As Hearties look forward with hope and anticipation to When Calls the Heart season five, it behooves us all to glance back at the four incredible seasons this show has given us. In season one, there was a storyline that touched many of us deeply, and it involved the character Caleb Dunbar, as portrayed by Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh. Although he was not featured in season four, he did attend the second Hearties Family Reunion this past December, and he also agreed to chat with me about the memorable moments in his career so far and even what is yet on the horizon for him.

Photo by Photos by Kathryn – © Photos by Kathryn

RH: I am so glad it worked out to talk with you today, Will.

WV: Yeah, me too, Ruth

I was looking at all your credits. I knew you from When Calls the Heart, of course, and then I watched your demo reel, and I was like, “Wait a minute! I’ve seen that and that and oh, he was in that!” 

{laughs} Yes, I’ve been in a lot of Hallmark and UP TV projects.

I was just glad I recognized so many of your works. I’ve actually gotten to interview most of the kids in When Calls the Heart. In fact, one of the first ones I interviewed was Mitchell {Kummen}.

Oh, Mitchell’s awesome!

I did have a question about your full acting name. On IMDB, it says Will Verchere-Gopaulsingh. As an actor, do you go by your full name?

My last name is very long, and I usually go by my entire name. That’s usually what comes up in credits, but when I go into an audition and they see my full name on my resume, they just shorten it to Will Verchere ’cause it can be a bit of a mouthful.

What is the story behind this long name?

My mom’s last name is Verchere, and my dad’s last name is Gopaulsingh. They couldn’t decide which name to use, so they just put them together.

Okay, that’s actually an old Southern tradition here. {pause} So, Will, how old are you now?

I’m fourteen.

Oh, I thought you were older than that. You appear quite mature.

I do hear that sometimes, and my voice doesn’t help. It’s very deep.

How long have you been acting?

When I decided I wanted to get into it, I was five. When I was six, I got an agent. Then I started doing commercials and then moved on to TV and movies.

What was it that got you interested in acting at such a young age?

I think my whole life I’ve been interested in the theater production. When I was three, we’d be up at our summer place, and I’d be putting on performances for my parents and have little flashlights on the mantle. Or I’d do a play with my stuffed animals, and my parents knew this could be an option for me because I was interested in all this stuff having to do with show business.

Behind the Scenes: Supernatural

Professionally-speaking, was Supernatural the first thing you did?

Supernatural was the first TV show I did, but before that, I did commercials. The first commercial I did was for Activia Yogurt. And then just little commercials up until Supernatural which was when I was ten. And that was the show where it all started for me. Everything just peaked.

With a massive show like Supernatural, and it seems like every Vancouver actor wants to end up on that show at some point because it has such a tremendous following. How did that part come about? Was it just a normal audition?

It really was. It was just a normal audition. I know the place, and I still audition with that casting director today. I just went in, did that audition, they liked me, and they signed me. I was on one episode in season seven. As far as I know, they just liked my performance, and evidently I was what they were looking for.

Behind-the-Scenes: Cedar Cove

What I didn’t realize till I was watching your reel–I was a big Cedar Cove supporter. That was, in many ways, my introduction to Hallmark. You got to be on one episode of Cedar Cove. You got to do an episode with Jesse Hutch, and I just met him back in November. 

That show was a lot of fun. That was just another Vancouver audition. All the Hallmark shows have such a good vibe with the actors, crew, and everyone involved. They are always so great on these shows. It was a similar character to my role in When Calls the Heart. I think I actually did it after I shot When Calls the Heart season one. I think it was in between the first and the second seasons. And it was so much fun working with Jesse and everyone else on that show.

Behind-the-Scenes: When Calls the Heart

So your first Hallmark show was actually When Calls the Heart.

Yes, it was. And while that was just your typical audition, this time, I think I had three callbacks. I was in the room three or four times. They were very specific with my character. They really nailed it down.

I was so glad that I refreshed my memory as to your role because there have been so many kids involved over the course of the four seasons. And especially with season one, I do not always remember all the kids and stories. But when I watched your character, I was like, “Oh my goodness, that was such a tender story!” Having your father dead and your mom interested in another guy.

