Kerry James has wrangled much of his adult life on Heartland. The longest-running, one-hour drama in Canadian television history continues to captivate audiences as Season 19 premieres in the U.S. on UP Faith & Family on Thursday, November 6. James’ steadfast rodeo cowboy Caleb Odell returned after some time away to be with his son and put those flying skills to good use as a licensed pilot.

A love triangle emerged with Amy Fleming [Amber Marshall] pulled in different directions in the midst of a blossoming relationship with Nathan Pryce Jr. [Spencer Lord]. Things remained friendly between Amy and Caleb, but that didn’t mean fans couldn’t choose between Team Nathan or Team Caleb.

Further complicating things was when Caleb reconnected with his ex-wife, Ashley Stanton [Cindy Busby]. Caleb, Ashley, and Amy share a ton of history. Needless to say, there was a lot to unpack going into the new season. Luckily, we were able to sit down with James, who was also busy recurring on The Way Home, to do just that!

Kerry James and Amber Marshall (UP Faith & Family )

Here in the United States, we’re getting Heartland Season 19. How has it been being part of this show for so long and seeing your character grow and evolve? 

Kerry James: I’m one of the OGs, yeah. Well, I think it’s an interesting phenomena, especially when you’re making a television series. Those first initial seasons are very much about the writer’s creativity and inventing a world for the characters to live in. But then as time starts to unfold and you get deeper and deeper into seasons, the writers quite openly borrow a lot from what’s happening in our real lives, and then amplify it and such. So that incorporates a lot of, natural growth because the writers and the showrunners, they’ve watched us grow up, and as we make decisions and choices in our own lives, a lot of those little things, obviously exaggerated a bit or slightly changed, but those growth arcs tend to make it into the scripts.

Do you have an example or two of something that happened in your life that they kind of put into the character?   

Well, in the most recent seasons, just being a pilot. I got my license  just for fun and curiosity, and I pitched it to the show. I let them know that I’d done that, and then they thought, “well, that’d be a really fun and interesting direction to see Caleb go. Maybe move away from the rodeo school and be more interested in becoming a pilot.” And they literally wrote that because it was something I was exploring in my own life.

What’s it like tackling those action scenes? 

It is just so much fun what we do. So when we get there and we’re like looking at these intense scenes and then seeing what the audience receives, and that’s what’s most important, is that finished and complete story. Doing a lot of that action stuff and running around and having fun and having these emotional scenes, it’s so playful. It’s acting gold for us. For us, it’s what we cut our teeth on and have the most appetite for it. So it’s just fun. The storytelling, it’s not so terribly different from reading a novel and, and just falling in love with whatever the main character is interested in. It’s not that much different for us as the actors, except we just get to live it.

We’ve seen Amy and Caleb in this will-they-won’t-they dance. Now Amy has eyes for Nathan. Viewers have their preferences. What do you make of Amy and Caleb’s dynamic?    

Amber is my best friend in real life, so it’s exciting to have what we have on Heartland and with the cast. We are very blessed to be so close in real life, and we’ve all become friends. And as far as the whole Caleb, Amy, Nathan thing, I would just say to the audience, because I know lots of people are picking their favorites in them. That’s kind of the point of a dramatic series: what happens when it all works out? I’m sure we will keep toying with the audience for as long as possible, for as long as they allow us to keep making the show.

Do you want to see them end up together in the end or maintain a friendship? 

I don’t know. Spencer Lord has brought a lot to the show, and I think you guys will see that, especially this season. He brings just a new energy to the show that I think it really needed. He breathes so much life. I think ultimately what Caleb would want most is for Amy to be happy. And what I want most is whatever involves me the most in Heartland.(laughs).

Amber Marshall and Spencer Lord/UP Faith & Family

Adding another layer, Caleb reconnected with Ashley. Given all their history, what can you say about what viewers will see on that end? 

With Caleb and Ashley returning, there is a unique dynamic there. When I first started on the show and they first paired me and Cindy together, Cindy was a much more experienced actor, and she really helped. We were able to build that dynamic that the audience loves so much. The whole Ashley and Caleb combination, she helped bring that to life. I do think that even after all the years that she wasn’t part of the show, she remained a fan favorite. So having her return to the show, and then just our energy together as friends and peers, I think we breathed true life back into the old Caleb and Ashley energy. I think people are gonna absolutely love it. Cindy is one of my favorite people in the entire world to work with. She’s absolutely brilliant and just so kind.

