“I couldn’t have asked for a better exit,” Henry told Parade.com in this exclusive interview. “As I say all the time, if someone would have asked, ‘How would you have wanted to leave a show?’ I couldn’t have done it any better because I love her so much, she did so much for me. And I still speak to her, we check up on each other.” Now, Henry is back among the living in the new Lifetime Christmas movie, Mistletoe in Montana, starring Melissa Joan Hart as Merry, the owner of a ranch who has been unlucky in love. But when Mark (Henry), a single father and his two kids book the ranch for Christmas week, that is about to change. It turns out that Henry was already a fan of Hart’s before they ever met. He remembers running home from school and watching both Clarissa and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. “I couldn’t wait to get home and watch,” he said. “Nickelodeon used to come on with Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Secret World of Alex Mack, Rugrats and Clarissa followed. And Sabrina the Teenage Witch was something I would watch religiously with my little sister. So, Melissa’s a part of my Rolodex when I think back on my childhood and my happy memories.” In Mistletoe in Montana, Mark and Merry fall in love, of course. But it is a Lifetime movie, so it can’t be that simple. Their issue is their lives are so different. He’s a city slicker and she’s a rancher, who has no interest in moving into town. So, what’s the couple to do? “I’ve given up everything for love,” Henry said. “So, giving up something for love, you have to. You’ve got to sacrifice. You’ve got to give up the good to get the great. In terms of love and meeting somebody, you’ve got to just completely let the rain hit your face in terms of love and give it all up because you’re going to be miserable without it, I believe. It’s best that you did it and then lost it than never having it in the first place.” So, is that what Mark does? Or does Merry change her mind? Tune in to find out, but first, read more of what Henry had to say about horseback riding and roping for the movie, and what he’s been doing since leaving NCIS. Are you an outdoor guy like Mark, or are you more of a city guy? That’s a funny question. Why do you ask that? Could you tell something? Yes. I am a city boy in my DNA in my personal life, but I do appreciate nature. Especially at this age, I’m at the point where I find it very soothing. If I’m feeling down or have a headache or anything, I literally run to the woods. I don’t know, I just really enjoy nature. So, I really enjoyed it. That was one of the high points of doing that film. I really appreciate that as well as the majestic nature of animals, especially the horses there. It was a beautiful time to just be away. I would say I enjoy the outdoors much more than I used to. Was the role challenging in that respect? You mentioned the horses. Are you a horseback rider? Did you have the skills you needed for this or did you have to learn certain things? Well to be fair, I did a show a few years ago called Cruel Intentions. It was a pilot. It was based on the film. The character, he rode a horse. He was a jockey looking after his boss. Anywhere his boss went, he would go on the horse next to him. So, when I first went to the audition they were like, “Can you ride a horse?” And I was like, “Of course, I can ride a horse, are you crazy?” I’d never ridden a horse in my life before that point. But I basically said I did, and I loved every second of it. That was the first time I got on a horse, so this time wasn’t as bad because I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew you couldn’t underestimate the power of a horse, that was the first thing. Before I never understood how intelligent they are. They know everything, like where your head’s looking, or where your eyes are when you’re on the back of them. So, I have a lot more appreciation for horses than I did. Way more. This a story about opposites attracting. What do you think about that in real life? Do you think that opposites do attract, or do you think that people need to get together with someone who has more in common? No man, that’s the beauty of life. Opposites attract, the same attracts, everything attracts. I believe you learn so much from the opposite of what you are no matter who you are. You’re encouraged to have an open mind and be held accountable for who you are as well as how they are. So, I just love the complete opposites. In a story like this, it’s brilliant because sometimes when two souls connect, if it’s a twin flame situation, it’s not about time or space or who or where, none of that matters. All you know is that this person in front of you makes you feel more special than anyone else can. So, if that means they’re opposite from you in any way, shape, form, creed or wherever, then so be it. As long as the feeling’s there and they leave you better than they found you, I don’t see what the problem is. You had a woman director on this, Kellie Martin. Yes. Kellie was awesome to work with. She’s such a breath of fresh air. And it’s so interesting, I love working with an actor/director, because they give you certain subtleties or certain little notes that you appreciate because they’re coming from the eyes of an actor so to speak. Obviously, it’s great getting directed from a “director,” sometimes when they’ve had experience in front of the lens, they just relay things to you in a way that you can ease into, relax into a bit more. I trust their judgment a lot. Kellie’s done loads and loads of work in her lifetime, so it’s just great to be working with so many talented people. It hopefully brings the best out of you. Especially a film like this where it’s just about feeling good, and everyone’s sitting around and enjoying these scenarios of a British black guy, who’s