Bree Williamson as Haven's Dr. Claire Callahan. Photo by Adam Secore and copyright of Syfy.
As a psychiatrist, Haven’s Dr. Claire Callahan never knows what to expect when it comes to her work or the patients she treats. A big part of her job involves caring for “The Troubled,” a group of townsfolk who suffer from a supernatural affliction that sometimes turns their lives and the lives of others into a living nightmare. Not everyone in her profession is equipped to handle such a bizarre and dangerous workload, but Claire is not deterred by such a challenge, and neither is the actress who plays her, Bree Williamson.
“My character is very smart as well as abrasive and to the point when she talks,” says Williamson. “Sometimes Claire tends to say just what’s on her mind and with very little filter, which makes her funny, quirky and a joy to play. I enjoyed that a great deal and didn’t find it at all a challenge, but definitely fun. Again, she has this thing going on where her mouth moves before her brain can figure out if she should say what she’s going to say. There are times when Claire might get on peoples’ nerves a little bit because she’s intuitive and knows exactly what’s going on. That’s not always welcome, especially in a place like Haven where there are so many hidden things, if you know what I mean.”
Claire Callahan makes her debut in the third season Haven episode Stay. Claire arrives at Haven Police Station intent on speaking with Audrey Parker (Emily Rose) following her recent abduction and subsequent rescue. Instead, she ends up out in the field with Audrey and her partner, police chief Nathan Wuornos (Lucas Bryant), searching for what appears to be a pack of naked, wild savages, or are they? Williamson and the rest of the show’s cast and crew braved the elements during the filming of this episode.
Claire (Bree Williamson) deals with another case of "The Troubles" in season three's "Stay." Photo by Michael Tompkins and copyright of Syfy.
“They do quite a bit of location work on this show, and the season begins shooting around May. Well, May in Nova Scotia means that it rains a lot and it’s very cold, too,” notes the actress. “Even with the rain and cold, though, we all had a great time, and Emily is just wonderful. I mean the whole cast is terrific, including Lucas and Eric Balfour [Duke Crocker] as well as the crew, but Emily is who I worked with the most and she was so welcoming and truly awesome.”
There is some butting of heads when Claire and Audrey first meet. The psychiatrist feels that anyone who deals that closely with the Troubles needs to talk to a professional about those experiences, but Audrey is not so easily persuaded. However, by the end of Stay, the two come to better understand each other.
“Audrey’s and Claire’s relationship changes over the season,” says Williamson. “I can’t say too much more, only that Audrey, being who she is, is extremely guarded when first meeting someone new, but after a while, Claire kind of grows on her. It was fantastic to play a dynamic that focused on a female/female relationship, which doesn’t often happen on TV. It’s usually male/female-love/romance, but the writers on Haven know how to write for women. In fact, my favorite scenes from this season are the first one between Claire and Audrey and the last one. They’re both quite wonderful and really telling of Claire’s whole story.”
Claire (Bree Williamson) and Audrey (Emily Rose) in "Double Jeopardy." Photo by Michael Tompkins and copyright of Syfy.
Although a natural in front of the camera, the Canadian-born Williamson considered pursuing a different type of career at the same time she started chipping away at acting. “I think deep down I always wanted to be an actress, but I didn’t know how or if it was going to be possible,” she recalls.
“It was also one of those things that I didn’t really know how to go about doing, so I went to university for psychology and women’s studies. I had an agent in Toronto, though, and after a while, the acting wound up becoming lucrative as well as fun and something that I worked hard at. It was ‘easy’ to do in the sense that I thoroughly enjoyed it. So it just kind of happened, and it turned out that this was my career.”
Following small parts on the TV shows Doc, Earth: Final Conflict and Odyssey 5, the actress booked a guest-star role on the Sci-Fi series Mutant X. “That was a whole eight days of work and the job that sealed the deal for me,” says Williamson. “I thought, ‘OK, that’s it, I’ve decided. This [acting] is what I want to do for a living.’ I had such an incredible time on that show and couldn’t wait to get to work every day. It was a terrific cast as well as crew, and, in fact, Forbes March [Jesse Kilmartin on Mutant X] played my love interest for two or three years on One Life to Live. Talk about a small world.”
Dr. Claire Callahan in Haven's "Double Jeopardy." Photo by Michael Tompkins and copyright of Syfy.
Williamson’s role as Jessica Buchanan in the aforementioned long-running ABC soap opera One Life to Live was not only her first regular gig, but it garnered the actress three consecutive Daytime Emmy nominations (2009. 2010 and 2011) for Outstanding Supporting Actress. Her many years on the show are ones that she will always remember.
“It’s great to have consistent work as well as an acting job that you love and love going to everyday and you’re not worrying about whether or not your show is going to be cancelled,” she says. “It was truly a gift and one that I appreciate all the more now. The cast and crew remained the same for the most part, and we became a family. Working on the show became very much like a 9 to 5 job where you could still have a life. In my case, I was able to have a baby, too, so it was just a remarkable experience.”
When asked what makes a career in this industry rewarding for her, the actress looks to the audiences out there in TV land who are watching these shows. “The soap fans really made it rewarding, and there’s a strong fan base for Haven as well, which is terrific,” she enthuses. “When someone takes the time to send a Tweet telling me, ‘Hey, great job on the show,’ that means a lot to me. It’s nice to know you’re doing a good job and your work is affecting someone and making them feel something as well. That’s pretty cool.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, photos by Adam Secore or Michael Tompkins and copyright of Syfy, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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