JR Chandler

Last updated
JR Chandler
All My Children character
Jacob Young as JR.png
Jacob Young as JR Chandler
Portrayed by
Duration
  • 1989–1996
  • 1998–2011
  • 2013
First appearanceJuly 3, 1989
Last appearanceSeptember 2, 2013
Classification Final, regular
Created by Margaret DePriest
Introduced by
Crossover
appearances		 One Life to Live
JRChandler.jpg
Ryan Bittle as JR Chandler
In-universe information
Occupation
  • 50% Shareholder of Chandler Enterprises
  • CEO of Chandler Enterprises
  • Executive of Chandler Enterprises
Family Chandler
Cortlandt/Cooney
Parents
Stepfather Tad Martin
Half-brothersMiguel Reyes
Half-sisters
Spouse
Children AJ Chandler
Grandparents
  • Seabone Hunkle
  • Bess Cooney
Uncles
Aunts
  • Lottie Chandler
  • Lanie Cortlandt Rampal
  • Di Henry (half)
NephewsEnzo Santos (half)
Nieces Lila Rae Alcazar (legal)
First cousins
  • Ross Chandler (also once removed)
  • Scott Chandler (adoptive)
  • Nina Cortlandt Warner (once removed)
  • Andrew Cortlandt (once removed; adoptive)
  • Peter Cortlandt (once removed)
  • Caleb Cortlandt (once removed)
Other relatives
  • Julie Rand Chandler (adoptive)
  • Bobby Warner (adoptive)
  • Mickey Warner
  • Asher Pike
  • Sam Grey (adoptive)

Adam "JR" Chandler Jr. is a fictional character from the ABC and The Online Network daytime drama All My Children . He was portrayed by Jacob Young from 2003 to 2011, prior to Ryan Bittle taking over the role in 2013. Bittle was cast as the new JR on Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children. [1]

Contents

Background

The character was introduced on July 3, 1989, as the son of Dixie Cooney and her estranged ex-husband, Adam Chandler. [2] [3] In March 2004, the character's birth year was revised to July 3, 1983. He is a member of both the powerful and wealthy Chandler and Cooney families, being the son of Adam Chandler and great-nephew of Palmer Cortlandt.

The writers characterized JR as caring, but ruthless if betrayed, explaining the latter by way of his difficult upbringing. [4] The character's softer personality has been attributed to his mother, Dixie Cooney, as well as to his son, AJ, and true love Babe Carey [4] (who was killed off by the series in 2008).

Credited as significantly complex, [5] he has been cited as a television anti-hero, [4] and "bad boy," [5] and his struggles with family, romantic partners, and alcohol addiction have been documented in literature. [6] [7] [8]

Character creation

Jesse McCartney portrayed a young JR from 1998 to 2001, when the character was rapidly aged. Jesse McCartney Shankbone 2010 NYC crop.jpg
Jesse McCartney portrayed a young JR from 1998 to 2001, when the character was rapidly aged.

Actor Jacob Young, who had been on The Bold and the Beautiful (Rick Forrester) and General Hospital (Lucky Spencer) prior to joining All My Children , debuted as JR on October 2, 2003. [9] Young stated that JR had good instincts, but that he "was young and kind of doe-eyed to the world" then. It was not until the actor stepped into the All My Children role of JR Chandler that his acting range became more focused. He started to use tools he learned in classes and felt that his acting became more refined because of it. With his portrayal of JR, he explained how this factored in: "They twisted JR in a completely different direction," he stated. "They started off with JR not respecting his father and having a lot of elements of his mother in him. He was much softer. Then they started toying with it and couldn't believe what was coming out of me. I'd always been the nice, honorable guy; I'd never been the character who was stirring the pot." [10]

JR's rich lifestyle was something that Young noted not being familiar with, stating that the JR persona did not come to him until he would put on the suit. "They put me in these nice designer suits, and I suddenly feel like a million bucks. Then I take that million-buck feeling and go a little sinister with it." [10]

