My Devotional Thoughts | Kavan Smith

I’ve never made any secret of my predilection for Kavan Smith and his character of Lee in When Calls the Heart. I have had the honor of meeting him twice, and this is my third interview with him thus far. The amazing thing is that this time, we were finally able to discuss in great detail a project he had mentioned every time I interviewed him–Love On the Menu (which premiered 2/23 on both the Hallmark Channel and the W Network)–as well as season six of When Calls the Heart (which premieres 2/24 on both the Hallmark Channel and Super Channel Heart & Home). It is my honor to share our recent chat in celebration of what I have christened “Kavan Smith Weekend.” 

RH: Kavan, so great to chat with you yet again! It sounds like you’ve been pretty busy.

KS: Ruth, thank you, great to chat with you. And yes, it’s been busy. But now the holidays are over, the kids are back in school and Pascale {Hutton} and I are busy trying to get another project put together for Hallmark. Hopefully, everything will work out for this one.

Wow! I know you were filming your movie almost all the way up to Christmas break. 

Yes, we shot right up to the 21st of December. And that was kind of thrown at me last-minute. I had written the project, and they had bought the project, and I had been told we were going to shoot the project in May or June. I was still shooting When Calls the Heart, and I got a call from Elizabeth Yost, the executive who greenlit my project, and she said, “So, I’ve got good news and the exciting news. The good news is that we’re still a go with your project. But the exciting news is that it needs to be in about three weeks. ” And I was like, “Holy smokes!” Because I had written it and I was still shooting and because I know that Hallmark is very particular about their formula and model for their films, and with mine being the first one they had bought, I wasn’t sure exactly how they liked everything. They were like, “We have a lot of changes we need to make, and we know you’re filming When Calls the Heart. Would you mind if we hired one of our people at the network to do the rewrites?” So the guy who rewrote it was the director of Perfect Bride 2, Alex Wright. I think he did a really nice job and took a lot of pressure off me.

Right after we finished filming When Calls the Heart, we started shooting like around December first or second. I couldn’t believe we were actually shooting my project, and it was great. But then I got worried because even though they have always been quite supportive of me, this is the first one I’ve written, and I was hoping that we weren’t just gonna get shoved in at the end of the year. I was worried we might get the worst crews and the worst director and the worst people involved and it would just be a nightmare ’cause of the time crunch. But the truth is I got lucky on every level. It was like it was just meant to be. Autumn Reeser was fantastic. I actually hadn’t worked opposite anyone but Pascale in quite a while.

When I saw that Autumn was the leading lady, I was so excited because you got one of the top leading ladies of Hallmark. 

She is absolutely one of the best. She’s got a nice, natural acting style, and she’s really cool. We got along immediately. You know, I like to make jokes and fool around a bit as long as I remain professional, and she was exactly the same way. We hit it off from day one. And she also really delivered. She’s got a really nice, charming acting style. She’s very funny, and she can also be quite pensive and heartfelt. So that ended up being great.

They also let me be involved in the casting so I got to sit in and read with all the actors. They even let me have a bunch of my choices. The director they hired is Ellie Kanner, and she’s an ex-casting director for Los Angeles. She ended up being fantastic! It was the first time she had done a Hallmark movie, and she was a wonderful, strong, smart, incredible woman, and she did a great job. The crew that we got and everything else…it just couldn’t have been any better.

I know Barbara Niven was part of the cast. 

While I had initially written the part with Brooke Shields in mind and sort of a Cruella De Vil kind of role, Hallmark had to pull back a little on how “Cruella” I had written the role. I had her a little too menacing. {laughs} I know that Brooke does humor really well, but she was not available, and Barbara is a network favorite, and she was great. She’s such a nice lady. She’s so kind and considerate. She showed up on the first day and hugged everybody on set. She’s also very close with the executives. But she never acts like it. She’s just an actress doing her gig. In fact, we were part of a podcast to promote this film too. I hope everyone gets a chance to hear it. Erin Krakow and Niall Matter were the hosts of that one. They actually got to see the movie ahead of time, so they knew what questions to ask. I know both of them very well. She was very, very complimentary about the film, and she said, “You are going to be so happy with how this turned out. You and Autumn have so much chemistry.”

