Creation and casting Comedian
Bill Cosby began developing
The Cosby Show partially because he was not impressed with popular
family sitcoms airing at the time, several of which he felt were too reliant on children disrespecting and disobeying their parents without suffering serious consequences. Cosby was opposed to the idea of his show featuring children altogether, preferring to create and star in a series about a married,
childless couple instead. Cosby envisioned the youngest Huxtable child as a young boy who idolizes his older brother Theo, was considered the frontrunner for the role of Rudy until Knight Pulliam auditioned.When casting his television children, Cosby insisted that none of the candidates be younger than 10 years-old due to challenges he had experienced working alongside child actors prior. He warned the producers "We'll be shooting for the rest of our lives if we have a little kid!" so much so that his agent advised his family to start preparing to relocate to New York, where
The Cosby Show was scheduled to begin filming; She had already made her television debut as a
series regular on the
children's television show
Sesame Street, on which she had appeared for two seasons. Casting a boy in the role eventually proved difficult so the auditions were slowly opened up to girls, prompting one of the casting directors to sneak Pulliam into one of the auditions without Cosby's prior knowledge. When Sandrich questioned her behavior, the actress gestured towards the screen and said "That’s me! How can you make me on the TV?" which the network had previously assured him was merely "a formality"; as well as NBC president
Brandon Tartikoff and Cosby himself. Knight Pulliam's casting as Rudy also affected Theo's role, who ultimately became the only son among four sisters, Her parents James and Denise often helped the actress memorize her material. Additionally, she was privately tutored on the set of
The Cosby Show. Knight Pulliam and Cosby's relationship extended off screen; the actress recalled that she and the comedian "had a competition going on to see who would do a better job at lip-syncing ... That was our little inside thing. I think I did a better job." Knight Pulliam believes "There was no better foundation than to work with the talented cast with Mr. Cosby leading the way."
The Root contributor Erin E. Evans agreed that "With Rudy in her early teens, Olivia provided all the 'aww-ain't-she-cute' moments in the series' final seasons."
The A. V. Club observed that the older Rudy got the more she adopted "the storylines previously reserved for" older sister Vanessa. Knight Pulliam was age 13 by the time the show concluded in 1991. Sandrich likened watching the actress grow to "graduating from college". a role that eventually expanded as the character grew older. The words "precocious" and "adorable" are often used to describe the character during her earliest appearances. Amber Ferguson, writing for the
Erie Times-News, described Rudy as a "wide-eyed, innocent, a little sassy" character who "got the most attention from her parents".
Ebony agreed that the character is "known for her smile and sass". Rudy could be obstinate and difficult at times, such as when she refuses to learn to play the violin for her school music class because she would much rather play the
cymbals, which had been assigned to her friend Kim (Naoka Nakagowa). Rudy also has a tendency to act in a bossy manner towards some of her friends, particularly Peter and Kenny.
HuffPost's Jennifer Armstrong believes Rudy's decision to rename Kenny reminds audiences that "She is in charge."
Biography.com's Eudie Pak described the character as a "pigtailed whippersnapper." The character also exhibits traits of being a budding young feminist, specifically in her interactions with Kenny; == Reception ==