Back From The Future
Source: Xposé Magazine [Issue #82]
Article By: Steven Eramo
Transcribed By: Drew Fuller Fan.com
Date: December/January 2004

He's the new Whitelighter... but he seems drawn to the Dark Side. Steven Eramo talks to Charmed's newcomer Drew Fuller to try to discover the truth about Chris's motivations...

At one time or another, we've all wished we could travel back in time and change the past. But only Whitelighters can make the dream a reality. On Charmed, the Halliwell sisters' new guardian angel, Chris Peterson, just happens to be from the future. The enigmatic Whitelighter is a man with a mission, which includes saving one of The Charmed Ones from certain death and protecting baby Wyatt from an evil force that is determined to destroy him. It all sounds very noble, but is Chris on the side of Good or Evil, or just out for himself? Nobody quite knows for sure, and as for the actor behind the Whitelighter, Drew Fuller, he's not about to tell --at least not yet.

"It's always been in the plan to explore and basically reveal to the viewers along with the sisters why my character is really here and what his true agenda is," notes Fuller. "However, it's going to be a slow process. I'm sure people have been thinking, "OK, exactly who is Chris? What's he doing here? Why did he do something good last week and now this week he's doing something that looks to be bad?' Everyone hates not knowing but deep down they secretly love to be kept in suspense. I promise, though, that audiences will be made privy as to why Chris is here. In fact, we recently shot an episode that reveals a bit of that secret. I'm really looking forward to the next couple of months as there's going to be lots of cool things happening with all our characters."

Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Fuller was discovered by an agent after a family friend put him on the cover of UC-SC (University of Southern California) magazine. When he turned 16, the young man began modeling and became a familiar face in print ads for such designers as Tommy Hilfiger, Prada, and Club Med. It wasn't long before Fuller made the leap to TV, where he appeared in commercials for J Crew, Subway, Toyota and Pepsi, among others, before his acting career began in earnest on the big screen. Among his feature film credits are Angels Don't Sleep Here, One, and Vampire Clan, in which he played real-life serial killer Rod Ferrell.

"That role was a tough one in that I booked the job on a Friday and we began shooting the following Monday," recalls the actor. "I really wanted to fly to talk with the person I was portraying. Unfortunately, there wasn't time so I just had to dive in. I thought it turned out pretty good and I guess a few other people did, too, because the movie opened a number of doors for me."

When it comes to the small screen, nearly all the projects the actor has been involved in have one thing in common --Aaron Spelling. Last year, he starred in a Spelling Television pilot for The WB Network called Home of the Brave (aka Brats). The pilot never aired but his work did not go unnoticed, and he was hired for yet another Spelling/WB series, Black Sash. Sadly, that program lasted a mere three months but, once again, Fuller's efforts were not in vain. He was eventually cast as Chris in Charmed's fifth season finale 'Oh My Goddess'. Fuller had mixed emotions during the filming of the two-part episode.

"I was excited and nervous at the same time, and can you blame me," he says. "After all, this is a show whose stars are three very talented and gorgeous women, all of whom have strong and charismatic personalities. I was a new kid on the block, the freshman, and they're all seniors. I wanted to do the best I could and have everything be perfect. The hardest part for me was just saying the lines. In some of my scenes I'm talking about magic, vanquishing spells, Titans, etc. The dialogue has a mystical element to it and it can get your tongue-tied. It's all Shakespearean in many ways and it's your job to make it all sound believable to the audience."

As Leo became an Elder, Chris had to take his place as the girls' Whitelighter, while somehow keeping the truth from them --that it was he who'd banished Leo. This is just one of the many secrets he must keep from the witches now the character's become a regular for the sixth season.

"Chris has to make The Charmed Ones like him enough so that they will want to invite him into their home and trust him as their Whitelighter," explains Fuller. "It's not easy, though, because he has to earn their trust without revealing anything about his real agenda. As an actor, it's a terrific challenge for me to play a character with such a duplicitous nature. Chris is always frustrated because the sisters have been going off on their individual paths recently and he needs them to stick together if he hopes to accomplish his mission."

In the sixth season opener Valhalley of the Dolls, the girls' search for Leo led them to the battlefields of Valhalla, where Leo attempted to force a confession out of Chris during a sword fight. For those seasons, Fuller and costar Brian Krause placed themselves in the capable hands of the show's stunt coordinator Noon Orsatti.

"Both Noon and his father [Ernie] are legends in the business," says the actor. "Right after we got back from hiatus and before we began shooting this episode, Noon took me aside one day and said, 'As you know, there's a big fight scene between you and Brian that's coming up in this story. The producers have given me some thoughts on what they'd like to see.' I said, 'Terrific, and, in fact, I have one or two ideas, too.' So he, Brian and I mapped out all the moves. It took us one full day to shoot those scenes and we worked our asses off.

"I remember coming into work beforehand and practicing with the sword. The thing was, they didn't want Chris to be that good. Leo had spent five weeks being forced by the Valkyries to fight, so it made sense that he'd be better at it than my character. However, at one point, I begged the producers not to let me look like such a wimp," he chuckles. "They finally relented and let me get in a couple of moves. Of course, Chris ended up losing to Leo but at least he tried, so that was cool."

At the time of this interview, the actor was about to start work on a story called 'Little Monsters'. "It's one of the best scripts I've ever read," enthuses Fuller. "It deals with the issue of nurture versus nature but on an even higher level. Some trust issues will also come to a head so it's going to be a neat episode."

"Of the stories we've shot so far this year I especially like the one with the dragon ['Forget Me...Not']. 'The Power of Three Blondes' was a blast, too. What can I say, getting to kiss Jenny McCarthy wasn't too shabby," laughs the actor. "She was a lot of fun to work with."

He may have become much more comfortable walking in Chris' shoes, but Fuller isn't about to start coasting. "I'm never satisfied with my performance. I want to keep pushing myself," he says. "The great thing about being an actor is you're always learning. That's what excites me about the job and what continues to drive me."

Job Satisfaction

"We recently had a visit from some children from the Make A Wish Foundation. There was a little girl named Bailey and a boy named Dakota and they spent the day on the set. It was the most amazing and special time as well as a life-changing experience for me. Here were these two little kids whose dying wish was to hang out with us and give me a hug to find out if Chris is good or bad, or simply ask Alyssa [Milano] a question or talk to Rose [McGowan] and Holly [Marie Combs]. It helped put so many things into perspective for me. I finally realized that what we do is far much bigger than we perhaps sometimes think and that it has an impact on a great many people. I'd never felt better about my job than I did on that day. Their visit brought so much joy to the set and it made me want to get involved in doing more charity work."

Bad Boy

Although it was relatively short, Fuller thoroughly enjoyed his time filming the martial arts show Black Sash. "I loved playing Nick Reed. I was the bad boy. Nick was, at least in my opinion, the best role on the show. The rest of the characters were very much squeaky clean, whereas Nick had an attitude and all these personal demons he had to overcome. I don't mean to sound as if I'm gushing about the roles I've had but I've truly been blessed with how my career has been going. So I had a great time on Black Sash. Russell Wong is a fantastic actor and a pleasure to work with and I feel the same about Sarah Carter, who I think is just brilliant. It was also a treat to get out of Los Angeles for a few months and live in Vancouver, which is where the series was shot. I lived downtown and walked everywhere. The vibe in that city is incredible. I hope I have the chance to go back up there and work on something else."