Latest / Hallmark Mysteries & More / Benjamin Ayres: Unfiltered, Unscripted, Unrestrained.

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Benjamin Ayres: Unfiltered, Unscripted, Unrestrained. · Hallmark Mysteries & More

• 0:01
  Eric Rutin: Alright, today is amazing.
• 0:02
  Eric Rutin: We are talking again to Benjamin Ayers, who was our very first Hallmark big star we ever had, and today's conversation is unfiltered, unscripted, unrestrained.
• 0:19
  Eric Rutin: Buckle up, here we go on Hallmark Mysteries and more this podcast was created by fans or fans and is not affiliated with or sponsored by Hallmark or the Hallmark channel.
• 0:34
  Eric Rutin: Okay, here we are.
• 0:39
  Eric Rutin: It is a year, almost a year, since we last talked to you, ben.
• 0:44
  Eric Rutin: So has anything happened to you in the past year?
• 0:50
  Eric Rutin: That maybe like a little, because when we'd last talked you had romance.
• 0:56
  Eric Rutin: University was just starting and you came on saying you just talked to your like accountant or lawyer, whoever, and said maybe you got to stop paying for the side of your like personal credit card.
• 1:07
  Eric Rutin: So romance university is a little different, isn't it?
• 1:11
  Benjamin Ayres: Romance university is a little different.
• 1:13
  Benjamin Ayres: You've reminded me and actually I did talk about it, but yesterday, but that the one year is coming up since I incorporated it.
• 1:21
  Benjamin Ayres: Because, yes, the way the company works is anytime somebody purchases something, it charges from my credit card and then pays them back.
• 1:31
  Benjamin Ayres: So there were some charges that just kept coming and I got like a fraud call from my bank being like what is this?
• 1:42
  Benjamin Ayres: And then I just tried to explain what's going on.
• 1:44
  Benjamin Ayres: And then I had to call my accountant and he's like you can't have all of these purchases just coming out of nowhere that you're then paying back and money coming and going out of your already acting corporation.
• 1:54
  Benjamin Ayres: So he said you need to incorporate it.
• 1:57
  Benjamin Ayres: And then there was an issue because I was like well, it's called romance university and they're like you're not a university, so you've got to call it whatever.
• 2:04
  Benjamin Ayres: You can just call it something else.
• 2:05
  Benjamin Ayres: And they kind of offered up four other names and all of them were really cheesy and I was like I can't have it be like.
• 2:12
  Benjamin Ayres: I just want my credit card, I don't want everything to say romance university.
• 2:15
  Benjamin Ayres: So I fought for it and I said that you know, essentially this is like a university.
• 2:21
  Benjamin Ayres: Everybody pays monthly not to me, but they do to watch the Hallmark Channel.
• 2:25
  Benjamin Ayres: So they're learning and part of that learning process is, you know, coming, you know, eventually getting their masters in romance.
• 2:31
  Benjamin Ayres: That I did, that, I said this thing to my account, but she and he went back and forth and you know, inevitably and eventually we, we ended up securing romance university as a corporation name.
• 2:42
  Benjamin Ayres: But that one year is coming up soon.
• 2:47
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'm about to get a letter from the accountant saying, okay, it's time to do taxes, and then the fun is going to come to a grinding halt because I've been keeping track of it sort of but kind of willy nilly, and you know I've, we've, given money away, we've, we've.
• 3:07
  Benjamin Ayres: The good thing is, the way I look at it is I haven't made any money.
• 3:12
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'm just going to say like I haven't made any money, but it's sold X amount and this is kind of where we're at, and then hopefully I don't, hopefully there's not a lot out of pocket I'll be in trouble.
• 3:21
  Benjamin Ayres: Then I have to really look at what I want to do with this.
• 3:24
  Eric Rutin: So yeah, hopefully the good nature of it doesn't actually cost you, so I get it, yeah, well because that's a whole other thing.
• 3:33
  Benjamin Ayres: If you want, if you want to be, you know, fully a not for profit, it's, it's it's very complicated and my accountant suggested to not go that route because there were a lot of issues.
• 3:46
  Benjamin Ayres: So, anyway, there are going to be issues, but that's all fun.
• 3:50
  Benjamin Ayres: So, yeah, a lot has changed since we last talked, because it was originally let's sell some hoodies and then, you know, I think you took off.
• 3:57
  Benjamin Ayres: We have hour in the event space.
• 3:59
  Eric Rutin: I've got my little alumni.
• 4:01
  Eric Rutin: This is just this is just come out.
• 4:04
  Eric Rutin: So, like I said, you had, you know, like a very small handful of things and now it's a whole whole world.
• 4:10
  Eric Rutin: But when you started it, obviously you showed up at whatever Christmas movies and gave out your couple hoodies of Hallmark University.
• 4:18
  Eric Rutin: There's no way you could have thought that it would become this like it literally is an international thing.
• 4:24
  Eric Rutin: Like you see these Instagram posts of someone over in you know Budapest wearing their romance university posts and stuff.