Now, the original title was Falling Stars, but I know they changed the title to Love On the Menu. 

I have to admit I understand under the circumstances because Falling Stars does not sound much like a Hallmark movie. 

Yeah, true, I can understand that. I can say it was a dream come true, and it all went really well. Every day, I went in thinking, “Oh gosh, the wheels are just gonna come crashing down on us because this is my project.” I’m generally not this lucky. But every day, it went great. That scene would go great and everybody was delivering. The DP and the director were both great. And the producer from LA, Joey Plager, he was great. It was really something else.

And I know Willie Aames was in this movie too. I know it had been a while since his last Hallmark project.

Oh, well I was actually staring at him for twenty minutes because I hadn’t met him yet that day. I kept thinking, “I know him, but I can’t put my finger on where I know him from.” Then one of the other actors took me aside, and I was like, “Oh!” And then I remembered all the projects I knew him from. So yeah, he’s great.

The cast is just incredible. You’ve got Barbara, Willie, and when I saw Autumn was added, I thought it just kept getting better and better.

You know, when you mentioned Autumn, like everybody knows who Autumn is but me. When we met on our first pre-shooting dinner, I said, “Listen, I don’t mean any disrespect and I don’t think you’ll be offended because you don’t know who I am either. But I have no idea who you are. Please tell me a bit about you.” She laughed and said, “The truth is, I don’t know you either.” She has this great quality where she is able to laugh at herself and not take herself so seriously. And when it comes to actors, that for me, is essential. So we hit it off from day one, and it couldn’t have gone any better. I’ve had a lot of really good feedback from the network execs and the editors. Everybody has been saying really good things about it. So I’m very excited to see it right along with the fans.

You know, Kavan, when you told me this was going ahead, I was thrilled for you. You have told me about this film during every interview we have done over the past few years. So I’ve been waiting along with you. I mean it’s your project, but I really got excited when you told me you were filming it.

It was a heck of a lot of fun I have to admit. And it really whet my appetite to do more. Pascale and I pitched a project to them last summer, and they put it into the development phase. And I’m even more interested in pursuing this one. With the Bride movies, it was a script we were given. This time they asked us what we wanted to do and who we wanted to be. And we just sat back and cooked up a theme. I basically asked Pascale what she wanted to be. When she came up with it, I said I would be the exact opposite. So we have something, and we’ve just been fleshing it out since. And I think it’s gonna be really fun when we get that one off. But as you said, I’ve been talking about this one for a very long time and we just shot it. So I’m not sure when we’ll get around to shooting this other one either. Fingers crossed it won’t take quite as long. I am looking forward to seeing what you and the fans think of Love On the Menu.

I know my mom and I are looking forward to it. We both adore you, but my mom is also a huge fan of Autumn’s. Autumn has been in a lot of network stuff as well as Hallmark movies. And when my mom found Autumn had been cast opposite you, she thought that was really good casting.

You can tell your mom that not only is Autumn a great actor, but she is also a great person. Which makes it even easier to like somebody. I have found that no matter how talented somebody is, if I find out they’re an awful person, I have no interest in them.

I’m with you there, Kavan. So what is the premise of this film?

My original title actually gave more away than the current one. We start off with a chef, and he runs a big, successful restaurant. He is a gourmet food guy, a Michelin star chef–but we couldn’t use that term. He lives in Seattle, and his wife has passed on, and he’s trying to raise a daughter on his own. In the last three or four years, he’s been having a hard time. He can’t seem to handle both his younger teenage daughter and the restaurant. So things start to fall through the cracks with the restaurant, and he goes into debt. Then he becomes the target of what we could call a hostile takeover. Barbara Niven’s character owns a frozen food company, and she wants to capitalize on his name as a highfalutin chef and to get him to produce a line of frozen food, which for him is tantamount to failure. He doesn’t want any part of that.

