Victor Webster as U.S. Vice President Blanton Silver in Motherland: Fort Salem. Photo courtesy/copyright of Freeform.
He turned in an electrifying performance as human dynamo Brennan Mulwray in Mutant X, played Coop Halliwell a.k.a. Cupid/The Messenger of Love and married the bewitching Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed, and, as Vancouver Police Detective Carlos Fonnegra, risked his life helping fight Liber8, a group of anti-corporate activists from the Earth year 2077 in Continuum. Having worked pretty much non-stop as an actor for almost 25 years, the handsome, talented. and congenial Victor Webster has amassed an impressive body of work on the small as well as big screens and breathe life into dozens of characters. Besides the three previously mentioned shows, the actor’s other TV credits include Days of Our Lives, Becker, CSI: Miami, NCIS, Lincoln Heights, Bones, Castle, Workin’ Moms and Matchmaker Mysteries, while he has appeared in such feature films as Gangland, Bringing Down the House, Heart of a Dragon, Surrogates and Dead Rising: Endgame.
In 2021, Webster was cast in the recurring role of United States Vice President Blanton Silver in Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem. The series takes place in an alternate America and a female-dominated world where the U.S. ended persecution of witches 300 years ago during the Salem witch trials with the passage of the Salem Accord. This agreement allowed for the conscription of witches into the military where they are trained to use their abilities in the form of powerful spells to defend the country. There are those, however, who oppose what they feel is the exploitation of witches, including a terrorist group called the Spree. VP Silver makes his debut in Motherland: Fort Salem’s second season opener Of the Blood, which sets the vice president up to fight a moral as well as emotional tug of war between his personal life and political obligations. Webster was immediately welcomed into the fold and happily took on the creative challenges associated with this new role.
“One of the things I love about working in Canada is that everyone is so nice,” says the actor. “I’m from Canada, I was born there, and I’m always reminded whenever I step onto a Canadian set how friendly and welcoming everyone is. That’s what I felt on Motherland: Fort Salem with the cast as well as crew. I’d worked with some of them before, including Amanda Tapping, who’s a producer/director on the show, and she’s wonderful. I also really enjoyed the writing on the series. I wasn’t told too much at the start about my character, but I was given enough information to form sort of a roadmap for myself and basically understand where Blanton was headed. Subsequently seeing how all the details unfolded made it a fun journey to go on.
“When it comes to specifics about Blanton Silver, I’d describe him as strong-willed, very driven and someone who has a reason for what he’s doing. For Blanton, it’s a very noble crusade, and not based on trying to be just an evil dictator. He’s basing his decisions on the fact that he believes very strongly that witches are one of the abominations that have been created, and the world would be better off without them. Blanton is not a bad guy. He does bad things depending on what lens you look through. If you’re a witch, he’s the bad guy. If you’re a human who hates witches, then he’s a good guy.
“I can’t play Blanton as a stereotypical bad guy. He’s not a serial killer or villain in an action film. Again, he does what he does because he truly believes it’s in everyone’s best interest and needs to be done. My character is conflicted, though, because of what he’s experiencing with his daughter Penelope [who Blanton discovers is a witch] and some of the backstory that audiences aren’t aware of. Blanton walks a fine line between wanting to do what’s best for the country and its people, and his own personal beliefs. Sometimes I play the charming leading man in a drama or romantic comedy, which I enjoy, but I also enjoy playing darker characters because I feel it’s a departure from who I am as a person. I’m able to further stretch myself an actor and live in someone else’s skin. That’s much more interesting than playing a variation of myself,” he enthuses.
Blanton’s relationships with some of his fellow Motherland: Fort Salem characters have greatly impacted his onscreen growth and development as well as given Webster some memorable acting moments. “Of course, his main relationship is with his daughter Penelope, who’s played by Mellany Barros,” he notes. “Mellany has such a great kind of natural innocence about her, so it’s very easy for me to look at her as my daughter and someone who needs some direction and guidance. It’s been terrific to see her blossom on this show and watch her character develop. There’s a scene from the end of last season that I particularly enjoyed shooting; it’s where Blanton hugs his daughter, knowing it’s the last time that he’s ever going to see her. Having to hide those feelings and be so conflicting about the decision that he’s made, and, ultimately, having to go through with that decision, is such a powerfully nuanced place for an actor to put himself in. Emotionally, you’re pulled in so many directions, and, again, you have to try to hide that while at the same time show audiences what you’re going through. It was a great acting challenge for me, and, I think, a very moving scene.
“I also love Blanton’s relationship with Sheryl Lee Ralph’s character of U.S. President Kelly Wade. Not only is this character a powerful one with a great deal of gravitas, but Sheryl Lee is also such an impressive actor. Working with her is not only a lot of fun, but humbling and a great learning experience, too. Then there’s Alban Hearst, played by Bob Frazer, whose character is really creepy, but Bob is such a nice guy when you’re sitting there on-set chatting with him. I have such a good time working with Bob and watching him turn into this bigger than life, overly dramatic evil doctor in front of the camera. I find myself in scenes with him and thinking as I watch him, ‘Oh, this is awesome,’ and then suddenly I remember, ‘Oh, wait, it’s my line,’” says the actor with a chuckle. “Last but not least there’s Kara Brandt, played by Emille Ullerup, who’s such a professional, super-sweet and a pleasure to work with. As an actress, Emille walks the fine line of her character being in the presence of these witches, while at the same time knowing she’s trying to help bring about their ultimate demise. Kara is sort of waving this in their faces a bit and putting on an act to hide her true motives.
“Honestly, I could go on and on talking about all the different people on this show that I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and the colorful characters that they’ve played, all of which have been very well-written.”
Besides his work in Motherland: Fort Salem, Webster co-starred earlier this year opposite Alison Sweeney in the Hallmark made-for-TV movie The Wedding Veil Legacy. “That was a lot of fun,” he says. “Alison and I were on a TV show together 22 years go and although we were in a few scenes together, we never had an opportunity to really work with one another. In The Wedding Veil Legacy they allowed us to improv as well as adlib, and because Alison is so talented, when I said anything, she would come right back with her own adlib or improv, and usually in a comedic sense. We had the chance to really riff off each other and play with the scenes. Things weren’t super-structured, so I think it allowed us to show a great deal of chemistry and connection between our two characters because we weren’t stuck in a box, so to speak.
“As far as upcoming projects. I just finished another show for Freeform called Everything’s Trash. It’s a single camera comedy starring Phoebe Robinson, who wears all the hats – producer/director/writer/actor/star – and once again I had the chance to adlib and improv with someone like Phoebe who has such great comedic timing.”
Steve Eramo
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