Caleb is put in a difficult spot managing all these relationships. 

I empathize a lot with Caleb. Amy was the girl of his dreams since day one, and I think that he has had to accept over time that being close to her as a friend is probably as close as things are ever going to get. But there’s also a setup in there for things to shift, and it could be interesting. I think the way that Caleb has developed over the years, he kind of went from being a reckless young man into a much more mature, grounded adult with a huge open heart. I think that is something that could potentially be indispensable to Amy.

I think a lot of people would be interested in anything when it comes to Ashley. What happened all this time? What has she been through? So I think that would be kind of an interesting part to this. I think that would be very exciting to dig into. Without giving anything away, Caleb and Ashley spend quite a bit of time talking about their pasts and reconciling.

Cindy Busby and Kerry James (UP Faith & Family)

Heartland has endured for so long and built such a dedicated following. When did you feel this show had some legs and was something special? 

Honestly, for me, it was season two. It was just the wildest year of my life. I had no idea that this show was going to be on the air this long, but I think we largely owe the success of this show to Amber Marshall. I  do not think that if anyone else in the world was playing Amy Fleming, we’d still be on the air. I think it’s because she breathes an enormous amount of life into the show, and she has definitely become the show’s sort of mother. She makes sure everything runs smoothly. Yeah, we’re still on the air because of Amber and owe a huge portion to Shaun Johnston too.

Those two characters are indispensable to the world. I also think a lot of the world doesn’t have the luxury of living in a rural area and are around horses. So I think that’s a huge part of this, is people from wherever they are in the world, they feel a little bit closer to nature, to horses, to kind of rural Christian values, because that’s kind of what the show’s all about. And I think it just helps people heal at home or just escape and turn off a little bit from the stress of life, because everything about this show is so wholesome. Even when we tackle challenging plot lines or adult storylines, we still do it in a way that we breathe humility and morality into all of it, and I think that’s what makes Heartland so special.

I’m sure a perk is that you’re working with horses all the time and gaining a skillset in the process. 

People don’t understand. Heartland is so special that I would argue the bulk of us, not just the cast, the crew, the production team, all of us, like, yes, it’s work, but at the same time, it’s the work we look forward to most every year. It feels more like a vacation or a summer camp with your friends than anything else.

The crew seems tight-knit. So much so, you work on other projects together. 

Yeah, absolutely. That’s the coolest part, and I’ve got some big dreams of making a few films coming. Graham Wardle, who played Ty on Heartland all those years, we’ve got a project that we are pushing forward to be shooting next summer.

When it comes to Caleb’s future, what do you want to see for him? Is there something that you want to see explored more within your character as time goes on?   

I think it would be really interesting to learn a little bit more about Caleb’s past. We’ve never met his parents. We don’t really know where he’s from. We don’t really know quite what made him fall in love with this style of life. I think it’d be really interesting to meet Caleb’s mother or father.

Beyond Heartland, you also have The Way Home. 

I’m so grateful for it. It’s been so much fun being part of The Way Home, and playing Nick has been just an absolute blast. It has been exciting getting to work with Alex [Clarke] and Heather [Conkie] again because, of course, they were behind Heartland.

Anything you can tease about what’s to come for you as Nick?

I have to be careful with what I say because I don’t want to give anything away; it’s a very special year. Nick and Kat have a little team up, and it’s a lot of fun. Their shenanigans get a little out of hand. I think everyone will very much enjoy it.

When it comes to Season 19 of Heartland, what can you say about what Caleb will face?

Well, when it comes to just my story, I would say that, for Caleb, it’s not the biggest part of the season in any way. However, the stories that we do have and some of the new cast we’ve brought in, I think I can say this is probably going to be the most interesting and the best season of Heartland ever. So I’m very, very excited for the American audience to let us know what they think of it.

Heartland, Season 19 U.S. Premiere, Thursday, November 6, UP Faith & Family