StarNews: Craig Sheffer reflects on his time in Wilmington, his new Hallmark movie and his role on “One Tree Hill”

Sheffer loved dining at Port City Chop House, where he often ordered shrimp on the half shell. He enjoyed margaritas from the sofa bar at Caprice Bistro and the spinach and ricotta rolled with tomato sauce from Circa 1922.

“The downtown area was great, man,” he said. “You know, there was a bar every two address numbers and a restaurant every three. You got to really know people.

While filming “One Tree Hill,” Sheffer stayed both in downtown Wilmington and at Wrightsville Beach.

“It was beautiful down there,” he said. “The beach is incredible. I like it so much more than the California beaches. The water’s so cold here and (there are) so many rocks on the water. And the people (in Wilmington) are just great. Southern people are just really laid-back and welcoming.”.

The experience would have been much different fo Sheffer had “One Tree Hill” filmed in Canada, as Sheffer said was a real possibility.

“They were deciding between Wilmington and Vancouver” to film the show, Sheffer said. “We didn’t know which one it would be. The studio , money wise, knew they could make it a lot cheaper in Vancouver. The (state’s film) incenntives weren’t quite what they are now. (Creator) Mark Schwahn and Joe Davola, the producer, fought really hard to get it in Wilmington and kept it in Wilmington.”

Talking with Sheffer about the show, it’s clear he’s more jazzed about the filming location than his even-keeled character.

“Keith is a very simple character,” Sheffer said, adding that characters like Keith aren’t the most fun to play. “I actually prefer more of a challenge. He wasn’t a hugely interesting charcter. But he was a good guy and he was just a really genuine human being with good intentions. And that’s a nice thing to play and come home at the end of the day. You don’t bring too much with you. We had some good scenes within the framework of a simple character, so there was some of that stuff to play, but also a lot of cheesy stuff.”

Sheffer said he enjoyed working opposite Moira Kelly (who played his romantic foil, Karen), but he said the highlights of filming were those scenes he shared with Paul Johansson, who plays Dan, Keith’s evil brother.

“That was the stuff where it was actually dramatic,” said Sheffer, whose characters was ultimately killed by Dan. “Those were the most fun scenes to play, and Paul and I always had a good time together.”

Read the full article here: Craig Sheffer reflects on his time in Wilmington, his new Hallmark movie and his role on “One Tree Hill” – We Love TV – Wilmington Star News – Wilmington, NC – Archive.