With “Mom” and “Boyfriend” When Calls the Heart

It’s real, that’s what it is. When I was at the Hearties reunion back in December, there was a mother who came up to me and said that the storyline of me, Laura {Bertram}, and Derek {Hamilton} was so real for her ’cause that was the exact same type of situation that she was having with her kid and her boyfriend. She watched it with her family, and she cried. My mom cried when she read the script. And this woman’s son was at a turning point and thinking maybe this guy could do it. He decided that maybe he would give this guy a shot. And that just meant the world for me ’cause what I’m doing is impacting someone in real life, and that was just so touching and amazing. And I think that’s what any actor really wants to hear is what they’re doing is real enough that someone truly connects with the story.

That’s really neat since that story goes all the way back to season one, and yet that story is still impacting people. And I can see how with Cedar Cove it was a similar kind of story ’cause you had Jesse Hutch’s character bringing the news that the boy’s dad is gone. 

Yes, Jesse had to bring a letter that my dad wrote for his wife in case he died. It’s another tear-jerker role where I think my mom totally cried again. That kind of story has such  sweet and real emotion.

When Calls the Heart

How many episodes were you on When Calls the Heart?

I was on four episodes over the course of the first, second, and third seasons.

While they didn’t bring you back for season four, do you think they may ever bring you back?

Unfortunately, I think I’ve grown too much, and I just don’t fit in with the other Hope Valley kids any more. I was in season three, but even then, I looked out of place.

And that seems to happen. A lot of the season one kids are no longer in it because the dynamics have changed. But during the time you were on the show, what was the atmosphere like on set?

If you’ve seen the show, you know the set is just incredible ’cause everything is early twentieth century, and the buildings are pretty real. It’s not like they add in a ton of stuff  post-production to try to make it more real. All the houses are real, and there’s dust everywhere. And it’s kind of surreal being there, and it’s so different from everything else.

When Calls the Heart
Crown Media Press

The cast is always so nice. Like Erin {Krakow} is amazing. She’s one of the nicest people, and it was so great seeing her again at the reunion. My family was awesome. Laura, my mom, was so great, and that’s who I spent most of my time with. I wasn’t with the other kids for most of my scenes. I think When Calls the Heart is one of the most memorable things I’ve ever done in my life. Not even just in my acting, but in my entire life.

I didn’t realize that you were also in A Country Wedding.

Behind-the-Scenes: A Country Wedding

Yes, that was around the same time as Cedar Cove and When Calls the Heart season two. A Country Wedding was awesome. That was another fun production to work on. I remember the barn scene, and that was where the majority of scene was. It was a cool, super old barn, and there were places where we couldn’t step or the wood would break. So it was real in that sense. There was an awesome co-worker who was my age, and we’re still friends–Farryn {VanHumbeck}. We were in a couple of things together as well. We still see each other at auditions sometimes.

Now, that was all your Hallmark projects to date, right?

Yes, I think so. There was the UP TV movie Welcome Home. But all the other stuff was on Hallmark.

So you mention your UP TV work which has a similar audience to Hallmark. I know I have not seen your movie Welcome Home. But I saw it on your reel, and it looks like something worth watching.

Behind-the-Scenes: Welcome Home

I would totally recommend it. The lead in it is a guy from the ’90’s, from 90210–Luke Perry. He’s kind of the heartthrob on the movie. I play the son in this homeless family, and we just got evicted from our house, and we don’t have anywhere else to go. We go back to our house where Luke Perry is staying ’cause he’s the new owner. So it’s the interaction between our life and his life. It shows how the homeless population in North America…sometimes it really isn’t their fault. It’s just wrong place, wrong time. And in the movie, we get to see how they have to deal with the struggle. Again, it is quite a real movie about real problems that are going on today.

Behind-the-Scenes: A Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce

I’ve heard of A Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce, but I’ve not seen it. 