• 4:31
  Eric Rutin: So it's got to be kind of cool, huh.
• 4:34
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, it's very cool.
• 4:35
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, listen, it was interesting.
• 4:38
  Benjamin Ayres: When I the second, the idea popped into my head I knew I was like this is really smart idea, like an Ivy League celebration of these movies, but just kind of haven't seen it and I knew that there was something there, but I just did, I had no clue what it was.
• 4:55
  Benjamin Ayres: I didn't know that it was merch events, like I didn't wasn't sure what it was, but just the image of it I thought was fantastic and you know the the fact that it became so big so quickly is just a testament really to the fan base that love these movies.
• 5:10
  Benjamin Ayres: And I think you know there's the, the community that just built, you know and I say that word all the time, but it's just, it's this fabulous community, that that it's a way for me to to bring people together.
• 5:25
  Benjamin Ayres: The page brings a lot of people together.
• 5:26
  Benjamin Ayres: We have a lot of interactive, fun things to do.
• 5:28
  Benjamin Ayres: I try to keep it active, you know, and it took me a while to discover that and kind of once I realized that, like I kind of have, I feel like there's a responsibility on me to make sure that everybody's having a good time and I do my best to bring them together, and you know we've done a bunch of things online, but for me, it's also now important, as I discovered towards the end of last year, as difficult as it is, the idea of being able to do, you know, actual events in person is very exciting.
• 5:57
  Benjamin Ayres: So, and the fact that I've been able to collaborate with Hallmark and Annie Howell in particular is has been very exciting and important to me, and you know, having them on board has has helped, you know, raise awareness for the brand, but also, you know, the women's shelters that we donate to and all the causes that we're going to continue to donate to and that we're, you know, slowly discovering.
• 6:18
  Benjamin Ayres: We're still finding out what it is.
• 6:20
  Benjamin Ayres: That's, that's what's what's great.
• 6:21
  Benjamin Ayres: I always say it's a malleable piece of clay that we can keep.
• 6:25
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, shifting it and changing it into new sculptures.
• 6:28
  Benjamin Ayres: So that's that's sort of how I envision it.
• 6:32
  Eric Rutin: So when we talked, it was just you right.
• 6:35
  Eric Rutin: Now you've got a little bit of a team right, so are you the one who's still designing everything, or do you have an actual designer who's coming in and you're just approving things like how, how involved are you?
• 6:47
  Eric Rutin: That the day to day romance university kind of look?
• 6:52
  Benjamin Ayres: Well it's I got.
• 6:53
  Benjamin Ayres: To be honest, I do like all of my best ideas come.
• 6:57
  Benjamin Ayres: I do.
• 6:58
  Benjamin Ayres: You know everybody met a lot Oftentimes.
• 7:00
  Benjamin Ayres: I've always wanted to meditate.
• 7:01
  Benjamin Ayres: I can't meditate but what I can do is do a 20 minute nap, better than anybody, and it's really my meditation Every day, at around 130, I can close my eyes for literally 20 minutes.
• 7:13
  Benjamin Ayres: A 20 minute timer I put on all of my ideas come in that 20 minutes.
• 7:16
  Benjamin Ayres: So you know there's been a lot of talk about.
• 7:19
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, I've been talking with the team about kind of some fun Valentine stuff that we're going to come out with and I couldn't picture what I wanted to do for it.
• 7:28
  Benjamin Ayres: And today it all came like it.
• 7:30
  Benjamin Ayres: They all, all of these ideas flood me in that moment.
• 7:32
  Benjamin Ayres: There's something about kind of accomplishing everything that I've needed to accomplish in the morning getting the girls to school, kind of prepping for the day, going to the gym, having having kind of a large part of my day completed, kind of up early, and then getting this little moment to myself to just sort of like shut everything out and relax and then kind of ponder on some of the things that I have.
• 7:54
  Benjamin Ayres: All the ideas kind of come flooding him.
• 7:56
  Benjamin Ayres: So I come up with all the ideas After receiving lots of good ideas, and then and then I have a designer that I work with, because I get nervous If I was to design it myself and then put that on to merch, that it's not going to be as good of quality as it can be.
• 8:15
  Benjamin Ayres: So her name is Eden.
• 8:16
  Benjamin Ayres: I've been working with Eden for a long time and she's helping me right now because I want to do a major website overhaul.
• 8:24
  Benjamin Ayres: But B I'm also about to offer classes.
• 8:27
  Benjamin Ayres: So we're doing a one month February class and it's called the Professor's Lounge and it's it's going to be.
• 8:34
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm going to have a different guest each Wednesday and we're going to discuss the movies that we shot.
• 8:40
  Benjamin Ayres: So it'll be one of my co stars from a movie that I filmed the homework to watch the movie and then we're going to talk about it.
• 8:46
  Benjamin Ayres: And, like you said, there's there are a lot of podcasts in this space and a lot of you know blogs and stuff like that, but none that are really kind of created by us.
• 8:59
  Benjamin Ayres: So again I was like what's something I could kind of bring?