When she buys his debt from the bank, she gets control of his restaurant. She wants him to make food for her frozen food line, and she instills a new manager in the restaurant. And that’s Autumn’s character. In the beginning, they’re sort of at odds because she’s a professional and knows how to run companies and businesses and restaurants. She tries to turn this thing around because it’s a sinking ship. He’s a great chef, but he’s just floundering. They work together more and more. Autumn becomes aware of what Barbara’s character’s end game is, which is really just to use them for recipes and then dump everything and get rid of the restaurant. Then Autumn and I have to figure out a way to not only pull the restaurant out of debt and buy back the debt from Barbara’s character, but to forge on. And of course, there’s a chemistry match. The daughter and her have a couple of great scenes together as well.

At the end of the day, it’s supposed to be a rom-com. I had a lot more “com” in my version that Hallmark needed to tone down. Which is fully understandable. I knew that going in. But it’s still a really sweet, fun movie, and it all came to be because Elizabeth Yost came to visit us on set one day when I was doing a movie a long time ago where I played a chef. But in that one, I didn’t get to do much with food, and I didn’t cook that much. So she asked me at the end of her time there, “What do you want to do next?” I said, “Well, the truth is, I think I can sell ‘chef’ because I like to cook a lot and I always have. If I wrote a script about a chef, would you give it a read?” And she said, “Yes.” I piddled away for a while, and I wrote a script. And of course, being an actor, you’re always looking for more. So I wrote it as a pilot for a TV show. I sent it off to her wondering what might happen next. And to her credit, she wrote me back right away and said she loved the character and the story, but Hallmark was not in the business of doing series, especially with an inexperienced writer. I was fine with that, but she said that if I rewrote it as a movie, she wanted me to let her know.

So I rewrote it as a movie and sent it off to her again a few months later. Now, I didn’t want to be pushy, so I just let it go. I didn’t hear anything for like six months, and then one day out of the blue, she called me and left a message saying, “Good things come to those who wait. We greenlit your project. You’re on.” And I was like, “Woh!” I remember I played that message for my wife, and our jaws just dropped like “Wow!” Then it took the better part of another ten or eleven months to actually get to the point where we were shooting. Then I thought I had another four or five months, and all of a sudden, we were shooting in December! We were worried about the weather and being crammed in. And we ended up having the best experience. It was just pure joy!

It must have been fun getting to play a chef and especially playing a character that you created.

It was a lot of fun. There is something about reading your own lines. When Alex did the rewrite, he kept a lot of my lines my way. And when you’re saying your own lines, it’s easy because it’s like what comes into your brain naturally and you’re supposed to say. That took a lot of pressure off memorizing lines. I got to focus more on what I was doing with my hands in the kitchen preparing, and I did a lot of that stuff myself. I did a lot of knife work myself and a lot of the food prep myself. My character builds a lot of dishes. We did this one neat scene where we shot from underneath. The camera went under the plate of glass on this glass table, and it was shooting straight up at me as I played it right onto the glass like I was placing it on a plate. What a really cool shot that was. Ellie, the director, had some great ideas. We’ve already started hinting to Elizabeth Yost that we want to do a sequel. It wasn’t gonna work for a weekly series, but you never know that it might work for a series of movies for Hallmark.

And those are very popular with Hallmark right now. The network and the fans seem to enjoy doing that. 

