If you have followed my interviews for any length of time, you will be well aware of the fact that the young actors are consistently some of my topmost favorites to interview. In the case of Genea Charpentier, I have had the amazing opportunity of interviewing her four times now! Our fourth (and most recent) interview occurred in the height of the pandemic crisis when she was finishing school online and waiting for the lockdown to end. While things are slowly opening in British Columbia and it appears that When Calls the Heart season eight will begin filming next month, I believe it is the perfect time to post this delightful interview with the most seasoned of the young actors on Hallmark’s most popular television series!
RH: Genea, it is so great to chat with you again!
GC: Thanks, it’s great to chat with you again too, Ruth. How are you doing?
I would say as well as can be expected. How are things going for you?
Things are going pretty well. Nothing’s really happening in BC right now. I know the restrictions are starting to be lifted.
I know what you mean. I’ve heard it mentioned that July is a possible time to start filming again, but we’ll see.
Yeah, I’ve heard late June or early July. It’s going to be surprising for me when things go right back to normal right away. As much as I would hope it does, but…
I think that’s what we’re all experiencing right now. It’s been a crazy time with lockdown extended various times throughout the U.S. Here in Washington state, it’s been very difficult. Things are just starting to open up, but not all over yet.
It’s been like that here for a while. We couldn’t do anything. It was hard when they closed our provincial parks. I was very happy when they started opening those up again because before they closed them, we would go hiking. It was great to finally be able to go outside a little more.
Well, I’m glad things are starting to get back to some sort of normal. And the good news, of course, is that When Calls the Heart was renewed for season eight!
Yes, that’s great news!
In my opinion, once everything gets opened back up, that show is going to be a priority.
Yeah, I agree. We don’t normally start filming until late July anyway, so hopefully, our filming schedule won’t be affected too much. I see us resuming filming obviously when it’s safe to do so. Whether that’s in late July or whether it’s in August. I know we used to film closer to fall, and it was normally so cold, and we would film into January. So it’s a lot nicer now. It’s a little hotter when we film now. I guess we’ll just see what happens.
I was just so glad that they made the announcement about the renewal before the season ended officially. It was so great to have that news amid the negativity in the world.
Yes, it’s a happy thing to look forward to. I agree with you.
During the past season, we didn’t see your character quite as much as we might like to. I know you’re still like the nanny for Baby Jack. Or do they call you a governess?
I think they call me the nanny, but I feel like I do everything. I do the laundry. I do the dishes. I do housework. So I guess you can call me the nanny/housekeeper/maid/all of it I guess! {laughs}
It is always great to see you on the show. You’ve been growing up on this show all these years, and now you’re the one helping Elizabeth. It’s really neat to see that. I am so glad they put you in that position.
I feel like I’m very lucky to be continuing as Laura on the show. Sometimes in these kinds of shows, kids will go off to school and never be seen again. I really enjoy that I’m still in Hope Valley, and I hope that I can continue to grow up in Hope Valley even more.
Do we know how old Laura is?
I always say that if I’m not given an age for my character that the character is gonna be my age. I’m sixteen now. So I would say she’s fifteen or sixteen. I know that most people in that time period didn’t go to school for a long period of time. They would normally be done at thirteen or fourteen. So I’m guessing that’s pretty much what they decided with my character.
Right. Robert was fifteen this year, and he was already thinking of leaving school and becoming a Mountie.
Yeah. I really like seeing all of the younger characters who we’ve seen as little kids trying to discover what they want to do in life. As I begin to imagine what we want to do next season with all the storylines, I think it would be so cool to see a bunch of the younger kids grow up a little bit and do stuff in Hope Valley. Especially for Robert and Emily. They’re getting a little bit older. I talked to Kadence {Roach} recently, and she was talking about when maybe they’re going to choose her character as a little bit of older character. You can’t stay little forever, so I’m looking forward to seeing what will happen with them.
I am so glad they are featuring you, Genea. And hopefully, some of the others will follow suit. Like you said, all too often, when kids start growing up on these shows, they go away and don’t come back. Or maybe they’ll just bring them back for a special episode. Or they might just jump ahead a few years and have someone else play the part. I’m so glad we still get to see you.
I’m very grateful to still be a part of this show.
You know, I guess you were in just about as many scenes as the other kids were, come to think of it. Did you have a favorite episode or scene to film last season?
I don’t know if I had a favorite episode, but I remember shooting the scene where Elizabeth comes back after the windstorm. I remember shooting it, and I thought it was such a cute little moment when she comes back to Jack. I didn’t have much to say in that scene, but I thought it was a sweet moment between those two even if I wasn’t really included.
But besides being on set, it just makes me so happy, so I can’t really choose any specific scene. But being with the twins…I am with the twins all the time when I’m on set. And that’s one of the best parts of it.
Is it a challenge to do scenes with the twins? I know Kavan {Smith} and Pascale {Hutton} told me some things that happened on set with the twins. Were there moments on set with them that were maybe not bad, but were challenging?
