Charmed costars Brian Krause and Dorian Gregory will never forget their late costar Shannen Doherty, who died earlier this year.
“My first day of meeting Shannen for me was personal,” Gregory, 53, exclusively told Us Weekly at ‘90s Con on Friday, September 13. “I come from a strong house of women and [I remember] the strength and the certainty and the warmth that Shannen greeted me with initially.”
He added, “I came around the corner. I heard Shannen and Holly [Marie Combs] laughing and [they had so much] confidence and joy. It was a real laugh. They shared such a unique bond.”
Doherty played Prue Halliwell on The WB’s Charmed, which ran between 1998 and 2008. Combs, 50, and Alyssa Milano played her younger sisters, Piper and Phoebe. (Rose McGowan later portrayed their half-sibling, Paige, during season 4 after Doherty’s exit.) Gregory, for his part, took on the role of police officer Darryl Morris, who became a key ally in keeping the Halliwell sisters’ magical secret.
From the moment Gregory met Doherty, he felt at ease on set.
“I came in for my introductory of like, ‘Hey, I’m Dorian,’ and Shannen made me feel comfortable [and] at home,” Gregory gushed. “That was my first cherished memory [of her].”
Gregory was among the Charmed stars to attend this weekend’s ‘90s Con in Daytona Beach, Florida. While speaking with Us on the red carpet, Krause, 55, also reflected on Doherty’s legacy and how she cemented his role on the show. (Krause played Leo Wyatt, the love interest to Combs’ Piper.)
“I was told the possible love interest was the thing and then at one point I had powers and I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s over for me. Everyone [with] power dies.’ And then Shannen said, ‘No, you’re a good guy,’” Krause recalled. “And I’m like, ‘I am.’ So then that became ‘You are a whitelighter, then you became this and then you’re evil and then you’re not, and then you’re the dad.’ It’s, like, amazing what it became.”
He added, “There’s parts of it that I didn’t love, but a lot of content there and I like being the good guy [and there’s] always the through line of the solid moral message of ‘Do the right thing and good things happen.’”
Gregory and Krause — who were joined by costar Drew Fuller on Friday — also enjoyed sharing their set memories with Charmed fans at ‘90s Con.
“It means everything,” Gregory gushed. “There’s no proper word that really conveys the importance of this. We grew up together and this is something that you could never predict. As far as where we are now, we’re 20-plus years later [and] I love seeing people over and over again. I love the family that we’ve created over decades with my Charmed family.”
Krause, meanwhile, asserted that he’s “just so grateful” to have been on Charmed and that fans still enjoy it.
“The fact that it still carries on and resonates, I think it just says so much about the work the girls did [and] their connectivity to one another and what they brought forward,” Krause told Us. “It’s amazing to hear these stories, ‘I watched it with my mom or my sister,’ or, ‘This was me and my grandpa. We watched it.’ [There’s] just so many stories of how it became a part of their childhood or now their adulthood with their children.”
He added, “I think it just speaks to the chemistry that girls had and what they put forth and the message of the show.”
With reporting by Kat Pettibone