• 9:01
  Benjamin Ayres: And it's like we can talk about some real behind the scenes and I really learned what made me, what really motivated me to do.
• 9:08
  Benjamin Ayres: It was the event that I threw in Vancouver and Peter Benson and I directed Antonio Cupo in the scene where we had about 20, you know, vip right in your ranch.
• 9:19
  Benjamin Ayres: They came.
• 9:19
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, you know, and it was and it just worked.
• 9:21
  Benjamin Ayres: It turned out really well.
• 9:23
  Benjamin Ayres: But I think what was fascinating was the feedback I got and the interest from people that attended really being there as we filmed it and kind of understanding now the behind the scenes and as, as as much as we can try to portray that to you when we have these conversations, it's not till you're there and you experience it that you really understand.
• 9:46
  Benjamin Ayres: And I always try to explain that the process of making the film is so different than viewing it, so you view it and then you talk to us about what you've seen, and that's not really our experience at all.
• 10:02
  Benjamin Ayres: The space between action and cut is quite small and your day is not acting.
• 10:08
  Benjamin Ayres: There's so many other things happening and there's a lot of decisions being made, a lot of collaboration, a lot of cutting of lines, a lot of trying to solve things.
• 10:16
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, inevitably the location is not what you thought, so you have to change things.
• 10:21
  Benjamin Ayres: You're constantly, you know, on your toes, especially in three weeks, and I think there's a lot of that type of.
• 10:27
  Benjamin Ayres: And then also what we do in our off time.
• 10:30
  Benjamin Ayres: You know like Taylor and I are going to talk about all the dinners we went on where we like to go eat the golf and ding boats doing and like what you do in your off time and like that kind of stuff you know you can is is is especially fun to listen to the two people that made the movie.
• 10:45
  Benjamin Ayres: So you know, I kind of want it to be.
• 10:48
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm thinking of a way to stay on brand with the university side of it, but ultimately it'd be what's another thing we can bring which is an education to to the filmmaking.
• 10:59
  Benjamin Ayres: So if you have questions on, like you know you've considered writing it.
• 11:03
  Benjamin Ayres: How do I even think about approaching the format of that?
• 11:06
  Benjamin Ayres: Like those are the kinds of conversations I want to have.
• 11:08
  Benjamin Ayres: Or you thought of directing or acting or any of those things.
• 11:11
  Eric Rutin: Oh, I'm totally subscribed and that's fantastic.
• 11:13
  Eric Rutin: I love it.
• 11:13
  Eric Rutin: All right, thanks, man, we did.
• 11:16
  Eric Rutin: You didn't mention it.
• 11:17
  Eric Rutin: You know Peter Cole, who's one of my favorites, but I just wanted to online, or online on air, just thank you, because you were our first very big guest that we had and I remember when I first sent you that DM, I was just like I talked to a couple of the other podcasts.
• 11:36
  Eric Rutin: People are like, just send something.
• 11:37
  Eric Rutin: I'm like no way, they're never going to.
• 11:40
  Eric Rutin: You know want to be on us because we're just this little brand new podcast and I just do it, just do it.
• 11:46
  Eric Rutin: So I was like, okay, I'll do it, I'll get my rejection out of the way, it'll make me a little tougher and I'll learn from my.
• 11:51
  Eric Rutin: You know my mistakes.
• 11:52
  Eric Rutin: But you responded with like let's do it.
• 11:55
  Eric Rutin: That's all you said and I was like blown away.
• 11:57
  Eric Rutin: I had to go tell my wife.
• 11:58
  Eric Rutin: I'm like I think he agreed, like I was in such disbelief.
• 12:02
  Eric Rutin: So I just wanted to thank you for you know, coming on and being here.
• 12:06
  Eric Rutin: It's one of our most listened to episodes still to date and you know what it did.
• 12:12
  Eric Rutin: Is it helped lay the groundwork where?
• 12:13
  Eric Rutin: You know we've got Brennan Elliott on, and Skyler, samuel Wilkham, some other you know big names and you really.
• 12:18
  Eric Rutin: I just want to thank you because I think you're the one who just laid the groundwork that one gave us a little credibility and two gave the confidence.
• 12:25
  Eric Rutin: So once again cannot thank you enough for that support.
• 12:28
  Eric Rutin: Well, you're so welcome, you know and you reach out to.
• 12:31
  Benjamin Ayres: You know and you have, and yours is a unique spin where it's more on the mystery.
• 12:37
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'm very, very proud of the Chronicle Mysteries and you know that's was something we talked about and kind of.
• 12:43
  Benjamin Ayres: You know what you led with and you know that was in some ways my introduction to I think it was to that part of the network.
• 12:54
  Benjamin Ayres: You know I came on, I did.
• 12:55
  Benjamin Ayres: I found a show called Saving Hope for a very long time up here.
• 12:59
  Benjamin Ayres: It aired in the US but it was a big Canadian series and I think Penny had seen it and you know she's the head of casting at Hallmark and I did Love by Chance, which was a Hallmark movie.
