Posted 31 minutes agoSubscribe to Screen Time NewsletterCaret Down"Little House's" Patrick Labyorteaux Reflects On Andy Garvey, His Surprising Audition, And Bond With Merlin Olsen"Merlin was an amazing guy who really took me under his wing."by Andrew FirrioloBuzzFeed StaffFacebookPinterestLink One of the best parts of Little House on the Prairie is the memorable supporting characters. Who can imagine Walnut Grove without the Olesons or the Garveys? Season Four introduced us to Jonathan, Alice, and Andy Garvey, who became close friends with the Ingalls.

To continue celebrating 50 years of Little House, I chatted with Patrick Labyorteaux about his audition, working with his brother Matthew [who played Albert Ingalls], Michael Landon, favorite episodes, and more! NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Getty Images Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. BuzzFeed: You started Little House at the beginning of season four. Can you tell me about your audition?Patrick Labyorteaux: It was a pretty awesome experience. I'd been a fan of Little House because I was the same age as Melissa [Melissa Gilbert, who played Laura], and I loved watching a kid my age go on all these adventures. On a Wednesday, I had just watched an episode - I think it was "Bunny" or "The Race" - and that Thursday, my mom told me I had an audition for Paramount. I auditioned for Susie Sukman, the casting director. She said, "I want you to read for Michael Landon," and it turned out it was for Little House. I thought, "Great, I love Little House!"They were shooting in Simi Valley that day, about 90 minutes from Paramount in Hollywood, so they put us on a bus. It was myself, my mom, and five other kids with their moms. We drove up there, and they had a base camp set up where all the big trucks and generators were in one area. We're coming up over this hill, and there's Walnut Grove, as we all know it, and under the main tree in the middle of the square was Michael Landon dressed up like Pa. NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Getty Images Michael Landon and Merlin Olsen on the Little House set. Michael had this amazing ability to make you feel like he's just another guy, even though he's Michael Landon. We auditioned, and then he gathered all of us around. I was right next to him; he had his arm around me, and he goes, "I want to thank everybody for coming to read. We'll let everybody know as soon as we make our decision." We all started to leave, and he held on to me and leaned down. He goes, "You stay here," and he said it in a way where I felt I was in trouble!So everybody leaves. And he says, "Okay, you got the part, kiddo!" I couldn't believe it! I went to wardrobe, I tried on some outfits, and then I started work the next day. So Wednesday, I watched the show, and Friday, I'm on the show!What was it like filming your first episode, "The Wolves?"The next day after my audition, I was filming in the hay loft with Melissa, Melissa Sue, and the baby Carrie twins. At the end of the episode, I went around to say goodbye and thank everybody. Melissa [Gilbert] goes, "What are you doing?" I'm like, "It was great working with you!" She goes, "You're in the next episode!"I was told that I was on the show, but I understood that to mean I was on the show this week. I didn't know Andy Garvey was a recurring character. It was around a month before I realized that I had signed a contract, and I'm in a lot of episodes. I thought it would only be a couple episodes, but then it ended up being a few years. NBC / NBCUniversal / Via Getty Images Mary, Andy, Carrie, and Laura in the hay loft. You had the unique experience of getting to act with your brother Matt. What was that dynamic like?(Laughs) He's my brother. Sometimes we'd get along, sometimes I couldn't stand his face. If you have a sibling, you know! The funny thing is, it was unique if it were any other show other than Little House. Melissa and Jonathan were brother and sister, and we had multiple sets of twins on the show with baby Carrie and baby Grace. A lot of the kids who were extras, like in the class and in the church, were children of the crew members. So on Little House, it actually wasn't unique to be on the set with another family member.

Having said that, I was really happy that my brother and I got to do the show together. Getting to be on the same show and doing all of our press and appearances together was really helpful, for emotional support and for being under the gun. I remember we did this press tour where they flew us down to New Orleans. We were put in a hotel, and we did interviews for a couple of days. Back in the day, there wasn't Zoom - you would show up at a hotel, and they would interview all the NBC TV stars for the year. So we got to do those press junkets together, and it was always fun.

My brother and I were adopted at different times; I was adopted at nine months old and Matt at ten months. The big question from the press was, "What was it like living in an orphanage?" It's like,