The Good Witch

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A Conversation With “The Good Witch” Star Chris Potter

When it came to playing a devoted family man in the Hallmark Original movie “The Good Witch,” no research was required for Chris Potter.  “I’ve been a dad for nearly 17 years,” he notes.  “I’ve got four kids.  I’ve been researching dad roles for almost my entire adult life!”

Potter – best known for two 1990s TV series: “Kung Fu: The Legend Continues” and “Silk Stalkings” – is still married to his high school sweetheart.  He says he bases all career decisions on how it affects the whole family, not just himself.  That includes his decision to move back to his native Canada five years ago.  “It’s probably to the detriment of my career advancement, being so far away from Los Angeles,” he notes.  “It takes me out of the market a bit.  Oftentimes, if you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind.”

But Potter has no complaints, because the move has been good for the family.  “I tend to look at the big picture and, when it comes to my career, I can see that it’s not about me -– it’s about them.  And my kids are all pretty well adjusted.  I get more satisfaction out of that than from any acting job.  In my book, my family is what makes me successful.”

That said, Potter has no objections when a choice role, such as Jake Russell in “The Good Witch,” comes along.  Potter stars opposite Catherine Bell in the romantic comedy.  He plays a small-town police chief and a widowed father of two whose life changes when a woman believed to be a witch moves to town.

What most attracted you to “The Good Witch”?

“First of all, I think it’s important programming.  Hallmark movies are wholesome stories and they’re nice to do.  I’m a family guy.  I may not be the most wholesome guy in the world, but I try.  And I see a need for this kind of movie.  It’s the kind of movie that you can watch and then go to bed that night and sleep without being disturbed by what you just saw.  A lot of the shows that are on TV today, I find that I go to bed anxious after watching them, because they’re so unsettling.  This movie is the opposite of that:  You actually feel good watching it.”

What did you think of your leading lady, Catherine Bell?

“She was great.  I didn’t know Catherine was going to do it at first.  Then, when I found out, I said, ‘Oh, that’s an interesting choice.’  But she’s a very funny lady and very good at romantic comedy.  People will see her in a different light than they’re used to once they see her in this movie.  People know her from ‘JAG,’ but she’s got more depth as an actress than just that.”

Do you think Catherine’s character, Cassie Nightingale, is really a witch?

“Well, the way I played it, Jake is practical, even skeptical to a degree, but still open-minded.  Kind of, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.  Until then, let’s just pull back the layers of the onion and see what this woman is all about.’  The thing that was fun for me, though, is how I don’t really even notice this beautiful woman at first.  Jake Russell is a character who is kind of lonesome. 

He’s in a small town.  He has lost his wife.  He’s raising two kids with help from his father-in-law.  And I played it as, with Catherine coming to town, he doesn’t even notice that there are romantic sparks between them.  It slowly dawns on him, of course, but it doesn’t open with an ‘Oh, wow, look who just came to town!’ moment for him.”

Even though you didn’t have to research how to play a parent, you still had to connect with the young actors playing your kids.  How did you do that?

“I usually pull out my bag of tricks that work on my kids -- my youngest is 10; my oldest is almost 17 -- and I see if there’s a response to that.  I find a common ground and work from there.  Like, with the boy who plays my son [Matthew Knight], he doesn’t have a dad.  So here, he instantly attached to me and we hung out and we got along really well.  And the girl who plays my daughter [Hannah Endicott-Douglas], she was smart and very good.  And I have three daughters, so that’s how I got with it.”

Anything you found dissatisfying about the role?

“Well, it’s a minor thing and it’s funny now.  But I did ask the question as to whether my character, the chief of police, had to wear his gun belt all the time.  What a pain it was.  Literally!  To have that heavy gun slapping me on the leg every step I made.  And the walkie-talkie and the cuffs and so on.  It felt like my pants were always drooping because of all this heavy gear.  Ah, the things we actors have to put up with for our craft!”

What do you think viewers will be able to get out of this movie?

“Mostly they’ll just have a good time.  It’s a pretty simple story.  It’s a good cast.  No deep message gets hammered home.  But I think it’s full of fun little moments that are pretty satisfying.”

-- HALLMARK CHANNEL --