In addition to Dr. Brick Breeland on Hart of Dixie, Matheson has played many other notable roles.
If watching Virgin River feels like a bit of déjà vu to you, that’s because it is: Vernon “Doc” Mullins in the Netflix original series is played by the same actor who portrays another fictional doctor you likely recognize, Dr. Brick Breeland from The CW’s Hart of Dixie. The repeat role, while strange to some, has been far from a bother to us — we’ve actually found an odd sort of comfort in seeing him in this familiar role in the Netflix smash hit.
With Virgin River dethroning The Crown in recent streaming ratings, we decided to do some more sleuthing on the small-town doc and see what else we may recognize the actor from on TV and in the movies. As it turns out, the list is more lengthy than we knew, with Virgin River and Hart of Dixie just the tip of this actor’s impressive portfolio.
Among his long list of credits, some standouts from recent years include CBS’ Madam Secretary (which you can currently stream on Netflix), NBC’s This Is Us (which you can currently stream on Peacock), and USA Network’s Burn Notice (which you can currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Hulu). Then there’s several TV movies from the past few years including WB’s The Prince, Hallmark’s Magical Christmas Ornaments, and Lifetime’s Last Chance for Christmas.
Matheson is perhaps best known for playing Vice President John Hoynes on The West Wing (which you can currently stream on HBO Max), the beloved NBC show which ran from 1999 to 2006. His TV career dates back to the early 1960s where he appeared on shows like Leave It to Beaver and The Alvin Show.
Movie-wise, he’s likely best known for his leading role as Eric “Otter” Stratton in 1977’s National Lampoon’s Animal House. If you want to treat yourself to Matheson’s talent from his younger years — and a whole lot of laughter, we’re not going to stop you.
Unless, of course, that’d be holding you up from finishing the nail-biting second season of Virgin River, in which case we’d say: Turn on Netflix, Doc’s orders.
