Jack Wagner on His ‘When Calls the Heart’ Character’s Search for Truth (Exclusive)

Every time Jack Wagner steps onto the set of When Calls the Heart, he’s reminded of a simpler time before technology was so deeply ingrained in everyday life.

The popular Hallmark Channel drama, set in a small Canadian town in the early 1900s, captures the period to the smallest detail.

“We introduced the bicycle, the railroad and sawmills onto the show, so I certainly take on that feeling of another era when I work,” Wagner, 64, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue.

This season, his character, Bill Avery, and Rosemary Coulter (Pascale Hutton) investigate Lucas Bouchard’s (Chris McNally) shooting, despite the case being officially closed. Wagner hints the duo’s onscreen sleuthing results in a “lot of comedy” while staying true to Bill and Rosemary’s goal to “find the truth.”

“You’ve got these two opposite characters seeking the truth, one [Rosemary] through journalism, and the other [Bill] through law enforcement and the rules and regulations he’s followed his whole life,” he adds. “It creates for a lot of comedy.”

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“That’s what I really seek in the character study and playing this character, is how do you take this disciplined curmudgeon character and really find the human side of him, which gives her [Rosemary] a lot of comedy, as well as heartwarming moments,” Wagner continues. “It also gives us an interesting story arc for the two characters who really haven’t had much to do other than just community things together for 10 seasons.”

When he’s not filming When Calls the Heart for months at a time outside Vancouver or spending time with family, Wagner who is the father of three children — Kerry, 35, Peter, 33, and his late son Harrison, 27 — stays in shape by working out almost every day through cardiovascular exercise and lifting weights at the gym.

“For some reason, they still put me on television as a leading man, so I’d better look good,” he quips. “And so I think that that formula has forced me into a healthy lifestyle.”

Wagner, who shelved his dreams of becoming a golf pro in college in favor of pursuing acting — “That was the time I when I said, ‘Am I going to try to be Jack Nicklaus or Jack Nicholson?” — also practices his golf swing at the Bel-Air Country Club, where he’s been a member for 38 years.

The social club features one of the top golf courses in the U.S. and remains to this day, Wagner’s “home course.”

“That’s my go-to place,” he says. “That’s where my peeps are.”

For more on Jack Wagner, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here. 

When Calls the Heart airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on the Hallmark Channel.