The show is on Bravo. It’s filmed in Vancouver, but it’s supposed to take place in LA. That was another fun show to be on. I haven’t seen really any episodes; I don’t know if they’re appropriate for me. I know my mom has some friends who watch the show, and they say they like it. I had a smaller role; I played the nephew of the lead.

Is there anything else upcoming that you can mention?

I had a small part in an ABC show called Imaginary Mary. I played a not-so-nice guy saying some bad stuff, and I get put in my place.

I interviewed Matreya Scarrwener who is a big part of that show.

Yes, of course. And her character is the one that put me in my place. I was in episode three that aired back on April 11th. I know I usually play the nice guy like in When Calls the Heart. I maybe started off a little bit bad in that series, but I got better. And in the other shows I’ve been in, I’ve been nice and wholesome. But this one, I got a little bit more of an edge.

Well, that’s good. I always think it’s nice for actors to do something a little bit different. Otherwise you get typecast.

For me, I had maybe three or four different shows where I played the son of a father who’s died. For some reason, it’s been a common role for me to play the sad son.

And then you can also catch me with a lot of cool people this summer on UP TV in the show Date My Dad. A former Heartie actress has a big part in that show–Lilah Fitzgerald.

When you’re filming, how does school work for you?

For filming, if we film three days or more continuously, then we have a tutor on set. I give them all my work–what I’m doing, what I’m learning about. They just help me if I have homework or help me get caught up on work. And if I don’t have anything, they’ll make up an assignment for me.

If it’s two days or less, I can get caught up on my work pretty easily. I’m usually good about keeping up-to-date on all my work. I’m not slacking or falling behind. School does come before acting. If my grades are starting to slip, then it’s time to take a break from acting and get the grades back up. And then I can see if I can start doing the acting thing again. Luckily, I haven’t been faced with that situation yet because I’ve been able to keep my grades up while still doing the acting.

When you do have free time, what kinds of things do you like to do?

As the good Canadian that I am, I play hockey. I don’t play super-competitively; I just play with my friends. I’m also an avid movie watcher. I have a huge file of movies–I love movies! And TV shows too. And those are my two other passions.

I also have two dogs who love to bark when I need them to be quiet. I know they’ve interrupted our interview more than once.

Oh, that’s no trouble, Will. Good to know you’re an animal lover too. {pause} As a young person, it seems that you’ve been able to keep yourself away from the negative stuff. That’s something I always admire about the young people I’ve gotten to interview. Why do you think you’ve been able to stay away from all the bad influences?

Well, I think a lot of it has to do with is how I was brought up. My parents always keep an eye on me, no matter what I do. They’re gonna be doing that for the rest of my life. They’re always going to be there guiding me and helping me do my thing and making the right decisions and making sure they are my decisions and not the decisions of someone else. And I think that’s super great. It keeps me having my head on my shoulders and being aware of everything going on. And I think that’s what it comes down to, at least for me. It’s how my parents raised me.

You know, I really begin to wonder how on earth this show has been blessed enough to feature the most amazing and talented child actors over the past four years! I have not yet found any of those conceited, troublesome youths that make the tabloids and the local news (for the wrong reasons) with all too much regularity. And here is another graduate of Hope Valley who has persevered even after his time on When Calls the Heart, and Will is still just as grounded, intelligent, kind, and skilled as he was back then. Maybe it’s a Canadian thing….

Notwithstanding, I applaud Will for his dedication to his craft as well as his education and his willingness to follow his parents’ lead. Additionally, I am grateful that he has continued with his career, and within a few moments of conversing with him, I knew beyond the shadow of the doubt that his fledgling acting career is not a passing thing; this is his passion. And I can hardly wait to see what the future holds for this young man who will be an adult before we know it. Here’s hoping that Hallmark brings him back in a supporting role capacity in one of their beloved films and eventually as a male lead! 

Until that time, be sure that you check out Will’s links below and follow him on social media if you are so inclined. Indeed, he is another example of what is right with this world, and as long as the future of this planet is in the hands of sober-minded, gracious, gifted young people like Will, I think it’s safe to say that we are in good hands and should be optimistic for the future not only of the entertainment business, but our world in general!

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