I think that the boys are getting a lot better at being on set than when they first started. I’m good with kids, so I wouldn’t say it was difficult. But it is a little bit harder to imagine what they might do on set.
I remember there was this one scene, and I forget which twin I was with, but it was my coverage. That’s when the camera is on me, and it’s getting my dialogue. The twin started crying, and I was like, “It’s okay.” I was trying to do the scenes. They cut at that moment, and I calmed him down. Then we started the scene again, and he started crying again. Since we were having problems, I remember that someone said they were going to switch the twins. I thought that was such a good idea because that’s why you have two of them. It was so good, but it was a very funny moment ’cause you never know what those two are going to do. I was just sitting there, and that was probably the toughest moment I’ve ever had with them. I don’t like seeing babies cry, and when I feel like they’re crying because of me, I feel really bad.
I can imagine.
But they’re really good twins. They’re super cool to be around, and we’re lucky to have them. And we’re lucky to have their mom, Chelsea, too. She’s such a sweetie, and of course, she’s so good with them.
I’m so glad to hear that. I can imagine. I’m a mother, and of course, I didn’t have twins. I only have one child, so any mother with multiples, I totally salute. I know that some actors don’t like acting with kids. I mean, whatever scene “Jack” is in, he will be the focus, not you. No matter what else is going on. Our attention is focused on these cute little boys.
Uh-huh! And they’re so cute!! You can’t help but look at them.
I know! But since they’re not professionally-trained actors, I’m sure you’re all gonna have those times. And I’ve heard sometimes that they have to change the script a little bit because of the boys.
Yes, I don’t know if I’ve told you, but the birthday episode that came out last Christmas, we were trying to get the boys to eat the cake. And they didn’t want to eat the cake! The Taylor Twins are obsessed with fishy crackers, so we hid little fishy crackers on the cake plate. So they were eating fishy crackers instead of cake!
{laughs} Oh, cute!!
I don’t understand how a kid can’t not like cake. I was talking with Erin {Krakow}, and even she was confused about how a toddler could not want to eat cake. But we figured it out and it ended up really well.
Who knows? It just may have been for that particular moment of that day. That isn’t what they wanted, and maybe if you could have filmed it a different day, they would have eaten it. But you didn’t have that luxury when you were filming. But it’s great that you figured out how to make that work. Now, as we look at going into season eight, while I know the actors don’t always get a say about what their character’s story arc, but as we look ahead and if you were able to make a request for Laura, what are some things you would like to see for her in season eight?
I see Laura continuing in Hope Valley. I think she’s a very personal person, so I would love to see her grow up a bit more in Hope Valley like I mentioned earlier. I would really enjoy seeing her invested in her art again because I remember how in season three, she was in school for art, and that’s all she did. I think it would be nice if we got to introduce that storyline again. I really love being the nanny, so I really hope I get to stay the nanny. I think it would be nice if I got to teach Jack a little bit of art. I don’t know if people remember, but Mountie Jack was really good at drawing. So I think it would be nice to see someone who little Jack can look up to in an artistic way.
I would also love to see a couple of the kids get mentored by the older actors in the show. I think Jaiven {Natt}–Robert–would be such a great Mountie. I think it would be really interested to see the dynamic between the older and younger actors. Besides that, I really hope for more stories for the kids to keep developing as we get a little bit more growth in our characters.
I still look forward to the time when a little romance happens between the kids.
I have to agree. It would be cute to have some young love in Hope Valley. I’ve talked with Gracyn {Shinyei} and we realize that we are mostly teenagers now, and maybe we could have a love interest. I’m the oldest of all of us. I really think that a young romance in the show would be so cute. It would definitely add a little bit to our characters.
I know Jaiven is totally down for it. I think he’s been waiting for a romance to happen for a couple of seasons now. So I guess we’ll have to see how many seasons the show goes, and how they might introduce a potential young romance. I am honestly still amazed at the support for the show after all these years. It’s not even on one of the main networks. It’s on Hallmark in the U.S. and Super Channel Heart & Home in Canada.
Oh yeah, it just makes me beyond excited for what’s in the future and what we can do to bring everybody else into the future.
This past season was ironic. Laura wasn’t in the episode about the chickenpox, was she?
No, she wasn’t.
{Thanks to Heartie Annette Zoaps, I discovered I was wrong! Laura was in the episode. I sometimes forget, and it is difficult for actors to remember all their scenes when they are not always shot in order. For those who need a reminder (like I did): “After assuring Elizabeth she’d had it years before, she babysat little Jack while Elizabeth went to bring Rosemary soup and sit with her.”}
I didn’t think she was. How ironic that that episode was shown when things were just starting to shut down due to coronavirus.
We couldn’t predict what would happen either, but it was crazy the parallel between both universes.
Thankfully everyone in town made it through, including Rosemary. No one died, and the episode inspired hope. I sure hope you all will be back very soon. From what I’ve read, it’s the smaller productions that are going to start back filming first.
