Interview: Hallmark Channel star Amy Acker talks Crashing Through the Snow

Crashing Through the Snow is the first all-new Hallmark Channel original holiday movie to land in 2021, and it’s getting an early start by premiering during the network’s Christmas in July programming. Not only is it one of the cutest holiday movies I’ve seen, but it’s also special because it represents a shift in holiday movie culture. I had a chance to talk with star Amy Acker (Angel, The Gifted) about this delightful holiday movie.

Acker’s Maggie is a mom who will do anything for her girls. She’s divorced, but she’s still best friends with her ex-husband Jeff (Kristian Bruun) and they have the kind of relationship exes hope for. When Jeff wants to bring the girls to Aspen to celebrate Christmas with his girlfriend Kate’s family, Maggie is hit by the realization she’ll be spending the first Christmas away from her kids. Kate (Brooke Nevin) wants Maggie to be included. She’s trying to make the holiday perfect for everyone, so she invites Maggie to her family’s home (read: mansion).

Kate’s brother Sam (Warren Christie) shows up unexpectedly, throwing a wrench into Kate’s plans, He’s used to playing second fiddle to Kate but when he sees Maggie being pushed to the side (quite unintentionally) by Kate’s attempts to be the perfect host, Sam steps in and rallies to help Maggie ensure that she isn’t pushed to the side.

Crashing Through the Snow is a celebration of blended families and it offers hope (and inspiration) for blended families to embrace both old and new traditions. It’s a departure from Hallmark’s usual formula, possibly heralding a new direction for Christmas movies on the network.

Interview: Amy Acker calls Crashing Through the Snow a “new leaf” for Hallmark

(Sarabeth Pollock) I’m absolutely in love with Crashing Through the Snow. I watched it last night and I smiled the whole way through. It’s such a feel-good movie. 

(Amy Acker) Thank you! I haven’t gotten to see it yet, so that’s exciting to hear.

It’s so cute. I would love to know what attracted you to this movie because it’s so different. I’d like to think I’m a connoisseur of Hallmark Christmas movies, which isn’t a bad thing to be at this point. But Crashing Through the Snow has such an interesting concept because normally it’s always about an evil girlfriend trying to show up the mom, and this is the complete opposite. Kate is trying to do so much, and that’s her flaw – trying to be too perfect. 

Yeah, that was part of the fun of it for all of us, I think, is that we were like, “This is kind of like a new leaf for Hallmark, kind of doing something a little different. And we’re going to push some boundaries.” And they’re like, “The boys don’t have to shave.” Little things just that you’re like “Oh, that’s different for Hallmark.”

And yeah, I think we were all just really excited about the script from the get-go. It kind of reminded me of one of those 90’s rom comics that they don’t make anymore, but it felt like in another time period, like a script that you would see this movie in the theater or something. So it was just so much fun, and such a great group of people that we were all just, we were all smiling the whole time we were doing it too.

That bond with the cast really comes through. You can tell everyone was having so much fun.

Oh, good, thank you!

When did you film it? Were you on location?

Yes, we were in Winnipeg for most of the time, and then we did a little jaunt over to Banff and got to film in the snow out there and in the mountains. But it was in April to kind of mid-May.

And we didn’t know, I don’t think anyone knew that it was going to be in July when it came out. So that was a surprise to us. We were kind of like, “Oh, I’ll see you next Christmas.” And then it was Christmas in July so it was very exciting.

It’s always fun to hear these things because when you’re watching the movie you capture that magic. It’s not always snowing, because you don’t film Christmas movies in the winter when it’s actually snowing. So a lot of it is pretend. I was just talking with Chad Michael Murray and his last Hallmark movie was a summer movie, but they filmed in winter. He said it was 30 degrees and he had to be in a dunk tank on what was supposed to be a summer day. But it sounds like you had actual snow. 

There was. Yeah. that scene when we’re at the hot springs, it was our last night shooting and Warren’s son’s birthday was the next morning. And he was like, “I have to make the five o’clock plane.” And it just started snowing these…I mean, I was in awe the whole night. It was the most beautiful, magical snow I’d ever seen. These giant flakes that were perfectly spread out. I was like, “They could not have made this look more like a Hallmark movie if they tried to.” It was great.

And the location was so gorgeous. The settings and the house were beautiful. It made me want to start decorating. 

Yeah, I know. I always tease my mom because she sets up the Christmas village. Now that we’re all out of the house – I’m the oldest of four. And there’s the fancy tree and the kid tree and the nutcracker section and all of it. So I feel like I’ve been conditioned my whole life to be in a Hallmark movie. So I was like, “Oh, this is just what I need, Christmas decorations everywhere.”

And in the middle of spring, no less.

Exactly. It’s hard not to be happy when you’re surrounded by Christmas. So it was a good thing.

You’ve done so many projects over the years. What draws you to Hallmark movies?

Oh gosh. I mean, this one, I just love doing them all the time because I do usually do a lot of darker things. And I’m shooting people and I’m on the run. Rarely do I get to do some fun, funny, like falling in love stuff. And I love doing that. I feel like Hallmark’s been the one place where I get to have that feel good experience because it’s the same watching it as making it. It just feels like everyone’s in such a good mood, and everyone’s so happy. And you’re not shooting until 4am in a dark alley. You’re surrounded by people and snow and everyone’s nice. Making them is so much fun. And then I also love watching them. I’ve been trying to write them. I guess I’m with you, just a Hallmark connoisseur.