• 13:12
  Benjamin Ayres: And then I did Fall In for Vermont and I was confused when they called me because I was like I already did a movie for Hallmark, because I didn't understand that they use the same people.
• 13:19
  Benjamin Ayres: If you've done well enough, that they'll use you again.
• 13:22
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'm like why do they want me again?
• 13:24
  Benjamin Ayres: And then, and then while that was happening, I kind of got a call and they're like there's a mystery wheel.
• 13:29
  Benjamin Ayres: I didn't even know what a, I had never heard that term before, and and then that's kind of how I ended up over on.
• 13:38
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, movies and mysteries and you know, working with Alice and Sweeney I mean, are you kidding me?
• 13:42
  Benjamin Ayres: Like, right, I just an incredible phone call to get like they're interested in you to play and also I was aware of her movies Murder she Baked and Garage Sale Mysteries.
• 13:56
  Benjamin Ayres: So those were two that I kind of had heard of and I'm working at Hallmark and, you know, truth be told, I hadn't watched them, but I knew that it was.
• 14:06
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, typically the movies were like a woman as a baker or like a garage sale, like a woman who works, but then also solving murders.
• 14:16
  Benjamin Ayres: Like it made no sense in my mind of how this person could be solving these murders.
• 14:21
  Benjamin Ayres: But this one, you know Ali pitched it.
• 14:24
  Benjamin Ayres: You know this was her idea.
• 14:25
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'm a huge podcast fan.
• 14:28
  Benjamin Ayres: So the fact that it was a podcaster and a journalist, it just really made sense that these two people would be working together to solve cold cases.
• 14:36
  Benjamin Ayres: It was, yeah, such an incredible experience.
• 14:40
  Benjamin Ayres: I really hope we get to make more.
• 14:41
  Benjamin Ayres: We have, you know, we have many more stories Because every, every, every one we would make.
• 14:46
  Benjamin Ayres: We would just sit and be like we'd have like a list of four or five podcasts we had to listen to.
• 14:50
  Benjamin Ayres: We would rattle through them, we'd talk about them at lunch, and then we'd come up with ideas for our next one.
• 14:55
  Eric Rutin: So very collaborative.
• 14:57
  Eric Rutin: We've actually talked about that, you know, while we obviously love the cozy mystery with the baker or, you know, the caterer, whoever is solving the things, and, by the day, they really don't have any business doing that, right, but that's the thing why Chronicle is one of my absolute favorites and that I think that is one of the reasons why, first of all, you guys had great chemistry, it had really good stories, but it also had a believability that a lot of the other cozies don't, because it, like you said, totally does make sense that a investigative reporter and a true crime podcaster would be out trying to, you know, to track the life, whatever the self help boot camp, you know, with the, with the poison.
• 15:42
  Eric Rutin: Yeah right, it totally makes sense.
• 15:44
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, and, and you know well, then it's also, it's difficult, as if you're, let's say, in a situation where you're the male detective and the baker is solving crimes for you.
• 15:57
  Benjamin Ayres: You're not in a situation like not saying you know not situation, but you're like it's a tricky balancing act as an actor to be like why am I not you know?
• 16:09
  Eric Rutin: it yes.
• 16:09
  Eric Rutin: Not to be incompetent cop, right, yeah, it's hard to play that.
• 16:14
  Eric Rutin: I mean, we've had that conversation many times and you're right it is.
• 16:20
  Eric Rutin: They is a fine tough line to watch, which obviously you, being on the on the male side, is the one who usually would have to walk, but you didn't have to worry about that in this role, so that was.
• 16:32
  Benjamin Ayres: No well, and I think the movies, the movies, the movies and mysteries, as we're seeing are, are leaning more into the reality.
• 16:39
  Benjamin Ayres: But like that, that, that field, like look at true justice, you know, like I'm not gonna talk about that.
• 16:45
  Eric Rutin: Oh yeah, yeah, we will be getting to what you think.
• 16:50
  Eric Rutin: You got a list of go through fantastic, fantastic, I'm going to get to there.
• 16:55
  Eric Rutin: I'm going to get there.
• 16:55
  Eric Rutin: First of all, though I've said it a couple times now but you're obviously a big star, your big hallmark star there and just star in general.
• 17:02
  Eric Rutin: And this year, I think it was during long lost Christmas, where you just sort of walked up to some people who are watching the thing with as an Instagram posting, that kind of like hey, what's going on?
• 17:13
  Eric Rutin: And surprised them and got the reaction and all that.
• 17:16
  Eric Rutin: But in reality, like when you're just walking around, going to the grocery store, costco or wherever have you had any like crazy things where someone all of a sudden, like you're in line with them and they look back at like excuse me, and then like whoa, like any really good Celebrity sighting things?
• 17:34
  Benjamin Ayres: And then there was.
• 17:34
  Benjamin Ayres: I remember it was long lost Christmas was like whatever day two or three.
• 17:39
  Benjamin Ayres: We were shooting in the small town of baggy and it was.