Well, I’m hoping they like this one as much as I enjoyed making it. I would do a sequel for this one in a heartbeat. I really had a great time. They can’t tell you how lucky I felt being at home and being all finished. The thing about writing yourself is you tend to kind of put yourself in everything. I was on every single day and in almost every single scene. By the time we got to the end of the shoot, I was like, “Holy cow!” We shot on Saturdays because we were rushing to finish before Christmas. It was a tough grind, but when it was going so well, you just don’t feel tired. We finished Friday the 21st, and the next day, I could finally start thinking about Christmas. I’m a big sucker for Christmas, and I really couldn’t do anything to get ready this year. No cooking, no baking, no buying Christmas gifts…nothing until the 22nd! It was really weird for me.

So this weekend is sort of “Kavan Smith weekend.” With your movie premiere on the 23rd and When Calls the Heart season six premiering on the 24th. 

I’m truly happy they put my movie premiere the day before the When Calls the Heart premiere.

I wanted to tell you that When Calls the Heart: The Greatest Christmas Blessing was top-notch this past December. It was fantastic in all respects and had a record number of viewers tune in. I want to say 4.8 million viewers, if I remember right.

That is just amazing.

I don’t think we could have asked for a better kick-off to season six. And my mom was also incredibly pleased, as am I, at the direction the show seems to be going.

It’s a slippery slope, you know. The situation with Jack getting killed off at the end of last season, it was tough. You try to make everybody happy, but it’s virtually impossible. I really think that as they tried to decide what direction to take the show, over the course of the season, they did a good job. I think it was tasteful. For me, the Christmas one is only part of the explanation. As we see the town coming together to help Elizabeth raise her little one. And working with the babies was so much fun.

I know a lot of the Hearties said they would never watch the show again after last season, but slowly, I am seeing some of those come around and give the show another try. And there’s lots of new Hearties too. 

You know, you can’t make everybody happy. I understand scenarios where some people felt betrayed, and some of them were quite vociferous. But there were not a lot of options, and there was not one single way out of this that would make everybody happy. I think they tried their best to find some sort of common ground that still made sense for the show. They’re not just hoping for one more season; they’re hoping for multiple more seasons. So at the end of the day, I thought it was good common ground, and I think it was fairly well-executed. I’m hoping that as the rest of the season plays out, everybody will see more crystallized where it’s going. And I think they’ll be happy where it’s going.

I like the fact that the Christmas movie focused on Elizabeth and this bittersweet situation where she’s bringing this child into the world, and her husband has passed. I think a lot of times, in these situations, not much attention is paid to that part of the story. A lot of shows just have the woman be sad but go on. I appreciated how the show focused on this because I found myself getting emotional just watching those scenes and thinking about Elizabeth and her situation.

I agree. And I was surprised that they did it in the Christmas episode because that’s the one you usually want the happiest, the most joyful, but they didn’t just skip it. For example, in the birth scene, they didn’t make her look perfect. They kind of went a little un-Hallmark.

I would agree with you.

And she loved it. And the other actors really loved it too. Since they knew that the Christmas show was gonna air first, they knew they had to address this situation with her pregnancy, her dealing with Jack’s death, and giving birth to this child.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing the direction the show goes as season six officially kicks off on the 24th. I’ve talked with several actors about it. Lots of new characters, but of course, we still have Lee and Rosemary. 

Yeah, that’s not gonna change anytime soon. She and I love working together. We’re always going to try to make sure that stays solid. We always have so much fun, so whatever they throw our way, we kind of try to put our own spin on it. I still talk to Pascale almost every day.

I think both of your characters have evolved, but her character has really evolved.

Yeah, she still has that overly dramatic air and that stage presence, but I think as the seasons have gone on, she has had more moments that bring her back down to reality and show the size of the heart her character has. I love the playfulness, and I love the joking around. And that diva aspect of her character is fun. But as the seasons go on, I think she will continue to have more moments grounded in reality. And I know Pascale loves doing it too.

While I know you can’t tell us much about the season and what happens, what can you tease about Lee and Rosemary in season six? 

I think in this season, there was some concern about whether or not Lee and Rosemary would end up increasing the size of their family. That is addressed, and we will pursue that this season. I really love the way they’ve gone after that.