It’s a fun club to be part of really, because it always puts a smile on your face. 

Exactly. I mean, even if it was just you and me, we’d have a great time!

Exactly!

It’s so fun, too, because sometimes I’ll be out and about and I expect someone to say, “Oh, I recognize you from something.” And I’m always surprised. Like the 50 year old man who’s like, “I loved you in the Hallmark movies.” I feel like there’s a lot of closeted Hallmark fans out there that you’re like, “Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.”

My boss is like that! After pitching my ideas to cover Hallmark movies I found out he’s a huge When Calls the Heart fan. 

That’s amazing!

This movie has so much appeal, I feel like it’s going to have a mass appeal to a wide audience. Not just Christmas people or Hallmark people, but everyone. The script is so smart. I wrote down one of Maggie’s lines, “She’s like a walking Instagram post.” I loved that. And there are so many great lines throughout the movie. As you say, it’s not like other Hallmark movies. 

Yeah, the script…Tamar [Laddy] did an amazing job. And Warren, who plays Sam opposite me, I’ve known him forever. And I had signed on to do the movie, and then he called me and said, “I just got an offer to do a script that you’re doing. And I read it.” And he’s like, “I’ve never read a script that’s so good. It’s such a great Hallmark script.” So I was like, “I know. It’s really good, right?”

I think everyone just thought she did such a great job with the script, and Kate over at Hallmark just championing it and guiding it to be something a little different and something more current. It feels really fun. At the same time, there’s some slightly complex issues that you might not usually see in a Hallmark movie.

That makes it special. I loved the relationship between Maggie and Jeff. There are some married people who never should have been married because they’re so much better as friends, so to see that come to life and have it work out, it really is possible. And as a whole the movie speaks to blended families, like it’s not something you need to worry about. Embrace it. It can be weird, but it can also be really cool. The movie celebrates it and elevates it to something that isn’t traditional. There’s no evil stepmother. It’s the exact opposite. 

I know, I love that about it. And Kristian was just so fun and fun to work with. I liked the complexity of all the relationships in it, as you’re saying, even with Brooke’s character. She was just too perfect, and that perfection was intimidating, I think. And the misreads between the characters, and as you said, the blended family aspect. I really liked that and how they were trying to navigate things separately and together. And I just think Tamar did a great job with the script in that way.

You already hit on this a bit, but I was going to ask how well you knew Warren before the movie. From the moment he enters the room there’s this chemistry between the two of you, this sparkle. You’re almost always on the verge of laughter. You could tell you had a connection beyond the script. It must have been so much fun to film with him.

It was. We’ve done a pilot together that didn’t get picked up. The first time we worked together was about 16 years ago. And then we did two other series, where [our characters] didn’t really interact, but we were on location and so we would hang out a lot.

I’ve always thought he’s so talented and obviously not bad on the eyes. He’s just such a fun guy. And he’s always been one of those people in your life that keeps popping up, and you’re always excited to spend time with them. Getting to do this together made the project for me.

The casting was perfect. The kids were wonderful. It looked so natural, like you’ve all known each other forever. 

We all had a blast. We definitely have, as a cast, our pitch for the sequel ready. So we’re hoping everyone likes it because we’re like, “We all want to hang out again. Can we make that happen?”

That would be fantastic! If you got started on it in August it could be ready for this Christmas!

Yeah, we can just go back to back!

That might be a new thing, doing back to back Christmas in July movies and then their sequels at Christmas.

Exactly!

Since you have so much experience with Christmas movies, I wanted to ask you what it’s like filming a Christmas movie outside of the season. Does it ever make you want to start celebrating sooner?

Well, yeah, maybe. The funny thing about this, I haven’t done Christmas in July, but now I’m definitely intrigued. And I was just telling someone about one of my friends whose birthday is on June 30th. He’s obsessed with Thanksgiving dinner so we’re having Thanksgiving dinner on June 30th. So I feel like July 10 for Christmas and the movie feels just about right.

Do you have any special holiday traditions in your family?

We do! I mean, my kids are teenagers now, so I still force them to do it, but we always decorate the tree together as a thing. And we always go together to pick out a tree. And then we have both families, my husband and my family, all come over. Other than last year.

We also take in anyone who doesn’t have a place to go. So we usually have giant Christmas dinners with 30 or 35 people and we just do a big thing. We have a train. And we do an advent calendar. I’ve tried to make different, creative ones over the years but the past two years I just bought one. We go pretty full out for pretty much any Christmas thing there is. We make cookies. We do a gingerbread house. If it’s an option, we’re doing it.

Since you mentioned writing your own Hallmark movies, if you had a chance to pick a destination for a dream Hallmark movie, set in any season, where would you pick?

Well, geez, that’s a good idea. I grew up in Texas and I’d like to do a Texas-y Hallmark movie. That may not be the most exciting location. I should’ve said the Maldives or something. I’ve got to think of an idea for that.

Well Crashing Through the Snow started out in Austin. For a moment I wondered if it was going to take place in Austin. 

I know!

So there could be an audience for your idea.

Okay, good. We’ve got the sequel. They go home to Austin!

Chatting with Amy Acker was such a delight. She’s every bit as warm and kind and funny as she is in the movie, and I’m grateful that she took the time to talk about Crashing Through the Snow.

You can catch the premiere of Crashing Through the Snow on Saturday, July 10, on the Hallmark Channel, and plan for it to pop up again when Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas begins in the fall.