Andrew Walker talks about his new Hallmark film “The Reluctant Royal.”
The synopsis is: Philly mechanic Johnny Payne (Andrew Walker) is surprised to learn that his long-lost father is a duke. But the duke isn’t quite what he expected, nor are his growing feelings for the duke’s advisor Prudence (Emilie de Ravin).
Idea for ‘The Reluctant Royal’
On the concept for this new rom-com, Walker remarked, “I had developed this movie for two years. There were very few times that I’ve been along for the ride from the very beginning, and that was one of those movies. It became a highlight reel of everything that I’ve ever wanted to do in a Hallmark movie.”
“Also, we were shooting in Ireland, and the actors were classically trained theatre actors,” he noted.
“The talent pool there is just unbelievable,” he said. “It was such a great experience and a lot of fun. The movie is a bit of a comedy that reminds me of ‘Three Wiser Men and a Boy’.”
Working with Emilie de Ravin as his Hallmark leading lady
On working with Emilie de Ravin as his Hallmark leading lady, he stated, “Working with Emilie de Ravin was wonderful. She is a beautiful-spirited person.”
“Emilie is professional and very easy to get along with. No matter what the weather conditions were on our shoot days, she just rolled with the punches, and she was just fantastic,” Walker noted.
“I had a great time working with her,” he admitted. “Emilie is so talented. I think it’s a big win for Hallmark to get her. People know her from ‘Once Upon a Time’ and from ‘Lost.’ I was honored to get to work with her on her first Hallmark movie,” he elaborated.
On getting to play Johnny Payne — the son of a duke
“I play the son of a duke,” Walker admitted. “Like Helen Mirren said: ‘When people asked me what it was like to play the Queen, and she would respond, ‘darling, you don’t have to play the Queen, people treat you like the Queen. When I was going into this, it was a lot of fun to be treated like a duke.”
“So, once I left my Philly life, the way that the butler would treat me and the other talented people would treat me was just a lot of fun. It was an out of body experience, where life is imitating art,” he elaborated.
“It was fun and relatable to play this guy whose world was so small, growing up in south Philly and staying close to home because of his single mother and wanting to take care of her. It was a very familiar and fun feeling to play this character,” Walker explained.
Walker on filmmaker and photographer Joshua Shultz
Walker complimented filmmaker and photographer Joshua Shultz.
“Joshua Shultz is awesome,” Walker said. “There are very few people that can do what he does. He is an expert in his field, and he both captivates and captures people in a certain way.”
“Joshua is a magician with imagery, and he is a fantastic guy. He makes you feel comfortable too. He walks you through the shoot, and as he is talking to you, he is capturing you through this series of images where you don’t even know what your picture is being taken. His work is really cool,” Walker elaborated.
Closing thoughts on the film
For fans and viewers, Walker expressed, “I want people to laugh, cry, and to have every other emotion in between. I want people to sit down and have a very full range experience watching this movie. It’s a really nice Hallmark movie, and a different take to a royal movie.”
“You are not going to sit down to watch a typical royal movie; this is something that is going to bring something different. I think it’s a nice little change of pace, and I think it’s a great family movie,” Walker concluded.
To learn more about Andrew Walker, follow him on Instagram.
