With Christmas in full swing on the Hallmark networks, lovely vacation motion pictures are coming in sizzling and heavy.
Lengthy Misplaced Christmas stars Taylor Cole and Benjamin Ayres in a narrative reminding us that this Christmas could possibly be our final with anybody we love.
We had the chance to meet up with Ben to speak in regards to the film and an entire lot extra.
You do not have to be watching Hallmark to get your fill of Benjamin Ayres. This 12 months alone, he is been in a number of Hallmark productions, Household Regulation on The CW, The Dangerous Seed Returns on Lifetime, and The Children within the Corridor.
Ben says that whereas Hallmark operates within the vein of previous Hollywood’s studio system, for different roles, he is going by way of the audition course of.
With Hallmark, “You simply get a telephone name, and also you’re matched up with any individual else. The primary inquiry is ‘Who wrote it?’ ‘Who’s starring in it?’ ‘Who’s directing it?'”
“I made a joke the opposite day about it being the Batman sign. You are simply going about your day, after which a telephone name occurs, and the subsequent week you are in Vancouver beginning a film,” Ben laughed.
“The remainder of the time, you are simply auditioning and ready to search out out for those who’ve booked it or for those who’re near one thing. For instance, Household Regulation. I did an audition, after which I had a callback, after which they flew me from Toronto to Vancouver to do a chemistry learn with Jewel [Staite].
“Then I discovered simply form of proper after that they needed me to be in BC for the summer time, which labored out nicely As a result of I used to be already doing the Hallmark initiatives, and we wish to spend our summers right here. So the entire household got here out and spent our summer time in BC, which we like to do.
“With Children within the Corridor, Mark McKinney is a pal of mine, and I simply bought a telephone name, ‘Do you wish to…?’ And I stated, ‘Say no extra. I’ll actually stand within the… I will do nothing; I simply wish to see you guys make your artwork.’
“So I used to be very proud of the function, and it was a really intense expertise, too, engaged on a comedy like that with such comedic legends. There was plenty of strain, however Holy Moly was it enjoyable!”
As you possibly can see from the initiatives talked about, Ben’s expertise permits him to tackle many various kinds of roles, which retains him recent. He considers himself fortunate in that regard, particularly since he was initially a comic book actor who virtually bought pigeonholed in that area.
“Comedy was all the time my factor. That is what I all the time needed to do. I all the time needed to be on Saturday Evening Dwell. I had a sketch comedy group. We did plenty of comedy.
“It is what I really like now about Instagram; it is giving me an outlet to do comedic issues by myself phrases and have a channel to place them on the market as a result of I do not get to do as many comedies as I used to.
After a run of comedy roles in Canada, he bought an audition for the drama Saving Hope. “I keep in mind after I had auditioned for it, and the creators actually needed me for the function to play this physician in a dramatic collection. The community was like, ‘Yeah, however he is the goofy, humorous man from these different exhibits.’
“They usually have been like, ‘Effectively, I do not know him as a goofy, humorous man. So we identical to him because the dramatic actor that he’s.’ So I really feel like, on the proper time, I bought out of being often called simply ‘The comedy man.’ I went into dramatic stuff, and now individuals are stunned that I do comedy.
“As a result of I’ve developed such relationships through the years in each dramatic and comedy worlds, like producers, writers, and administrators, I get to bounce forwards and backwards, they usually see me as each. Although each actor can do each to some extent, it is that I’ve had plenty of expertise in each that I appear to get requires that.”
For those who’re a fan, you have seen how Ben leans on comedy as a lot as he cans, even when it is a Hallmark Films & Mysteries manufacturing. “I imply, [The Chronicle Mysteries] possibly not as a lot. Once we have been doing that, it was just a little extra critical, and we made a concerted effort to try this.
“We have been making an attempt one thing just a little completely different, however on the similar time, for certain, in the event that they’re comedic bits, we have been reminding them I beloved to try this stuff. So it is inconceivable to put in writing one thing on a web page that does not also have a small chuckle. If there’s the power for amusing, I will discover it and have enjoyable doing it.”
Relating to Lengthy Misplaced Christmas, Ben beloved the script. His daughter described it to him finest.
“My daughter put it to me the opposite day as we have been strolling to highschool, She’s 10 years previous, and she or he says it is, ‘You guys are selling Christmas motion pictures? Your Christmas film is popping out already? We simply completed Halloween.’ I stated, ‘I do know.’
“Then proper after, she goes, ‘However I get it as a result of it offers me such a heat, fuzzy feeling inside simply on the considered Christmas. It is my favourite time of 12 months. I do not assume it was at some point, I consider it as many days as you will get out of that feeling inside.’
