Virgin River's Star Almost Had a Very Different Part on the Show
Great characters almost always end up being synonymous with the actors who portray them.
Once the imagination of the audience is captured, a connection is developed, and it becomes difficult – if not impossible – to imagine any other actor taking on the role. However, it's also very common for actors to audition for one role during the casting process and end up being chosen for one they didn't even consider, and the hit romantic drama is no exception.
There's no doubt that Virgin River wouldn't be the same without Alexandra Breckenridge in the lead role of Mel Monroe and Martin Henderson's Jack Sheridan. After all, this heart-warming couple's love story has kept the show's fans gripped for four seasons now. However, did you know that the Mel we all know and love could've been played by Lauren Hammersley? That's right – the actress that portrays Charmaine Roberts, Jack's infamously pregnant ex-girlfriend, originally tried out for the role of Mel.
Hammersley herself revealed during an interview with Chatting with B that when she heard back from the audition, she was at a point in her life where she thought she was never going to act again.
However, when she received the call, it wasn't for the role she auditioned for but for Charmaine instead. But the kicker was that the original Charmaine was nothing like the one we've seen on the show.
When Hammersley first learned about Charmaine, she discovered that the character was initially meant to be much older than Jack and, as the actress describes – with a couple of children of her own, before whom she was once pretty. She was disappointed at first, but much to her relief, one of the producers eventually told her that the roles were rewritten.
And as you know, Charmaine went on to have her fair share of drama on the show. She had a relationship with Jack, which he called off, and even got pregnant with Jack's twins. Despite her hopes to draw Jack back in with the pregnancy, he didn't want to have any romantic ties with her, and by the end of the fourth season, the showrunners dropped a bombshell that Charmaine had, in fact, been lying to Jack about the paternity of the twins.
We'll never know what Lauren Hammersley's Mel would've been like, and it's equally hard to envision anyone else as Charmaine. However, it would've been interesting to see what she could've done with the role, nevertheless.