‘Charmed’ Star Brian Krause Reflects on His Close Bond with His Costars — ‘They Became Sisters’

CHARMED, Brian Krause, (Season 4), 1998-2006. photo: © Paramount Television / courtesy Everett Collection — Paramount Television / courtesy Everett Collection

What To Know

Brian Krause reflected on his eight-season run as Leo Wyatt on Charmed.
He credited Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, Holly Marie Combs, and Rose McGowan with teaching him valuable lessons.
Krause appreciated his character’s moral compass on the show.

Brian Krause, best known to television audiences as Whitelighter Leo Wyatt on the WB’s hit series Charmed, is still going strong decades into his career. He first broke out opposite Milla Jovovich in Return to the Blue Lagoon and went on to play Matthew Cory on the daytime drama Another World before his eight-season run on Charmed from 1998 to 2006, where he appeared in more than 150 episodes.

Krause’s more recent work includes Kevin Hart‘s Die Hart 3: Hart to Kill and the upcoming holiday film I Fell in Love with Santa. ReMIND caught up with the actor at WonderCon in Anaheim, where he reflected on his journey and what’s ahead.

Credit: Mike Pingel

How did you get the role in Charmed?

I had auditioned for a couple other roles back in the day for 90210 and Melrose Place. I didn’t book other roles and then came back for Leo. It all kind of happened in one day. Call in the morning, came back in the afternoon, came back in the evening to meet with Aaron Spelling. Thought I ruined it all, and then I got a call on the way to my car. It all happened in one day. It was amazing.

How was it working with the ladies?

Eight years. There were some of the best times of my life. It’s like high school and college mixed together. They became sisters. It was a family, so good days and bad days.

I learned so much from Shannen [Doherty] about work ethic; from Alyssa [Milano] coming [to work] and being prepared and being light and fun. So much from Holly [Marie Combs] – just acting and being serious and how to do it, and Rose [McGowan] – I learned something from all of them. To still know them today, 30 years later, they’ve all kind of become my sisters. It’s tragic with Shannen and Eric [Dane] and Julian [McMahon] passing but I really learned lessons from them that have carried into my life.

CHARMED, Holly Marie Combs, Brian Krause, Shannen Doherty, Alyssa Milano, episode 'The Demon Who Came In From the Cold' aired April 26, 2001, 1998-2006, photo: © Viacom / courtesy Everett Collection

Viacom / Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s interesting because knowing my mother, who was kind of a tiny four-foot-eleven mush, telling me all the time you could do anything you set your mind to, and then coming through in Hollywood in the ’90s, there weren’t a lot of examples of women who were able to hold power in Hollywood. It wasn’t their place yet. Every one of those women, Shannen, Alyssa, Rose, Holly, they didn’t give a f**k. They really said, I think not just to the industry, but the world, like you could do anything. I think that’s what I took the most from them on a daily basis. They never said anything was impossible, and I think that’s the message of the show, and that’s what I learned from them by working with them is that you can overcome any circumstance if you just really believe in yourself, and that’s what I still run with today.

Did you have a lot to say about your character, Leo, and Piper’s storyline?

I didn’t. It wasn’t my show. It’s the Charmed ones, and Leo was added. I just showed up, did my lines, did my work, did what I was told, kind of thing. The women did, but I never felt it was my place since I wasn’t the lead in the show.

Were you happy with your character?

Yeah, I mean, yes and no. I wish I was a little more involved action-wise, and I did later in the seasons. But again, it wasn’t my show. I liked that Leo was the voice of “do the right thing” and “good things happen.” Being a father at the time to a young child, I liked to give people this moral message: If you do the right thing, whether it’s hard or not, you’re going to have the right outcome. So, I did appreciate that. There were a few storylines I didn’t love – when I became the elder and the avatar, it was a little off jumping the shark. At the end of the day, when those storylines wrap, do the right thing, and you know you’ll get the right outcome, and I like that.

Viacom / Courtesy Everett Collection

Were there any mishaps that you had when you’re on sets, like did something ever go wrong?

I mean, we’ve had some stunts, and we’ve had some people get hurt. I almost chopped a finger off doing a sword fight one time. Thank God we used blunt swords, but we were fighting. I messed up the choreography, and this guy hit me right across the hand. But that was my bad.

But nothing too tragic. There are a ton of bloopers, and you can see some of those online, but that was more of us not being able to keep it together. But we were pretty lucky. We had a great stunt coordinator, Nunor Saadi, his father, their legends. All the stunt women were amazing.

Did you keep anything from the set?

There was a token from season five or six. The three monkeys, the see-no-evil, which I helped co-write the story. It was sitting on a bookshelf, and they gave that to me as a kind of going-away present. Then evil Leo’s leather pants and boots – because, you know, you need those.

Do you wear them regularly?

They’re a little big now. (laughing) I’ve lost a little weight, but I still got them.

To keep up with everything Brian is doing, check out his Instagram. Also, Brian and his fellow Charmed castmates chat about the series on their podcast, The House of Halliwell. He is also on Cameo.