Stacey Farber’s Virgin River character Tara Anderson had one of the most crushing storylines of the latest season as she dealt with her mother Lilly’s (played by Lynda Boyd) cancer diagnosis. However, the actress revealed she could have been playing a completely different character in the heartstring-tugging Netflix drama.
The Virgin River actress confirmed she originally auditioned to portray Brie, the troubled younger sister of Jack Sheridan (Martin Henderson).
Introduced in the third season of the smalltown romance, Brie is actually portrayed by actress Zibby Allen.
Fans were thrilled to see Jack’s sister introduced as much of his past before the series remains a mystery.
However, her story took some dark turns when Mel (Alexandra Breckenridge) discovered she had developed a dependency on Xanax.
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Although Zibby and Stacey nailed their respective characters, there was a chance the two actresses could have switched places in the early audition stages.
Stacey recalled: “I got the booking in Vancouver in the pandemic, so I was just so grateful to have a job.
“I don’t think people know this, but I actually taped an audition for the role of Brie first.”
Stacey opened up about her role on the Hallmarkies Podcast, including the tricky process of auditioning for the show.
“And then, when it finally came out, a long time later, it had blown up. I’m still shocked at how many people tuned into that season.”
The newcomer soon became one of fans’ favourite characters, thanks, in part, to her emotional storyline with her terminally ill mother, Lilly.
Although Brie’s time on the series still had some hard-hitting moments, she may not have found playing Jack’s sister quite so challenging as Stacey.
She admitted: “It was really hard, actually. I wish I could say ‘No, it’s all the same’.”
“But, no, it was really hard. And I was really nervous about it. Especially those later episodes.
“I remember my mum was in town visiting me in Vancouver, and I was really stressed. I didn’t think I’d be able to pull it off. It’s probably the most intense thing I’ve had to perform.”
Tragically, Tara had to watch her mother pass away from pancreatic cancer in a later episode of season eight.
Although Lilly assured her she wouldn’t have to remain in Virgin River out of obligation, Tara will be coming back for season four after receiving an anonymous donation from Mel to stay in town.
Virgin River seasons 1-3 are available to stream on Netflix.
Published at Sat, 05 Mar 2022 03:01:00 +0000
Virgin River’s Brie was almost played by different actor as star opens up on failed tape
