Virgin River’s Benjamin Hollingsworth teases ‘big moment’ for Brady in season six – exclusive
The Canadian actor stars as Daniel Brady in the hit Netflix drama
Benjamin Hollingsworth has won over fans in the hit Netflix drama, Virgin River. Set to reprise his role as resident bad boy, Daniel Brady, the actor is gearing up for the release of season six in December. “I always prefer playing the bad guy who turns out to be not so bad,” the Ontario-born actor explained to HELLO!, “I love a good redemption arc!”
Benjamin, 40, often watches the show with his wife of 12 years, Nila Myers, who cried during a particularly emotional episode. “You know you’re doing your job when your wife is upset that you’re breaking up with your onscreen girl!” he said with a smile. Here, HELLO! Canada catches up with the actor to chat about the upcoming series of Virgin River, his life as a Canadian dad and goals for the festive season.
Any big plans for the holidays?
“I’m laughing because I did two holiday movies this year [Hallmark’s Christmas with the Singhs and Deck the Halls on Cherry Lane], so I’ve had my full fix of Christmas. I’m full of eggnog. I’ve had enough candy canes. But I’m not complaining. I love doing Christmas movies because when they do come out, people really love them. They bring people joy. We need feel-good, fuzzy things.”
So are you changing things up for Christmas?
“We’re going to take the kids to Fiji this year. You know, Santa travels all over the world. Of course, he brings smaller items with him when he goes to tropical places because Santa has already done a lot and needs some drinks on a beach! I will be on a plane over the Pacific Ocean when season 6 of Virgin River comes out.”
What can you tell us about the new season?
“So far, it’s my favourite. It is full of twists and turns, and there’s one moment in particular for [my character] Brady that everyone’s gonna be talking about. It’s a big, big moment in Brady’s journey.”
You’re Canadian and Virgin River is shot in B.C., so a lot of Canadians claim the show as their own. Do you feel the same?
“People are always surprised that I’m Canadian – maybe because I play a bad guy! I’m really proud to be Canadian. I feel like we’re just built differently. When you’re raised in a country that champions all the things that our country champions, it produces people that tend to be empathetic and willing to help out their neighbours. Maybe there’s something about our cold winters that tells us we’re all in it together! Virgin River brought me and my family back up to Canada, and to be able to raise my kids here is its own blessing.”
How do you spend your downtime with the family (sons Hemingway Nash, 8, and Gatsby, 6, and daughter Juniper, 4)?
I’m a big hockey guy. So the boys started with hockey cards and now are full-on hockey players, which means I spend a large portion of my weekends at the rink, as many Canadians do – as my dad did when I was younger. We love going to the beach. We took the kids on a tropical vacation for the first time this October. And aside from us all getting COVID because my daughter licked every single surface in the airport, it was great.”