• 17:42
  Benjamin Ayres: I broke for lunch so they were still filming one small scene of Taylor just walking down the street, no sound, so it was motion only and they were just going to capture in this.
• 17:52
  Benjamin Ayres: And then the last I could see these four people kind of watching it happen.
• 17:56
  Benjamin Ayres: So I in my head what I thought was be funny, as I walk up and I say what are they filming over there?
• 18:02
  Benjamin Ayres: She'd say it's a hallmark movie.
• 18:04
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was going to say who are the stars?
• 18:06
  Benjamin Ayres: And I thought I was hoping she was going to say I'm hoping it's Andrew Walker or Brad Elliott or something.
• 18:12
  Benjamin Ayres: And then it was going to be funny because it was going to be me and she wouldn't recognize me is what I was thinking would be funny, because that type of self deprecating humor is more my five.
• 18:21
  Benjamin Ayres: So the way she turned around and went oh my God, it's you.
• 18:25
  Benjamin Ayres: And he goes oh, yeah, like it was.
• 18:28
  Benjamin Ayres: It was funny a to post that.
• 18:31
  Benjamin Ayres: And you know, does it happen?
• 18:35
  Benjamin Ayres: Not on a daily basis.
• 18:37
  Benjamin Ayres: No, I think that's what's funny is.
• 18:39
  Benjamin Ayres: It was like you're just at Costco, you're just doing these things, like in the US.
• 18:43
  Benjamin Ayres: More I would say, like you know, I remember when we went down my daughters think this is funny because we were we were all just there for the convention, but we went a couple days early for what's the name of the movie, the cherry Lane.
• 18:59
  Benjamin Ayres: I did the premiere and we went down for the premiere of that and we were all staying at this nice hotel.
• 19:03
  Benjamin Ayres: I walked down and I could tell right away these two I show wasn't.
• 19:08
  Benjamin Ayres: At first I wasn't sure if these women worked for the convention, but I was like why are they here at the hotel?
• 19:12
  Benjamin Ayres: Because there's two of them.
• 19:13
  Benjamin Ayres: And just the way they looked at me and I was like I could tell that they either are they're about to say you got to come, get in the vehicle we're heading this way, or they recognize me.
• 19:22
  Benjamin Ayres: And it was that they recognize me.
• 19:23
  Benjamin Ayres: They walk up like Ben, you heard, we love your movies to the.
• 19:25
  Benjamin Ayres: To this case, you're not.
• 19:26
  Benjamin Ayres: You're not.
• 19:27
  Benjamin Ayres: You're not going to believe this, but we're here with three other friends and Taylor Swift just walked by.
• 19:35
  Benjamin Ayres: So they ran out and they're hoping to get a photo with her.
• 19:38
  Benjamin Ayres: But we're not real Taylor Swift fans, but I can't believe we get to meet you instead and I'm like what?
• 19:43
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like all right, well, let's take a photo.
• 19:45
  Benjamin Ayres: So we, we did a little selfie and I was like, yeah, he did Taylor Swift, so we took this little selfie.
• 19:50
  Benjamin Ayres: Anyway, I have found like even on the subway or random times in New York, more than me walking around in Toronto, for sure.
• 19:56
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, but I do get it.
• 19:59
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, I get it once every couple days or I actually oftentimes get and I think because it was airing on Netflix and became really big, I get a lot of suits.
• 20:07
  Benjamin Ayres: So people come up like you think I'm from suits, right?
• 20:10
  Benjamin Ayres: So I was in like the little now, or five or six episodes in the last season.
• 20:15
  Benjamin Ayres: You know people just finished it and then they see me.
• 20:18
  Benjamin Ayres: They're like don't you own your own private jet?
• 20:21
  Benjamin Ayres: What are you doing flying on air Canada?
• 20:24
  Eric Rutin: You know what it could be too, is the fact like there's what like 890 hallmark actors up in Canada, where there's like 12 in United States, so you stick out maybe a little bit more down here, whereas they're used to seeing people up there.
• 20:39
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, we also.
• 20:40
  Benjamin Ayres: Hallmark is a much bigger brand in the US, so it's still relatively it's not new up here, but like beginning of the pandemic.
• 20:46
  Benjamin Ayres: So we have what's called the W network here and that's what airs them.
• 20:50
  Benjamin Ayres: But you know, for the longest time, when I first started making them, I would have to reach out to who did I reach out to?
• 20:57
  Benjamin Ayres: You know Maria Fisher or somebody.
• 20:59
  Benjamin Ayres: Maria Fisher would send me DVDs so that I could send them to my grandma and she lived in a nursing home and then every Saturday night at some point they you know she would have a mask like four or five of these movies and they would do like double headers been Benjamin airs night, it's like you know and they would made her feel so good so they would do these screenings and they would air two movies back to back, at six to eight Anyway, and then I'd go there and I was that's where I'm most known when I would go visit my grandma at the nursing home.
• 21:31
  Eric Rutin: I know much are very much about the Canadian aspect because I always get people reaching out to me with the, especially the mysteries.