One aspect of JR's personality is "devious tones" sometimes present in his dialogue. "When the character is in a good mood and has the upper hand, he has all these one-liners," Young relayed. When working with former All My Children co-star Alexa Havins (ex-Babe Carey), Young would often shock Havins with the character's words. To make sure she was unaware of how he was going to deliver a crass line, he would keep it hidden [during rehearsal]. [10] "You can break the wording down and make it a little more offensive," he cited. "And I try to nail that because that's what JR's supposed to do." [10]

The writers were looking for an actor who could truly radiate the essence of Adam Chandler's son and felt that taking JR down the path of darkness would help with that. Young, the actor chosen as best suited for the part, detailed the transition: "They wanted it to be 'like father, like son,' so I watched David Canary's (Adam) mannerisms and delivery. I tried to mold those into my own, enough to where I could be his son. They started writing my dialogue like his. He has some one-liners that are pretty funny. David is as big a goofball as I am onset. He's like, 'Here's my boy!' We have a great dynamic together." [10]

Young's portrayal of JR propelled the character into one of the show's more popular and hated characters.

Have you have seen those piercing blue eyes? When they're not flashing with anger, a glimpse of the troubled young man who was deeply wounded by the presumed death of his mother shows through. Like Babe, we could easily fall into the trap of thinking that a little tender loving care from us would fix him right up. [11]

—  Soaps In Depth magazine on JR being a love-to-hate fixture

Storylines

1989–2011

JR is born in 1989 as the son of Adam Chandler and Dixie Cooney. Throughout his life, he has been involved with Amanda Dillon, Kendall Hart, Annie Lavery, and mainly linked to Babe Carey and Marissa Tasker. JR and Babe - who have been married three times to each other - produce a son, AJ Chandler, in 2004 and are involved in a three-way baby switch storyline. Bianca Montgomery's daughter Miranda Montgomery is switched to Babe and JR, while their own child is given to Kelly Cramer (of One Life to Live). Kelly's recent pregnancy ends in stillbirth and given to Bianca. Eventually, the truth is revealed and Miranda goes back to Bianca, while AJ is returned to Babe/JR, and finally, Kelly Cramer deals with the death and the situation. In 2009, Babe dies from injuries of a tornado and JR later gets involved with Babe's twin sister and AJ's aunt Marissa Tasker, who he later married. They divorce in 2010, and in 2011, Marissa starts dating Bianca. That same year, his mother is revealed to be alive, along with his uncle, Stuart Chandler. A devastated JR becomes drunk and arrives with a gun at Brooke and Adam's party, where a shot is heard.

2013

It is revealed that JR has been in a coma for five years. On the night that changed Pine Valley five years ago (the ABC series finale), the drunken JR was about to shoot someone, but David Hayward intervened; JR pulled the trigger and shot someone in the house, while David shot JR and put him in a coma. It is revealed on May 2, 2013, that JR shot and killed Marissa Tasker, his ex-wife (David's daughter).

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>All My Children</i> American television soap opera

All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2013, via Hulu, Hulu Plus, and iTunes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tad Martin</span> Soap opera character

Tad Martin is a fictional character from the American daytime drama, All My Children. Tad was played by three actors, according to the age of the character: Matthew Anton, John E. Dunn, and Michael E. Knight. Knight has portrayed the role on and off from 1983 until the series finale in 2011. Tad represents the good on the show, often butting heads with "villains" like Adam Chandler. He is perhaps the best male friend to Erica Kane. His relationship with Dixie Cooney made them a favorite of fans, reaching supercouple status. Under secrecy, Knight returned for the first-season finale of Prospect Park's version of All My Children on September 2, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooke English</span> Soap opera character

Brooke Allison English is a fictional character on the television soap opera All My Children. Originated by Elissa Leeds on March 10, 1976, she was portrayed by Julia Barr from June 1976 to June 1981 and from November 1982 to December 20, 2006. Harriet Hall played the role from June 1981 through March 1982. Barr made a special appearance as Brooke on January 5, 2010, as part of the series' 40th anniversary, and returned on February 23, 2010, for a two-month stint until April 23, 2010. She later returned for the show's final week on ABC on September 16, 2011. She returned as Brooke on the Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children.