I really hope so. I don’t exactly know how many people work on our show, but I know there’s always moving parts to it. I’ve read a lot of different ideas. Some of the bigger ones are talking about doing it in shifts. Like they’re gonna have some filming during the day and some at night. I think that could potentially work. But there definitely has to be a lot of consideration that goes into it before we start going back.
Of course, the most important thing is that we want everyone safe. But at some point, we have to start going back to some sort of normalcy.
Right. The world can’t stay shut down forever. As people go back into normal–I know it’s not going to be normal for a little bit–but you still have to have some light at the end of the tunnel. You have to be hopeful that eventually, it’s gonna get back to what you want it to be. They can’t keep you locked up in your house forever.
I agree. Now, do you have anything else that is out or coming out soon?
I filmed a movie last year, and it already came out earlier this year. It’s called Poisoned Love. That was the last thing I’ve done. I can’t work right now. I’ve been trying to keep busy by going out walking and hiking. We’re trying to have stuff at home so we’re not completely bored. I also started learning the ukulele.
Really? So you and Andrea Brooks should do a duet. She plays the ukulele too.
I feel like the whole class has some musical abilities, so I guess we’ll see if anything musical happens on the show. Then on a more personal thing, I’ve been writing a screenplay.
Really???
So that’s also fun for me. It gives me something to do besides school. It’s kind of exciting doing something that I always would have wanted to see myself in. So I created something that I would have loved as a role for myself. So I guess we’ll see where that goes too!
Well, you never know. And with writing, I know some people will say that you shouldn’t write unless you want it to get published or to get it made into a movie. But that’s not true. I’ve been writing since I was in grade four, and I have loads of stuff I’ve written that nobody else has ever (or will ever) read.
Yeah, it’s kind of just for yourself. Obviously, it would be fun to have something come out of it, so if anything comes out of it, I would be so happy. But it just depends on what ends up happening and what I do with it.
This is just fantastic, Genea. I’m so glad that When Calls the Heart has kept you throughout the seasons. I know you’re at a very difficult age when it’s hard to get roles sometimes.
That’s true. Normally when casting directors look at parts for sixteen/seventeen/eighteen-year-olds, they want to cast someone who is older because you can’t work as long if you’re younger. Since I’m sixteen, I can only work like ten or eleven hours at a time.
True. Well, at least When Calls the Heart is treating the kids right.
Yes, they sure are.
Well, thank you for your time, Genea. Very excited to see you back in season eight!
Thank you, Ruth, for the wonderful interview. And thanks to all the Hearties for your support.
I cannot even describe the immense pride and deep respect I have for Genea. While I have been watching all these extraordinary “Hope Valley” kids evolve and mature over the seasons, there has always been something distinctive about Genea. While I adore each of the Hope Valley Kids particularly, I think part of it is that Genea and my daughter are almost the same age. But in addition to that, Genea has this unique and sophisticated way of sharing insightful ideas about the show, the world, and simply life as a whole. She’s a profound thinker, and perhaps I connect with her on that level since I am the same way. Moreover, the fact that she is writing a screenplay!! I mean, could I love this young woman any more?
While it appears that the beloved When Calls the Heart set will roar to life again next month, I am nothing but expectant and hopeful that season eight is going to be the absolute choicest season this show (or any show, for that matter) has ever seen. The caliber of the cast never fails to impress and entertain, and there isn’t a single cast or crew member that I do not unconditionally treasure with my entire being. I would match the Hope Valley kids against ANY other set that boasts exceptional child actors any day, and my money would always be on these young people being the cream of the crop, no holds barred.
If you have not had the opportunity to watch When Calls the Heart… (Wait, what?????? Where on earth have you been?? Okay, just kidding!! I promise! I know I live in a Hallmark bubble sometimes.) If you have not watched this phenomenal show, I invite you to check it out on Netflix, Amazon, iTunes, Google Play…a plethora of streaming sites out there carry this show, and despite the drama that has threatened to quench the spirit and the run of the show, there is nothing that will halt the momentum this show continues to experience both nationally and globally. (I would venture to say that should our brave young men and women ever colonize space as is being discussed, this would be one of the must-have shows that they would insist on taking with them!)
While you are savoring When Calls the Heart either for the first or the thousandth time, be sure that you watch for the character of Laura as played impeccably by the sumptuous and gifted Genea. And while you’re at it, be sure that you visit her links below and consider following her on your preferred social media platform. (She tends to post a bit more on Instagram, but don’t all the young people do that today??) As I consider Genea’s future and all she has achieved over her life thus far, I could not be more dazzled and charmed by the woman and artist she is now and is still becoming. I have no idea what the future holds for this spectacular starlet, but it gives me courage and hope to witness the dynamic exploits of amazing young people like Genea who I know are our future, and I can hardly wait to see how Genea and her cohorts are going to shake up this world for the better!
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Genea Charpentier
CHECK OUT MY OTHER INTERVIEWS WITH GENEA
Interview With Actress Genea Charpentier, “When Calls the Heart”
Interview With Actress Genea Charpentier, “When Calls the Heart”
https://starrymag.com/genea-charpentier-when-calls-the-heart/
