Holly Marie Combs Recalls How the Late Shannen Doherty Helped Her Get HerCharmedRole: 'It Was a Negotiation'

Mar. 15, 2025

‘Charmed’ stars (from left) Holly Marie Combs, Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano.Photo:Warner Bros/Everett/Shutterstock

Warner Bros/Everett/Shutterstock

Shannen Doherty’sCharmedcostars remembered her legacy during 90s Con Florida.

On Sunday, Sept. 15, starsHolly Marie Combs,Rose McGowan,Brian Krause,Drew Fuller, Jennifer Rhodes andDorian Gregorysat together on a panel in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Combs, 50, remembered how her late costar helped her get the job onCharmed.

“I knew Shannen before the show, we met when I was 19,” Combs said. “And we had actually gone to network with another person to be Phoebe and the network didn’t like her. They didn’t like me either. So they wanted to keep Shannen and recast the other two.”

However, “Shannen and [executive producer] Aaron [Spelling] said we’re not really the show without Holly,” Combs continued. “It was a negotiation. I was supposed to be auditioning for Phoebe which would’ve never worked. Shannen was supposed to be Piper. We had to convince Aaron we were old enough to play the older characters — he actually asked for our IDs. He saw [Shannen] as a little girl still.”

Doherty ended up playing Prue Halliwell, Combs played Piper Halliwell andAlyssa Milanoplayed Phoebe Halliwell.

‘Charmed’ stars Shannen Doherty (left) and Holly Marie Combs at MegaCon Orlando 2024 on Feb. 4, 2024.Gerardo Mora/Getty

Gerardo Mora/Getty

Fuller, 44, explained his path toCharmed, too.

“There was an old school mentality in that they like an actor or actress and want to find a home, a spot for them. I was lucky to be in that stable,” Fuller said. “I had done a Spelling pilot that didn’t go anywhere, he was devastated about that. Then I ended up being moved to a different WB show, a karate show. [Spelling said] ‘We’ve got this show for you, it’sCharmed. We’ve written a role for you, we don’t fully know where it’s going to go yet.’ "

McGowan admitted she didn’t believe it when she got a call from Spelling, who died in 2006 at age 83, about doingCharmed.

“The phone rang in my hotel room. I answered it and it’s, ‘Hi, I’m Aaron Spelling.’ I hung up,” McGowan said. “The phone rings again and like, ‘No, it’s really me, Aaron Spelling.’ ‘Okay.’ ‘Come and meet me in L.A.’ I was just finishing this project in Romania. I’m on the plane on the way home, I asked, ‘Okay universe, I don’t know this show, give me a sign if I’m meant to do this show.’ I’ve been on a lot of planes and never since have I seenCharmedon any airplane, let alone the pilot episode. I’m on like, Romania Air, and the only in-flight entertainment on this flight back to the U.S. was the pilot episode ofCharmed,and if that’s not a sign right there. "

TheBraveauthoradded, “I’ve been to Romania since then and it was not on the plane again.”

Krause, 55, said he’d auditioned for Spelling “a million times before this” and nothing ever panned out.

“So I do it. I had met Aaron a million times. My strategy was, I’m going to walk in and say, ‘Mr. Spelling, it’s good to see you again.’ I walk in … he looks down at my picture. ‘Hello, um, Brian, it’s nice to meet you.’ I’m just like, f— this s—,” he continued with a laugh. “I did kind of an angry read, I finish, look up like, ‘Anything else?’ I walked out just pissed. I wasn’t even halfway home, I got paged, ‘You got it.’”

Holly Marie Combs and Brian Krause at 2019 Wizard World Comic Con at the Pennsylvania Convention Center on June 14, 2019 in Philadelphia.Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty

Gilbert Carrasquillo/Getty

A day before the panel, theCharmedcasthonored Doherty with a special live episodeof the podcast,House of Halliwell.

Shannen Doherty.Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

Weiss Eubanks/NBCUniversal via Getty

“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better,” she told PEOPLE. “I’m just not — I’m not done.”

Shortly after the news of Doherty’s death, Combs shareda heartfelt video to Instagramthat featured tons of photos of the pair over their decades-long friendship. As photos flashed across the screen in Combs' video,Faith Hill’s song “There You’ll Be” played in the background.

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“It’s been one week and it feels like forever,” Combs wrote in the caption of the post. “I spent all day looking for one particular picture and found just about every picture but that one.”

“Shannen promised to haunt me but I thought she’d be occupied with a few others at first,” she continued. “Alas I’m sure it will show up when and where I least expect it. My rock. 10:18.”

90s Con Florida is occurring through Sunday, Sept. 15, at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.

source: people.com