• 21:38
  Eric Rutin: It seems like the mysteries have kind of a delay.
• 21:40
  Eric Rutin: I think the romcoms are fairly close to when they.
• 21:43
  Eric Rutin: The mysteries tend like they haven't done true crime up there yet, right, uh, true justice, or true true justice.
• 21:53
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, it's fine, it's exonerated was what it was called when we were making it, and every time I think of true justice, I was remember Steven Segal.
• 22:01
  Eric Rutin: He had like yeah, yeah, yeah, he had a true Josh.
• 22:03
  Benjamin Ayres: Right, sort of.
• 22:04
  Benjamin Ayres: I was like wait, did we cast even?
• 22:06
  Benjamin Ayres: No, I don't think it's aired, because a lot of people have asked like one or one they get to see it.
• 22:11
  Benjamin Ayres: But I believe the next one I'm doing, you know, love and Jane, I think we'll be airing on the W network at the same time.
• 22:17
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah.
• 22:17
  Eric Rutin: And, like I said, I think that's the problem.
• 22:19
  Eric Rutin: All right, Just a little little off, uh, off movie subject, but I have to say so, last time when we talked to you, you had this undercut, this hair going right, which is completely badass.
• 22:30
  Eric Rutin: So after we did our interview with her last year, I took a picture to the woman who cuts my hair and I'm like I want to look this cool, Give me this cut.
• 22:37
  Eric Rutin: And so she started doing the undercut for me and I went about three months and finally she's like you just have to stop.
• 22:44
  Eric Rutin: It's not working for you.
• 22:47
  Eric Rutin: So I don't I don't have a question, Cause you got enough of the like.
• 22:50
  Eric Rutin: I've got the curl, but mine just sort of like would flop, oh, like I just couldn't get it right, Right, I just looked, I don't know it did not look good and I was like I was going for for for the men in arrows haircut and I just couldn't do it.
• 23:03
  Eric Rutin: So I don't really have a question for you, other than I have a little bit of spite because your hair is just so badass and I can't pull it off.
• 23:11
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, I, I I appreciate the comment and anybody who you know.
• 23:15
  Benjamin Ayres: We've talked about my hair a lot this last year because it's the longest it's been for many, many, many, many, many, many years.
• 23:22
  Benjamin Ayres: But so my grandfather was a barber and every single Sunday we would show up for dinner and so they lived above the barber shop way to go downstairs and it was sit there and I would get the fly Like.
• 23:34
  Benjamin Ayres: I went through high school with a flat top until about grade 12.
• 23:38
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was like no more, like I'm my, I'm an individual.
• 23:41
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm not in the military, grandpa, that's kind of when I grew my Afro out, but I consider myself a bit of a barber.
• 23:47
  Benjamin Ayres: So I have, you know, three-way mirrors.
• 23:49
  Benjamin Ayres: I cut, I do my own cutting on the sides.
• 23:52
  Benjamin Ayres: Maybe that's my problem.
• 23:53
  Eric Rutin: I was paying someone, I got to do it myself.
• 23:56
  Benjamin Ayres: I cut my own hair until I have a project.
• 23:58
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'll go months and months without work and everybody's like, oh, what's the unique project you're doing?
• 24:06
  Benjamin Ayres: And it's just that I don't.
• 24:08
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't like when my sides get puffy, so I just I can barber them and I just I keep them, I keep the fade myself and then just I just let the top go and I just don't ever touch it until I need a haircut.
• 24:20
  Benjamin Ayres: And then I go and it's actually getting back to curly.
• 24:22
  Benjamin Ayres: But there's, these got burnt a bit on the miracle of Bethlehem Cause we straightened it in a scene and the iron was a little, a little hot and some of the hair just never curled again.
• 24:35
  Benjamin Ayres: But thank you for that.
• 24:36
  Benjamin Ayres: So yeah, either you try yourself, for next time I see you I'll bring out the clippers and I'll cut it for you.
• 24:43
  Eric Rutin: I will say, during during the pandemic I did go because I'm a I'm a huge punk rock fan.
• 24:50
  Eric Rutin: I'm of that age where, when I was a kid, like the clash is my favorite band of all time.
• 24:52
  Eric Rutin: So I did have my daughter who gave me the full up Mohawk during the pandemic.
• 24:58
  Eric Rutin: I was able to do it because it was like I couldn't go anywhere, I was just working from home all the time.
• 25:01
  Eric Rutin: I was like, if I ever going to be able to do it again, I'm going to do it again.
• 25:04
  Eric Rutin: I had it when I was in high school.
• 25:05
  Eric Rutin: So I was able to do that again and I actually pulled off the Mohawk.
• 25:08
  Eric Rutin: Okay.
• 25:08
  Eric Rutin: But then when things started opening up and I had to start doing like business things again, couldn't quite really do my meetings with with the, with the Mohawks.
• 25:14
  Eric Rutin: I want to see a photo, send you a photo.
• 25:21
  Benjamin Ayres: So two things Absolutely.
• 25:22
  Benjamin Ayres: We have a.
