The April 13 episode of ‘The Good Wife’ will be utterly Will Gardner-less, and if you’re still in mourning, Josh Charles has some words of comfort just for you. Read on for our exclusive interview!

Fans of The Good Wife, even though you may be missing Josh Charles‘ Will Gardner from the April 13 episode, we’ve got your fix! HollywoodLife.com spoke to Josh EXCLUSIVELY at the Pinwheels for Prevention event held by Prevent Child Abuse America in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month on April 8, and he told us all about his involvement with this incredibly important cause and he had some comforting words to help his fans continue to grieve the loss of his beloved character.

‘The Good Wife’: Josh Charles Was ‘Very Moved’ By Reaction Over Will Gardner’s Death

While the event was in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month, well, we couldn’t really help ourselves — we just had to ask about The Good Wife. We’re still in mourning, OK?!

HollywoodLife.com: Could you have anticipated such a huge, emotional reaction from your fan base? Were you surprised people were so upset?

Josh Charles: I expected a reaction, but the intensity of it was a bit surprising and actually blew me away;  I was very moved by it. I understand and respect the fact that so many fans get attached to characters on TV over a long period of time, and some of them have gone through or are still going through a grieving period, and I can relate to it.

Look, I played the guy for five years, and I’m fond of him as well, and of the people that I work with. It’s been a grieving period for me as well, but, I think that the beauty of social media is the ability to stay in touch with the fans and share with them what they’re going through and let them know that I’m there and the character may be gone but I’m still involved in the show. I just directed an episode, and you know, I’m just excited about the next chapter, creatively, for me.

HL: Given how well you know Alicia and Will, what kind of message do you think he would have left on her phone? Positive? Negative?

JC: I don’t know, I don’t really know. I think what’s more interesting is what the writers chose to do, which is leave the end of episode 16 from Alicia’s imagination and what she was maybe wanting or hoping. What I think is more true to life — and what the writers do so well on that show — is that they don’t tie things up and they don’t answer those questions, because sometimes death, like what happened to Will, happens in real life. And you don’t always get everything wrapped up the way you want it and get all the answers and you have to move on from that. I think that that’s what’s really exciting, to see where that leads Alicia, moving forward at the end of this season into next season. I think that’s why the show is just so good and will continue to be.

Josh is, of course, totally right — as upsetting as it’s been to lose Will, viewers could not be in better hands than those of the writers on The Good Wife. But don’t get us wrong — we will definitely be missing him on the April 13 episode and moving forward.

Speaking of staying in touch with fans over social media… Parks & Recreation star Retta was famously as devastated as we were over Will Gardner’s death — and Josh even reached out to her on Twitter to comfort her! Funnily enough, we saw Retta the night before at The Shorty Awards on April 7, and we asked her if she had anything she’d like to say to Josh. She told us: “Tell him that I miss him already, and give him a big hug for me.” We were happy to pass along the message… and yes, we did get a hug. It’s fine, it wasn’t the highlight of our lives or anything. Just kidding — it was.

Josh Charles: An Innocent, Carefree Life Is The Right For All Children

When we asked Josh about his involvement with the Pinwheels for Prevention event, he told us that he “immediately said yes, because, anything you can do to help. The causes that I feel most passionate about are things that involve the innocent. Children, animals… This is a really important subject […] and we just get to raise awareness for ways that we can help. I think that’s the key — the preventable forms of child abuse that aren’t always obvious to the eye.”

The speech that Josh delivered at the event was particularly heartwarming. Here’s an excerpt:

I am honored to do my small part here today in helping bring awareness and a voice to this very important problem. And I hope to be a father someday soon, and I feel strongly that living an innocent, carefree life isn’t just for some children — it’s the right for all children, regardless of the neighborhood they grew up in or their socioecominoc status. I care for the welfare of the next generation. Children are the artists, the politicians, the engineers, the doctors, the scientists of tomorrow. And I want to see all of them have the chance to lead full, productive and safe lives.

[…]

We have to be those agents of change in the lives of the young people in our families and communities. This seems simple enough, yet we know that things like poverty, substance abuse, neglect and domestic violence can become real roadblocks for families and children The key here though is that so many of these things are preventable.

As for what you can do to help? You can visit PinwheelsForPrevention.org, or you can text the word “pinwheel” to 20222.

So, HollywoodLifers, are you still in mourning over the loss of Will Gardner? Will you be donating to Pinwheels For Prevention in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month? It’s what Will Gardner would have wanted! Let us know.

— Amanda Michelle Steiner
Follow @AmandaMichl

More ‘The Good Wife’:

1. The Good Wife’: Will Gardner’s ‘Last Call’ Was Heartbreaking
2. ‘The Good Wife’: Shocking Death & Why The Actor Chose To Leave
3. ‘Good Wife’: Josh Charles Explains Will Gardner’s Death — Watch