As far as the rest of the characters and the season go, I think they’re trying to create an environment where it gives us direction. It will be a big season, I think, for possibilities. Nothing is going to be set in stone this year. It’s going to be about what the fans like, what the actors like, where it’s going, and at the end of the season, we have some possibilities about where a season seven could go. I think this season is quite open for interpretation. Obviously, the two new guys show up, and a lot of storylines will be centered around those two guys. There will be a lot of focus on those two new guys and how they fit in and their relation to Hope Valley, the business community, and to Elizabeth. That’s generally the gist for this season. I can’t go into too much more detail or I’ll get in trouble. {laughs}

After talking with both Chris {McNally} and Kevin {McGarry}, I know they both made it clear that Elizabeth is not going to jump into another relationship right away. It’s like you said. There’s possibilities. I understand it’s rather open-ended.

Yes, that is initially the concept. I think they really struggled with that because, of course, in a show like this, you want your lead actress to have a romantic interest. Shows don’t usually work unless your lead has another person to pursue storylines with. But it wouldn’t have been right. You couldn’t have done it this season. But I think in just developing those two other characters, the fans get a chance to get to know them first. Now they don’t necessarily feel so protective of the Jack character. And to be quite honest with you, I don’t think the writers have picked the one or made a choice as of yet. Maybe it will be neither.

I know there has been speculation that if a season seven does happen, they may leave it up to the fans somewhat to see who is liked more. I know Hallmark does listen to its fans, so they will probably see who the fans seem to like better and take that into account. I would encourage the fans to let Hallmark know which one you prefer. 

I think you’re right that they do tend to listen to their audiences. I think most networks do. Maybe they won’t go with what the fans want and go the other way just to stir things up. I think they set it up in a very smart way. While they can’t replace Jack and they won’t even try to replace that character, they want to set things up in such a way that the longevity of the show is a definite possibility. I think both guys have a huge following within the network, and I think both characters aren’t going anywhere.

I think you’re right. I know I was impressed with both of them. I told Chris I was already going with his character since he’s the saloon guy and I tend to like the edgier characters. But I’d be fine either way.

They are both such nice guys, and they fit in right away. It was quite seamless. To be honest, I’m curious to see what the other cast members think and who they see as possibly being a match. I couldn’t even say. I couldn’t pick one. I tend to judge a little less on the acting side. I should probably judge more on the performance. But for me, being an actor myself, I like to get along with everybody. I like to be around the people who are the most fun to be with. The people you want to go to work every day with. In their case, I couldn’t pick between the two. They’re both great guys, and I wish them all the best. But I tend to think that whoever is ultimately chosen, the other guy is still gonna stick around. I don’t think anybody is going anywhere.

That’s right. After all, there’s plenty of single women in Hope Valley. And one of the things I really like is now Elizabeth is a single mother on the frontier, and she’s also a teacher. I think that’s opened up a really unique storyline. 

I agree. Her character is quite a role model. She’s a strong, independent woman out on the frontier. She’s doing her teaching gig and raising a son. The town completely rallies behind her. All of her friends pull together. It’s quintessentially what the show is about. Strong characters pulling together, bringing out the best in each other and fighting against the unknown. And of course, Erin is perfect as that character. She exemplifies it to a tee.

I couldn’t agree more. I mean, Erin should have won an award for her portrayal of Elizabeth in the Christmas movie. 

She was great in that, wasn’t she? And I really think that Hallmark deserves some credit in that because they let her do that. They let her play it less glamorous and a little bit more real. And they played more to the heartstrings, and sometimes they won’t do that, especially on a Christmas episode. But they took a little bit of a risk, and I think it paid off because it let her skill level as an actress come through. I know I joke about this all the time, but she really is like a little sister to me. She’s so decent and kind and generous and fun. Even my wife and I are good friends with her. It’s kind of a boon to be able to have Erin not just in our personal life but the professional life as well.