Megan McTavish is American television actress and soap opera writer. McTavish is best known for several head writing stints on All My Children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Babe Carey</span> Soap opera character

Arabella "Babe" Carey is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. She was originally portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, from October 13, 2003, to October 8, 2007, and then by actress Amanda Baker from October 8, 2007, to October 31, 2008. Havins crossed over as character sporadically on One Life to Live from November 24, 2003 to February 2005. The character was killed off on the October 23, 2008 episode of the show, after suffering injuries during a series of tornadoes, although she reappeared briefly on June 2 and 29, 2009, as a ghost. In September 2011, Babe (Havins) briefly returned to Pine Valley as an apparition appearing to JR.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexa Havins</span> American actress (born 1980)

Alexa Carole Havins is an American actress. She first came to prominence in 2003, when she became the originating actress in the role of Babe Carey Chandler on the soap opera All My Children. Her role as the flawed but good Babe Carey earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination in 2005 and recognition as being half of one of the show's most popular soap opera pairings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tad Martin and Dixie Cooney</span> Soap opera character

Thaddeus James "Tad" Martin and Dixie Louise Cooney Martin are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American daytime drama All My Children. Tad is portrayed by Michael E. Knight, and Dixie is portrayed by Cady McClain. On Internet message boards, the couple is often referred to as "T&D" or "TnD".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bianca Montgomery</span> Soap opera character

Bianca Montgomery is a fictional character from the American daytime drama All My Children. Until Eden Riegel assumed the role, portraying the character from July 2000 to January 2010, the character was portrayed solely by child actresses: Lacey Chabert, Nathalie Paulding, Gina Gallagher, Caroline Wilde and Jessica Leigh Falborn. When Riegel decided to permanently exit the role, plans to recast were confirmed; in June 2010, Christina Bennett Lind replaced Riegel, and remained on the series through the original television finale episode, which aired September 23, 2011. In February 2013, it was announced that Riegel would be reprising her role as Bianca in a guest-arc on Prospect Park's continuation of All My Children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Miranda Montgomery</span> Soap opera character

Miranda Montgomery is a fictional character from the American serial drama, All My Children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Madden</span> Soap opera character

Joshua "Josh" Madden is a fictional character from the American daytime drama, All My Children. He first came to Pine Valley on June 17, 2005, and was originally portrayed by actor Scott Kinworthy until September 15, 2005. Following Kinworthy's departure, he was portrayed by actor Colin Egglesfield from September 2005 until January 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanda Dillon</span> Character in All My Children

Amanda Dillon is a fictional character from the American daytime television soap opera All My Children. She is the daughter of police officer/detective Trevor Dillon and longtime series villain Janet Marlowe aka "Janet from Another Planet"; however, Amanda was thought to be the child of her aunt Natalie Marlowe, who later adopted her. Alexis Manta portrayed the character as a child from 1996–2000, and Chrishell Stause has portrayed the character as an adult from 2005 till the end of the series in 2011. Stause's version of Amanda started out a scheming, seductive troublemaker, but later matured into a warmer, kinder person due to her relationship with Jake Martin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hayward</span> Soap opera character

Dr. David Hayward is a fictional character from the ABC and The Online Network serial drama All My Children. The role has been portrayed by Vincent Irizarry, off and on, from November 27, 1997, to September 2, 2013.

