This Charming Man
Source: Starburst Magazine [Issue #312]
Article By: Dave Waldon
Transcribed By: Drew Fuller Fan.com
Date: July 2004

For Charmed's Drew Fuller, working on the sexily supernatural show is nothing short of pure magic.

Magic can appear in very many different ways, especially on television. It can be the subject of a series, as it is on Charmed, which follows enchanted sisters as they cope with their mystical powers and juggle living single-girl lives in San Francisco. Or, in the case of Drew Fuller, magic can occur behind the scenes. Or maybe it's just resilience that planted the 23-year-old Fuller into a pivotal role in Charmed's successfully fun sixth season. Either way, Fuller himself may have his own term in mind -third time lucky.

"This is my third time around with The WB," explains Fuller, who plays Chris, the grown son of Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Leo (Brian Krause) who travels from the future to save the day for the Halliwell sisters. "I had a pilot three years ago that never made it off the ground, and then I had a show last year (the failed martial-arts drama Black Sash) that we shot seven episodes of, so this is actually my first full, complete year on network television. So as much as you think, 'Oh yeah, it's easy, it's not going to be that hard,' literally, you get to episode 13, and it's like, you're working every single day. But Fuller's not complaining about the grind of doing an hour-long series because, in fact, he's kind of fourth-time lucky. Chris, you see, was not an original part of the show's long-term plans. "Truth be told, I originally signed on for two episodes as a guest-star, and that was going to be the season finale of last year," he says. "And there was the possibility of two more (episodes) depending on how the crowd reacted, how I jelled with the cast, obviously. And then the producers saw the dynamic and they liked what they saw, and they called me over the summer and said, 'Yeah, we're going to pick you up for the whole season.' "

It also was then that the Charmed bosses began hinting at the importance Chris would have during the impending season. What made Fuller's position even more interesting was that for a time, he was the only cast member who knew the truth about Chris, who was introduced as just another Whitelighter assigned with watching over the sisters when Leo got promoted to the Council of Elders.

"[Leo and Piper] didn't know I was their son, but I did," says Fuller. "And in real life, I knew, but they didn't. That's actually been the hardest thing. I mean, it's an easy thing for a character because now I have direction. All of a sudden my relationship with Holly and Brian is much different that if I wasn't their son. But it's also been difficult because I couldn't tell anyone, whether it be in interviews or on-set."

The cat, of course, is now definitely out of the bag, but its initial bundling didn't adversely affect relationships between the rest of the cast and Fuller. He playfully balks when asked if he has a favorite among his fellow actors, but does speak with affection about the lot of them, noting that he forged close bonds with them on varying levels. "I've learned the most acting-wise, probably, from Alyssa (Milano)," says Fuller. "She's fearless in her approach to acting. She's been doing it for so long and is so confident and comfortable within her own skin that she'll, take after take, do something different for you every time, and she's not afraid to go for that. And I think that's the best part about acting. The biggest reward is when you trust yourself so completely, you can just let go. And when you let go, that's when the magic happens. That's when you're not worried about anything. There are no inhibitions; there's just being. And so I've really taken that as inspiration. "Rose (McGowan) is one of the smartest individuals I've ever met in my life. She's a power reader. She can read a book in three hours, and she retains everything. She's lived all over the world. And Holly is the sweetest individual ever. She's so awesome. Whenever I felt like I had a problem or something and I wanted to talk about, I would go to Holly immediately. And Brian is a sports guy, but I love sports. Brian and I could talk about sports for hours."

Next to his family and his job, sports may be the biggest deal in Fuller's life. He was on a career track toward professional tennis before modeling and acting diverted him, but today he prefers so-called "action sports" such as surfing, snowboarding and mountain climbing. It's in the blood: His father surfs nearly every morning. And it's part of Fuller he's not willing to give up, even under edict from his Charmed bosses. "I actually made them change my contract," says Fuller, referring to the common clause that prohibits actors from activities that may result in injury. "It's really funny, because whenever anyone looks at me, they're, like, 'You play sports?' But that was very important. I made them change the contract. I was, like, I have to do this, this is part of my life. I'm really not going to stop.' "

Paying The Price Of Fame

The thing about fame is that, well, you're famous. Suddenly activities that a person could enjoy in anonymity become mini media events. Such is the life of Drew Fuller now that he's logged a year on Charmed, one of the more popular shows among the younger set these days.

"I was having dinner with my dad and mom a couple of weeks ago, and these people at Behihana's came up to us and went, 'We love you,' " says Fuller. "And it was so weird because two years ago I would have dinner with my parents, and no one would bat an eye. And now all of a sudden it was like, 'Hey, they know me, they know my name, they know where I went to school and who I'm dating and all this stuff.' It's craziness."

So who is Drew Fuller dating? He's not going there, but he's also not going to bash the fans who have become part of his existence."I hate it when I hear about actors and actresses who hate the fans and really aren't polite and do 'Leave me alone.' Acting is sharing a part of you to the world, " he says. "I understand that that's part of the job, and it's a good part of the job. It's fun to connect with these people."

But seriously, Drew, who are you dating? "C'mon!," Fuller says.