You know, just the other day, Pascale and I were just talking about this wonderful show and our experience and our friends in the cast and crew. She and I like to know where we are as far as our careers and this show goes. And as far as we’re concerned, we are both staying as long as the show will have us. And to be involved with this group at this point in my career at my age now and to be surrounded by people that you really like, not just to work with but that you like to hang out with…it’s really cool. And it’s very rare. It’s very rare for an actor to be on a show that goes long enough to develop these relationships profoundly and then to be lucky enough to keep doing it from day to day. It’s been a great show to be a part of. I never would have ever, ever guessed this on the day that they offered me this show.

I can imagine! I think I’ve told you that when Lee first showed up, I wasn’t sure if I wanted him to stick around. But it didn’t take long for me and the Hearties to say, “Okay, he’s good. He can stay.” 

Well, I’m glad.

Well, it’s a great month and a great weekend for you. Love on the Menu on Saturday, and When Calls the Heart on Sunday. 

Hopefully, it will go well, fingers crossed.

I know I always say it, but I am genuinely excited for both, and I’m happy to get the word out. I want both to be very successful for everyone involved.

Let’s do it. Here’s hoping we can hit that 4.8 million spot again.

I’m with you there, Kavan. I know a lot of the fans and I really want Hallmark to be taken more seriously than it is so that they become serious contenders for Emmys and other awards. 

Well, I’m tellin’ you, with numbers like that, if they’re able to maintain that on some of these shows, that can be a game-changer. Those numbers are not just respectable; those are admirable numbers on any network.

Now, will you be live tweeting this year?

I will be. It’s funny, I was wondering if you were going to ask me about social media. I have really sort of stepped back this past year or so. The reason is cuz I suck at it! I’m terrible at it! And it also plays to some of the things I don’t do well. I’m fairly sensitive. When I read good comments, I overly glow. And when I read negative comments, it really knocks me back. I know it’s a great platform to reach the fans and show them that I appreciate them. And I try to do that when there’s something out there. I will live tweet when Love On the Menu airs. I’ll also be there for the When Calls the Heartshows. But I won’t be doing a lot of other stuff on social media because I’m just not good at it. I’m quite private. I mean, I love talking to you, and I don’t mind doing interviews when there’s a project coming up. But I don’t take pictures of my wife or my kids. I hope the fans don’t see that as me being kind of removed and remote and not appreciative. I did try to be more active on social media for a while, but it just never felt like me. I know that Pascale and Lori {Loughlin} and Erin and all these are really good at it. But for me, it just wasn’t a great fit. So I’ll do some live tweeting, but actually stepping back from social media has felt good for me. I’ve started reading more again. I hope the fans understand.

Kavan, I really do understand, and I’m sure most of the fans will understand too. The fact that you come on and live tweet at all and make the effort, that is greatly appreciated. And you’re not the only one who is not very active on social media. I see lots of actors who have stepped back from social media. You have to do what works for you and your family, so thank you for sharing that. I’m sure some will criticize you regardless.

Well, there’s always that, isn’t there? No matter what you do.

Exactly! So, we have Love On the Menu, When Calls the Heart, and hopefully this new production in the works with you and Pascale.

Fingers crossed that everything works out. We’ve got writers working on it already. Hopefully, we can shoot a movie before the next season of When Calls the Heart. That is, if we get another season like we all hope. But that would be awesome.

I love the fact that Hallmark has become like old Hollywood, where they match up couples that seem to work really well together like you and Pascale. 

Well, it’s great for us to keep working together. Pascale and I always have fun. But of course, I’m ready to do a sequel to Love On the Menu with Autumn too.

That would be amazing. Thank you so much, Kavan, for chatting with me today. I’m sure all the fans will love Love On the Menu, and When Calls the Heart is going to be so special, I think!

Thank you, Ruth, for your support and your flexibility and patience. It’s been a busy time, and I really do hope the fans love the movie and season six.

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