsome on-air boyfriend Ethan Whitehorse (Blair Redford) was doing the same on Guiding Light. Redford played Scotty Grainger for a year, and his episodes aired on CBS directly after Alexandra’s. Who would have thought back then that CBS’s young, up and coming, soap-opera newbies would be headlining their own major prime-time drama in a few years?
Source: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1322469/?ref_=sr_1