Colby Chandler (<i>All My Children</i>) Soap opera character

Colby Chandler is a fictional character from the original ABC Daytime soap opera All My Children. Born on-screen in 1999, the character was rapidly aged in 2006. The role has been recast several times, but most recently the role was portrayed by Natalie Hall from 2009 until the show's cancellation in 2011. When the show was relaunched as a web series to air on The Online Network owned and operated by production company, Prospect Park, Brooke Newton stepped into the role of Colby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dixie Cooney</span> Soap opera character

Dixie Cooney is a fictional character from All My Children, an American soap opera on the ABC network. The character was initially portrayed by actress Kari Gibson from her debut in July 1988 until October of that year when she was replaced by actress Cady McClain who portrayed the role for the rest of the character's existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">JR Chandler and Babe Carey</span> Soap opera character

JR Chandler and Babe Carey are fictional characters of the JR and Babe or Jabe couple from the American daytime drama All My Children. JR Chandler was portrayed by Jacob Young. Babe Carey was portrayed by actress Alexa Havins, and then by Amanda Baker. Written as volatile and yet loving, the up-and-down romance tells of a young star-crossed couple who met one captivating night at the end of a fog-covered dock and from there are faced with much interference, significantly but unintentionally caused by each other, in their struggle for true happiness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marissa Tasker</span> Soap opera character

Marissa Tasker is a fictional character on the soap opera, All My Children. She was portrayed by Brittany Allen from April 21, 2009, to December 21, 2010, and by Sarah Glendening from December 27, 2010, to September 23, 2011.

The Chandler Family is a fictional family from the American soap opera All My Children. The Chandler family is one of the most powerful and wealthiest families in the show's history. Rising up from poverty in Pigeon Hollow, West Virginia, the Chandlers now stand as a prominent family in Pine Valley. The family runs Chandler Enterprises.

The Cortlandt/Cooney family is a fictional family on the original ABC daytime soap opera, All My Children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AJ Chandler</span> Soap opera character

AJ Chandler also known as Adam "AJ" Chandler III is a fictional character from the American serial drama, All My Children. From April 29 to September 2, 2013, the role has been portrayed by Eric Nelsen.

References

  1. ↑ "AMC Casts New JR And AJ!". Soaps In Depth. Simms, Richard. February 25, 2013. Archived from the original on 2013-03-01. Retrieved February 25, 2013.
  2. ↑ Pesiri, Michael (July 3, 2006). "AMC Daily Recaps: The Week of July 3, 2006". Soapcentral . Retrieved February 26, 2013.
  3. ↑ Reichardt, Nancy M. (July 8, 1989). "All My Children: Frankie told Cliff and Angie that Bobby..." Chicago Tribune . Tribune Company . Retrieved March 5, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 P., Carol. "The tortured soul anti-hero". Total TV Online.com. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  5. 1 2 Jacob Young TV Guide Interview, TV Guide (2005-03-22). Retrieved on 2007-12-18
  6. ↑ Jeremy G. Butler (2007). Television: critical methods and applications. Psychology Press. pp. 511 pages. ISBN   978-0-8058-5415-2 . Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  7. ↑ Alex McNeil (May 20, 2008) [May 1996]. Total television: the comprehensive guide to programming from 1948 to the present. Digitized. Penguin Books (Original from the University of Michigan). pp. 1251 pages. ISBN   978-0-14-024916-3.
  8. ↑ Gerry Waggett (2008). The One Life to Live 40th Anniversary Trivia Book: A Fun, Fact-Filled, Everything-You-Want-to-Know-Guide to Your Favorite Soap!. Hyperion. pp. 248 pages. ISBN   978-1-4013-2309-7 . Retrieved October 12, 2011.
  9. ↑ "Five Things That Happened On October 2 In Soap History". Soap Opera Digest . 2 October 2023. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 Lensch, Tonya (2005-04-19). "Jacob Young - Young Gun". Soap Opera Weekly .
  11. ↑ "Men You Love to Hate". Soaps In Depth . 2006-10-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.