'Virgin River' Star Annette O'Toole Defends Hope in Season 6 (Exclusive)

Hope McCrea is a central figure in Virgin River, both in the show and in the town where it takes place. She’s also a divisive figure amongst fans. As the mayor of Virgin River, Hope needs to be in everyone’s business. That proved to be an essential reality during Season 5’s wildfire—but sometimes she can cross the line. 

For actress Annette O’Toole, who has played the character for six seasons now, Hope’s complicated persona is what makes her such a joy to portray.

“People like to put labels on her, especially at first. She’s this or that or nosy. I hate her, go away. People are who they are for a reason,” the actress told Parade in a recent interview. “As the seasons have gone on, we’ve seen some of why she is the way she is and what her life has been like. That’s what I like about her. She’s kind of this continually unfolding origami gift.” 

In Season 6, which premieres Dec. 19 on Netflix, Hope is in the thick of pulling the town together for Jack (Martin Henderson) and Mel’s (Alexandra Breckenridge) wedding. Pulling off the ceremony of the century will open some old wounds for Hope, though, and should give fans a better insight into why she is the way she is. 

Related: ‘Virgin River’ Author Robyn Carr Weighs in on the Differences Between the Show and the Books

“In this season, we find out about an ex-husband of hers and what that relationship was like. You see how that probably affected her,” O’Toole revealed. “She married him very, very young, and he was so domineering that now she may go overboard with being in control of things. She has to be in control because she wasn’t in control for so long.” 

While Hope is struggling with the past, her present is going pretty well. After she and Doc (Tim Matheson) renewed their vows at the end of Season 5, O’Toole teased that the pair are kind of in their “honeymoon phase” in the new episodes. Working with Matheson to make Hope and Doc’s relationship feel authentic is a ritual they’ve started before filming every season. 

“Tim and I work on scenes together because there’s not a lot of time to do it on set. We usually go over things. We either get together or we do it over the phone and make sure we know where we’re coming from and where we’re going, and how this might reverberate in the future. That’s really fun,” she explained. 

The two work well together and O’Toole says that a lot of what you see about Hope and Doc’s relationship comes directly from the page. However, the pair consider themselves the stewards of the characters and aren’t afraid to say something if a script doesn’t jive with what they know about their characters. 

“We care a lot about making these people as real as possible. When things come up that we feel like, ‘Oh, that’s not quite right’ because we know the history—Tim and I have our own character histories and then together as a couple because we’ve done it for seven seasons,” the actress detailed. “Some of these writers haven’t been on it that long, so they haven’t delved into each character the same way we do as the people playing them. Every once in a while we may have to go in and have a chat about is this the right decision, but nothing more than that. It’s just kind of a suggestion because we want to make it feel real, and we seldom want to change things drastically.” 

The combination of good writing and actors dedicated to making these characters feel like real people is why O’Toole thinks Virgin River is still going strong. Netflix announced Season 7 two months before Season 6 premiered. 

“It’s kind of amazing. I’ve been doing this for a long time. I’ve done some things that were successful, but nothing like this,” O’Toole said. “This is kind of a global phenomenon that nobody saw coming. It’s lovely. It’s really wonderful.” 

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That’s high praise coming from O’Toole, who got her first on-screen role in 1967, playing Tina in an episode of My Three Sons. She’s been a working actor for almost 60 years, but she still finds joy in the work so she has no plans of stopping any time soon. 

“I have enjoyed every single job I’ve ever done, even the really hard ones. I’ve had a couple of unpleasant situations, but I learned from them,” she said. When asked if there was anything she’d like to tell a young Annette just starting out in the business, O’Toole said she wouldn’t change anything in her career. 

“Nobody can teach you how to do this. Think about the times you got advice and you’re like, ‘Yeah sure. Just leave me alone.’ I think Young Annette did okay. It has always been about the work and trying to be better for me, trying and working really hard to enjoy what I do,” the actress countered. “I have such a wonderful job. I love the people I work with for the most part. I’ve had a couple of lemons in there, but they shall remain nameless. It’s such a joyful life and career.” 

Related: ‘Virgin River’ Season 6 Will ‘Not Be as Heavy’ as Past Seasons