• 25:22
  Benjamin Ayres: There's a men's night, a ski night at a local hill in two weeks and it's going to.
• 25:26
  Benjamin Ayres: They want it.
• 25:27
  Benjamin Ayres: I think it's like a fluorescent nineties or something like that.
• 25:31
  Benjamin Ayres: So some of the guys are like dude, you've kind of got the Mohawk, keep it going, and then, and then you got to get out iron at all and then go Glen.
• 25:39
  Eric Rutin: Plake.
• 25:39
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't know if you remember Glen Plake, the skier from back in the late 80s, 90s, yeah, so I'm going to do that.
• 25:45
  Benjamin Ayres: But I also wanted to say, talking about punk, which I also have gone in and out of.
• 25:51
  Benjamin Ayres: You know I love all genres, but my new favorite band, do you know the idols ID LES?
• 25:55
  Benjamin Ayres: I do not, I got it.
• 25:59
  Eric Rutin: I got to give it a go, right.
• 26:02
  Benjamin Ayres: And then we get off, go on Spotify.
• 26:04
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't just listen to the top five populars right now.
• 26:07
  Benjamin Ayres: It's so good.
• 26:08
  Benjamin Ayres: That's it's my.
• 26:09
  Benjamin Ayres: It's my current gym obsession.
• 26:11
  Eric Rutin: Where, where?
• 26:12
  Eric Rutin: Where are they?
• 26:12
  Eric Rutin: When are they from?
• 26:13
  Eric Rutin: Are they current or are they older?
• 26:15
  Benjamin Ayres: No, they're very, they're current, they're British, they're very coffee.
• 26:18
  Benjamin Ayres: Their accent's very strong.
• 26:20
  Benjamin Ayres: It's like you you want to punch stuff, you want to listen to it.
• 26:23
  Benjamin Ayres: You walk down the street with swagger.
• 26:25
  Benjamin Ayres: It's awesome.
• 26:26
  Eric Rutin: That's my, that's my vibe.
• 26:27
  Eric Rutin: All right, I'm out on it so you'll love it.
• 26:29
  Benjamin Ayres: You'll love it.
• 26:29
  Eric Rutin: You led yourself right into my next question when you said oh, when I go, I can know months between projects.
• 26:35
  Eric Rutin: You have not been going months between projects because you had your little appearance in the Chris, our Chris and Meryl you had.
• 26:41
  Eric Rutin: You talked about uh Miracle in, uh, bethlehem.
• 26:44
  Eric Rutin: You had true justice.
• 26:45
  Eric Rutin: Uh, you have the Love and Jane coming up.
• 26:48
  Eric Rutin: So you've been a busy, busy guy lately.
• 26:50
  Eric Rutin: Um, have you?
• 26:52
  Eric Rutin: Is it literally been like just project, project, project project for a couple of months now?
• 26:56
  Eric Rutin: Or have you actually had breaks?
• 26:58
  Eric Rutin: They filmed so long ago.
• 27:00
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, it's.
• 27:01
  Benjamin Ayres: It's interesting though it always looks like that, cause it kind of went field day uh, christmas, year old Miracle, bethlehem, like you know, and then true justice, but the way like uh field day was filmed 2022, the end of 2022.
• 27:19
  Eric Rutin: Oh, so that was a long year, a whole year.
• 27:21
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, yeah.
• 27:22
  Benjamin Ayres: So you'll go, you know, and then it was a finish that let's say in 2022, let's say the end like mid November.
• 27:29
  Benjamin Ayres: Finished it.
• 27:30
  Benjamin Ayres: So then went December, January, February, March, April, May, until I went and did Love and Jane.
• 27:38
  Benjamin Ayres: That's six months.
• 27:40
  Eric Rutin: Oh, so you got it right before the strike for Love and Jane huh.
• 27:44
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, yeah, it was before.
• 27:45
  Benjamin Ayres: It was before the strike, right before.
• 27:47
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, um, so you know that that is that's.
• 27:50
  Benjamin Ayres: It's the hard thing.
• 27:51
  Benjamin Ayres: Like it doesn't one month and I'm going stir crazy.
• 27:55
  Eric Rutin: Right.
• 27:56
  Benjamin Ayres: So I'm happy to have romance university and I'm busy, you know like I'm busy with the family and stuff, but a month is a long time.
• 28:03
  Benjamin Ayres: Um, actually a month isn't two months, is three months.
• 28:06
  Benjamin Ayres: You start getting a little.
• 28:08
  Eric Rutin: Now I'm like hmm, yeah, also like hey, I got to pay a bill or two, but well, that's just it.
• 28:15
  Eric Rutin: I mean it's it's an interesting.
• 28:17
  Benjamin Ayres: it's an interesting profession because it's uh, you know, it's contract work, right.
• 28:22
  Benjamin Ayres: So with each gig you get, you're very excited and then the second it's done.
• 28:27
  Benjamin Ayres: You don't.
• 28:27
  Benjamin Ayres: You don't know if, if or when you'll work again.
