Bruce French (Father Lonigan)
Poor Father Lonigan was attacked by the mysterious monk! We called upon his kindly portrayer, Bruce French, to take a “stab” at a few unholy questions.
So first Father Lonigan went blind in a church fire and then got stabbed in a convent. Is this God’s way of telling him to find a new calling?
Well, it’s much more dangerous being a priest in Harmony than one would think! He might be wise to look around for something a little quieter. Perhaps owning a vineyard somewhere and making some wine for communion. Perhaps he could get into some arts and crafts as well. They could sell his items in the church shop.
Was it fun acting out the struggle sequence?
It’s always a little strange because I really can’t see out of those (opaque) contacts, and I have to rely on my fellow actors to guide me. I look like I’m struggling, but the actor playing the monk is actually guiding me through the motions of where we’re supposed to go. So I rely on the kindness of strangers a great deal. (Chuckles) I’m pretty much at everybody’s mercy. Over the years, various people in the cast have really looked out for me. You know, turning me into the direction of the camera and not letting me walk into too many things.
Can’t they find you a pair of contacts you can actually see through?
(Laughs) Evidently not. But I’m so used to them now that I don’t know if I would want ones I could see out of. After seven years, I’m kinda used to it. I don’t have to act blind because I am! And it gives me an appreciation of what a real sightless person has to go through in the course of their daily lives. I’m in awe of their ability to get out into the world. It’s very courageous.
I was watching the feed from the stage one day and saw Nicole Cox (Endora) freak out a little when she taped a scene with you as Father Lonigan.
That was very funny. I had just one eye [contact] in during rehearsal so I could see, and Nicole would just stare at me with kind of a blank face. She wasn’t quite frightened, but she had never seen something like that before. We did have to change the shot a little bit to help her deal with me. When we did the close-up on her, I didn’t put my eyes in so that we could interact a little bit. Everyone was reassuring her that it was fine, like “See, he’s all right. Look he can take his eye out!”
I’m sure THAT freaked her out.
(Laughs) Well, I think it did. I think it confused her even more. But she’s so sweet and such a trooper.
Any time Nicole’s on the feed, everyone in the office loves to watch.
Yeah, absolutely. She and Juliet (Mills, Tabitha) have this incredible relationship that just plays out so beautifully on the show. It’s just a joy to watch.
You’ve been on the show since the very beginning... have you watched the Sci-Fi reruns yet?
Actually, I just found out about it, so I haven’t had a chance.
In that case, do you look forward to watching it?
I’m not sure... (Laughs) I don’t know if I’m going to like it or not... I think I had more hair back then... or maybe I didn’t! It’s a little frightening to think that was seven years ago.
Who do you think the monk is? He kinda sounds like Sean Connery...
(Laughs) Well, I can assure you, it isn’t. That would’ve been cool though. 
The writers of this show are pretty tricky. I wouldn’t want to place any bets on who that guy is, so I don’t know.
Is Father Lonigan dead???
I sincerely hope not. I pray to God that Father Lonigan, like most people stabbed on this show, will recover. Hopefully, he’ll be around to marry another couple.
