Nicky Morris
Virgin River star Annette O’Toole sat down with HELLO! In an exclusive interview with Spotlight, she opened up about the emotional reasons behind her Season 3 absence, as well as key moments to watch in Season 5…
Annette O’Toole has revealed her heartfelt reason for missing Season 3. Virgin River in an exclusive chat with hello!.
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Virgin River is one of netflix‘s current biggest show. The heartwarming romance drama continues to be as popular throughout the four seasons as it was when it debuted in the winter of 2019.
Watch: Did you catch up on Season 4?
And one of the characters that greatly contributes to the show’s unique appeal is Hope McCrea, the sharp-spoken mayor and town gossip played by the brilliant Annette.
The actress is known for her impressive list of screen credits, but her roles in Netflix shows have earned her a legion of fans.
When Hope was revealed to have been in a serious car accident at the end of Season 3, everyone feared for her character.
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Taking a break from filming the upcoming fifth series, Annette sat down with HELLO! Revealing the big moments fans can look forward to in the new series…
What was it like playing someone with a severe brain injury?
Annette: I always like challenges, so it was nice to have something concrete to work on and research. The interesting thing about traumatic brain injury is that it is very unique to each person.So, although there are common problems that everyone has, such as memory loss and balance problems, everyone recovers differently and worsens at different rates. So we were able to evaluate it scene by scene instead of episode by episode and talk to the producers and writers about how they wanted to play it out. was.
I’ve gotten some responses via email and Twitter from people who have been through it and have had family members go through it and they say it’s true.
I know the producers want me to get well. They want Hope back where she was. She suffered a very serious injury later in her life, so I’m not sure she’ll ever fully come back.
Annette plays Hope McCrea in the Netflix drama
What can we expect in Season 5? Will there be more setbacks for Hope?
Annette: When it comes to her traumatic brain injury, she’s not much to deal with with medication and help and physical therapy. and assume the role of mayor again.
This year we have a new showrunner named Patrick Sean Smith. He’s great and some things are more complicated. The characters you love are still going through all the trauma we go through.
Let’s talk about Hope and Doc. What will the new episode look like for them?
Annette: Some things get a lot easier, some things get harder. However, their relationship is strong. They’ll continue as a couple for at least season 5 that I know of, and they’ll handle these things together. I love that they have built this really rocky relationship. They’ve been together for a long time, but it’s interesting because they haven’t lived together in nearly 20 years, as we think of them as a normal married couple. So they don’t really know what’s normal, but it worked for them.
They stayed together and are still great friends and companions, and I think they will always be, whatever the label of the relationship. Just because you’ve been on this planet for a long time and been married for a long time doesn’t mean your relationship will always be smooth and understandable.
“I love that they’ve had this really rocky relationship.”
Given Hope’s absence from Series 3, what was it like reuniting with the cast for Seasons 4 and 5?
Annette: I’m glad you’re back. I missed them, I missed my job so much, it was really out of my hands. Season 3 took place during the worst of Covid. Being separated from my family for the first time without a vaccine has never been more serious.
Normally I could fly back and forth. But my mom said she was going to be 97 in a few weeks and she was 95 at the time. But that was the problem. I didn’t have much fear of the virus, which was scary, but I was mostly separated from my family. I have had to be away from my family all my life.
I [in Vancouver] When 9/11 happened, all flights stopped, so I had to drive back to LA when I could. That was my fear, it would happen to me again and maybe it had happened before so it was on my mind more than it was. good. We quickly returned to where we were, and it was as if nothing had happened.
“It was great to be back”
Co-star Alexandra Breckenridge said the new season was “pretty heavy” and likely to leave viewers “on the edge of their seats”.
Annette: I totally agree with that statement. She really hit her head on it. In the middle of the season, we have a big event that brings the community together in a very big way. It’s kind of a timely topic happening in our country, and I’m really glad they’re going there.
I don’t think we have ever done anything like this. It’s an important issue and I’m glad the show is working on something like that. .
Do you think fans will be surprised to see it?
Annette: When they find out what it is, they’ll say, “Oh, of course it makes sense.” I wish I could say more. I really enjoy doing it. There’s a technical thing going on that involves more than anything the show has ever done.
Netflix has yet to confirm another series beyond season four.
Annette: Okay. i love the show The only thing I want is to be consistent when we shoot Because that’s another thing that’s hard to plan around. There was a play I wanted to do two years ago, and the schedule was set, but the shooting schedule was changed.
Theater is hard because theater needs to be committed. They have to do publicity, they have to make plans, we have to get directors, so you have to commit to them years in advance. . But I love the show and want to keep playing this role. There’s still a lot to explore, and it’s a great job. Another thing for me is that I wish I could do that where I live, but I can’t. Golden handcuffs!
Annette teased a notable big moment in season 5
Virgin River is one of the most popular series on Netflix. Did you think it would be this popular when you started?
Annette: I thought it would work. I felt about it because it was so different from anything else on Netflix.It was my first time doing something in the romantic genre.
Funny thing is, I was sitting with Alexandra in the first season filming something outside Jack’s bar. It is this restaurant that is used for the exterior in Squamish. It’s a beautiful suburb of Vancouver that looks like the Virgin River. We were sitting there and she was exhausted after the shoot. Do you think this is hopeless? I said, ‘Alexandra, I think you have to be prepared that this could be a very big thing.
She said, “Really?” She didn’t think so at all. now she knows I think we hit it at just the right time. I think it was popular all the time, but with Covid happening and so many people needing an escape from real life and what was going on, they turned to this one.
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