COAL VALLEY KIDS CHAT Connor Stanhope (Bo Grady)

#WhenCallsTheHeart Episode 7: “Second Chances”

SPOILER CAUTION SPOILER CAUTION

If you have not seen Ep.7 (NOTE: No, you did not miss the Coal Valley Character Card featuring Bo Grady. We are shaking things up a bit this week;and posting it tomorrow.)

#Hearties – Welcome to the 7th edition of Coal Valley Kids Chat. THANK YOU, Mandy and Connor, for sharing with us your insights and experiences (and a few pictures) on the set of “When Calls The Heart.”

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A special “Thank you” to the very gracious Mandy who shared: What can I say? This was a wonderful experience for both Connor and myself. As soon as he started reading the lines he felt connected to Bo, like he could relate to him. Connor learns very much in the same way and it is one of the reasons why he has been home-schooled since the beginning of Grade 5, to give him the chance to explore different ways of learning. When we got the call to say he had booked it he said he was absolutely amazed that he was lucky enough to have been chosen and that he had a hard time believing it. Every day he was eager to get to set and told me countless times that as soon as he stepped into the scene he felt completely as if he had stepped back in time. The sets and the costumes were outstanding and as a mother, I really appreciated the history lessons that it was providing, as did he. Connor was truly blessed to have been given the opportunity to represent this character and it is always going to be the most special of all the roles he has played. Thank you to Michael Landon Jr. and Brian Bird for entrusting Connor with bringing Bo to life.

Now, some words from Connor:

Playing the role of Bo Grady was a really fantastic opportunity. When I read the sides and saw that Bo loved to build model airplanes etc. I just knew that he and I were almost the same person. I had a hard time learning to read when I was younger but I always was able to build anything that I set my mind to. My whole life I have loved to create stuff and have probably driven my family crazy in the process with the messes I made. If there is an empty box, or pieces of wood hanging around, you can bet I’m going to be cutting it up to make it into something Being on the set was amazing and working with Erin, Jennifer and Alex was a lot of fun. I spent one day working with some of the kids and was sorry it wasn’t longer. The sets and props blew my mind, especially the miners’ lamps that go on their hats. The props department explained to me how they worked and that they were originals. They actually still light up with a flint and fuel and they use them in the mine set! Everything was so genuine. When we did the scene when I was going to the mine for the first time I asked them why my hat didn’t have a lamp and I was told that Bo wouldn’t have been given one until he went into the mine for the first time so they wouldn’t be giving it to me until we filmed the scene when Bo was coming home! Really neat. It was very easy to feel like I was living back in 1910 once I got onto the set. Thank you to Brian Bird and Michael Landon Jr. for giving me this opportunity. It was the highlight of my acting career so far.

If you would like to follow Connor on Twitter: @connor_stanhope