“She expressed what all of us do who love Christmas motion pictures, is you neglect that that’s baked in at such a younger age, and to listen to her categorical it in a manner that we categorical it jogged my memory of simply how, as I say, baked in it’s. But in addition that it is an actual feeling of childhood pleasure.”
Ben was notably drawn to the story of its message of household and hope.
“It will be an exquisite movie to look at together with your family and friends, and possibly there is a cousin or a brother or some relative who you do not speak to as a lot as you wished you probably did. It will encourage you to try this extra. That is one thing that I actually beloved about this film particularly.”
Regardless of beginning vacation initiatives early to get them performed in time for Christmas, Ben says it does not affect his pleasure of Christmas. Whereas the Christmas parts are there and the set designs are unimaginable, it does not have the identical feeling when in between pictures, they’re smack dab in the course of summer time.
“There are moments when it is fairly beautiful. You are like, ‘Oh, wow. That is lovely.’ However you already know it is faux snow. It is too sizzling out. It does not really feel proper.”
For those who observe Ben’s Instagram web page, you already know that he isn’t kidding about dropping the Christmas feeling when the director calls reduce. He featured a number of posts of himself, Taylor, and her husband having a grand time swimming and boating. It isn’t all the time that enjoyable on set, he says.
“There are two the reason why this one was this enjoyable. Taylor Cole. We simply bought alongside from the get-go. We had so many laughs we could not maintain a straight face. It was the primary time I’ve additionally labored with a co-star whose husband was there. So he and I actually bought alongside, and we golfed on a regular basis.
“My joke was Taylor was busy working. When she had time without work, she bought to come back golf with us. And I used to be {golfing} day by day, and after I had time without work, I needed to go work. So I spent plenty of time {golfing} with Cameron.
“However the factor that made this one particularly very particular was that we shot it in Harrison Scorching Springs, and all of us stayed there, forged and crew. So it felt like summer time camp. We have been on the market for 2 and a half weeks. There are solely a few eating places you possibly can go to. They’d make dinners, I would make dinners, we might go to one another’s locations, and all of us stayed collectively.
“It is like this pure sizzling spring resort, so at night time we might wrap, and everyone would go to those swimming pools that you may float round in. It was an expertise I have never had on one among these, and I’ve had plenty of experiences on these. So it was like summer time camp; it was so enjoyable.”
It was so enjoyable that Ben even had time to have just a little extra of it with some Hallmark followers who have been watching them movie.
When he had a second, he turned on the digital camera and wandered up behind them, asking, “What are they filming over there?” When the couple circled, they acknowledged him, they usually turned out to be nice followers of his work.
“Then I used to be so embarrassed that I used to be filming that. I turned it off, after which they have been like, ‘I really like you in Falling for Vermont. And ‘Oh, my favourite one is You, Me, and the Christmas Timber. We love Chronicles.’ The husband knew all of them, and the velocity at which they knew all the films? I used to be identical to, ‘You guys, that’s so candy.'”
Whereas filming Household Regulation, Jewel urged him to get a TikTok channel, and he uploaded the video there and on Instagram. To his shock, it went viral, constructing to virtually 50 million views between the channels.
“It is blowing up. I opened my factor, it is like all these feedback and issues. So there’s this e book giveaway that I used to be doing as a result of I bought all of us to signal it, and what I will do is I will publish it tomorrow. I would like the group to assist me discover her, so we will ship her the e book. I believe she actually deserves it.”
Ben’s hope is that by way of his engaged on-line group, they will be capable to observe down his megafans to share with them the cast-signed copy of Lengthy Misplaced Christmas by Joan Kilby. “It is like our personal little Hallmark Films & Thriller thriller. So I would like you to go on the market and discover her and let’s have a look at if we will, and let’s give her a cool birthday current.”
Within the meantime, Ben hopes that the movie Lengthy Misplaced Christmas offers them the nice and cozy and fuzzy feeling his daughter so superbly expressed.
“I believe that individuals are going to remove from the film the truth that household is de facto vital across the holidays, and also you’re by no means too previous or too younger to search out new love, and once we maintain ourselves open, it doesn’t matter what the expertise, cool issues occur.”
It certain sounds good to me!
Lengthy Misplaced Christmas premieres on Hallmark Films & Mysteries on Saturday, November 19 at 10/9c.
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a employees author and critic for TV Fanatic. She’s a member of the Critic’s Selection Affiliation, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of tv and movie with anybody who will pay attention. Comply with her on Twitter and e-mail her right here at TV Fanatic.