living in L.A. falling in love with a local ranch girl. So, it’s just really feel-good stories, and what more can you ask for with what we’re dealing with right now in the world than something that feels good? One of the things W.C. Fields is famous for having said is not to work with animals or kids, but you had both in this. Are you a natural with kids? I’m the oldest of 11 children. I’ve got a big family, so a lot of kids back home and I have a bunch of godchildren. So, I’ve always been around children; I’ve always been the oldest. I’ve always had to look out for everyone and keep an eye on stuff. So, being around children is something I love to do because I relish in their innocence. They’re so honest. If a kid tells you something, you better believe them because there’s no lying in children. Working with, especially Hero Hunter [who plays his son Timmy] being so young and so small, there’s just that innocence there. He doesn’t really ask why; he asks more why not? That sort of energy, I really appreciate that. And Mallian Butler [she plays daughter Becca], I loved working with them. They’re so professional and it was just great to be around them. I felt a bit old. I’ve done a few films and shows where I’m a dad and I’m just like, “Oh, my God, I’m actually a dad now. This daughter’s like 15 and this boy’s like 11. I’m actually playing a dad-dad.” And I still see myself as quite young, but it’s like, “Oh, wow, this is crazy.” Can you imagine walking away from your life and starting over? In England before I moved to America, I had a great life there. I had everything I want, great family, friends. Everything was great, but I decided to give it all up. I wanted to come here to America and figure out my destiny with my suitcase and a dream to see what could happen. So, primarily I missed out on all my siblings growing up. I’ve been back for like six different funerals, God forbid anymore. So, it’s been really tough. What have you been doing since leaving NCIS? It’s been really interesting. Obviously, during the COVID situation, it was really tough for everyone. People went out to decompress and take control of their personal life. Everyone was sort of humbled. Leaving NCIS, it was a really interesting time. Because before I was on NCIS, I was struggling a lot. I was in a homeless situation and it was really tough. So, obviously, I got to enjoy the spoils of that. So, it was nice to not stress and worry about things, and not choose work for financial gain, just more for creative reasons, just to enjoy. I’ve been doing this game since I moved to London at 17 in 2003. I’ve been constantly on the go. So, it was nice after NCIS, just to take a second to really appreciate my life, travel a little bit, and go and meet some friends. Really dig into myself and who I am as a man, as a mid-30-year-old Black man with the world at my feet, who has made a decent living for himself. So, all these things I got to take into consideration, and over the last few years I’ve just really been enjoying my life and my time. Planting the seeds all those years ago really helped enjoy the fruits of my labor right now. So, I’m just excited for whatever comes my way in terms of work no matter what it is, where it is, or how it is. The beauty of being an actor, we have a license to do what we want for many, many years. We’re not in a boy band, we’re not dancers, our life and career doesn’t stop at 33 like a footballer. I’m in this, I’ll probably quit when I’m 85 years old. This is a marathon, so I’m in no rush, I’m not speeding anything. I’m in a great place and I just want to grow and enjoy my time on earth here at my discretion, no compromise. I’ll sacrifice whatever, but I’m not compromising with anything. Did you know going in that they were going to kill you off? Or is that something that came about as a way to write-out Pauley Perrette? No, it wasn’t initially thought about at the start. But, obviously, with Gary Glasberg’s death, rest in peace, he was the creative controller of that character. It was his character. He passed away straight after I got the part. So, a lot of the ideas for my character died with him. It was very tough [for the other writers] to hustle around and build up scenarios and scenes for this character because it was all in Gary’s head, and it was early on and no one expected that. I think towards the end of my time there, we started to see the signs and realized I wasn’t feeling as useful as I would like to. And, obviously, they made the decision to wrap it up with Pauley. So, it was interesting to be a part of pop culture as well, to die like that for a character. I still get people DMing me, nearly every day, every week, with tears and upset. Some people still haven’t seen it and it hits them in their own personal way. So, to affect people like that, it’s really creepy, really interesting. The bromance between Nick Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) and Clayton Reeves was fun. That made going to work 10 times better. People would pay to do this job rather than being paid to do this job. And working with someone like Wilmer who’s an absolute legend and a really sweet person, he opened his heart to me, and his family. He brought me to his house Christmas one time with my family, my mom and siblings, sisters and stuff. He didn’t have to do any of those things. He really doesn’t and he did. So I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m proud of him now. He’s a dad and I think he’s going to be the world’s coolest dad because he’s such a cool guy. I’m really happy for him and his partner, and I wish them nothing but the best, you know. Long, long, healthy life, yeah. Mistletoe in Montana premieres Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime. Next, Is Wilmer Valderrama Following Mark Harmon By Leaving NCIS?
