At 15, Mario Lopez auditioned for “Saved by the Bell,” which debuted in 1989, to play one of its leads, A.C. Slater. According to the teen heartthrob, Slater was supposed to be Italian, not Latino. “Like Vinnie Barbarino in ‘Welcome Back, Kotter,‘ a John Travolta role, more of a street kid,” he explained to GQ. Executive producer Peter Engel reiterated this fact, telling Us Weekly that because he had a difficult time casting the part, he realized he should open it up to other races. He went on to explain that, two days later, Lopez “blew everyone out of the water.”
Slater’s diverse hobbies were only developed after Lopez was cast in the role. On “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” he dished that his character was not supposed to be an athlete, dancer, or musician. However, that all…
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