• 28:30
  Benjamin Ayres: You have, you know, we were pretty confident at Hallmark we're going to get to work.
• 28:35
  Benjamin Ayres: But that doesn't happen very often unless you're on a TV series, an ongoing TV series, and that's happened in a couple of times, like when I was on saving hope.
• 28:42
  Benjamin Ayres: We would finish one season and at the wrap party they would say, like we're back for another season.
• 28:48
  Benjamin Ayres: And you're like, oh, like, you know, the network tells you then, which means now you have three to four months before you start your next season.
• 28:56
  Benjamin Ayres: That is the best feeling in the world as an actor and everybody will tell you it is to know you're coming back for another season and that you kind of have this freedom to maybe go off and do an indie movie.
• 29:07
  Benjamin Ayres: Or now I just really want to get better at the guitar, learn piano or a language or like things that you want to do.
• 29:12
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't want to learn to paint Like you can really be like.
• 29:14
  Benjamin Ayres: I know work is upcoming, I have peace of mind and I'm going to do something with the time that is.
• 29:21
  Benjamin Ayres: It's a great feeling and not one that happens that often.
• 29:25
  Eric Rutin: So Now in series, do they usually tell you right like at that wrap party, or is that like you're just fortunate where they were telling you that?
• 29:35
  Benjamin Ayres: No, we were fortunate sometimes, you know so.
• 29:37
  Benjamin Ayres: For example, I did the third season of family law, which is airing now in the CW, so I came on as the love interest for season three.
• 29:46
  Benjamin Ayres: We filmed that season the summer of 2022.
• 29:51
  Benjamin Ayres: So and it hasn't aired in Canada yet and it's just starting to air in the US and they haven't even made an announcement if it's coming back for a fourth season.
• 30:03
  Benjamin Ayres: So the actors that are the you know lead actors like Jules State and Zach Smadi they're now a year and a half, like coming up to two years, without knowing if the show is coming back.
• 30:13
  Benjamin Ayres: That's really that's stressful.
• 30:17
  Benjamin Ayres: It's very stressful and you're in this strange state of limbo.
• 30:20
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, like, and you know I still audition for stuff.
• 30:24
  Benjamin Ayres: I've got a very big audition coming up in the next couple of days, one of those ones where you know that it's going to go to a huge name and it's going to be offered to somebody.
• 30:33
  Benjamin Ayres: But you know, the writing is so good and the thought of you know, even getting the opportunity to do it is exciting.
• 30:42
  Benjamin Ayres: So, yeah, I'm excited.
• 30:45
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm excited for that.
• 30:47
  Benjamin Ayres: But, yeah, the downtime and the not knowing is, you know, we all I've said it before forget who, which actor I know has said it and I remember it kind of like agreeing with it, which is the work is, when you're not working, it's playtime.
• 31:03
  Benjamin Ayres: When you're working, that's like, yeah, that's not, it's not really work, it is.
• 31:07
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, that's why, that's why a lot of the actors that have attitude or a bit of divas on set, there's no room for that.
• 31:14
  Benjamin Ayres: Like, honestly, like, what type of person are you?
• 31:18
  Benjamin Ayres: Where the privilege and so grateful to be on a set with that many people working so hard to bring this thing to life and to have an attitude, and like there's a lot of people, not a lot.
• 31:29
  Benjamin Ayres: Thankfully I haven't come across too many, but I know of enough that I've worked with that have real pissy attitudes on set and you're like damn you have no idea how lucky you are.
• 31:41
  Eric Rutin: There's a lot of jobs.
• 31:42
  Eric Rutin: That would be probably a little bit worse, but like I said there, is that stress between?
• 31:46
  Eric Rutin: That is the one thing and I've talked to enough of you to know about that being that contract work aspect of it Because, once again, as fans, we just think, oh, you know, ben Reiner, he's just here, there, you know, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
• 31:59
  Eric Rutin: Just you know everything coming in.
• 32:01
  Benjamin Ayres: But yeah, like I said, you never know when you could be like you can have one good year, like a couple of really good years, and you're like, okay, great, but it's it's, it's the it's not having a real sense of security.
• 32:16
  Benjamin Ayres: And you know, when I was younger that was exciting.
• 32:18
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like what?
• 32:19
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't need security I want.
• 32:21
  Benjamin Ayres: You know.
• 32:21
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm out here, I'm just going to figure out.
• 32:23
  Benjamin Ayres: The last thing I want is a nine to five job and honestly, sometimes I'm like a nine to five job actually sounds pretty good.
• 32:29
  Benjamin Ayres: I know I would know, because the older I get to, I really like to know what I'm doing.
• 32:33
  Benjamin Ayres: I like my routine, so it gets difficult to not know when you're going to work again.
• 32:38
  Benjamin Ayres: And also, you, you don't feel in control of your life at times and that could be annoying if you put too much like you know you're calling your team, like have we heard anything?
• 32:47
  Benjamin Ayres: What's going on with that one project and the thing?
• 32:49
  Eric Rutin: And you know yeah, I get it All right.
• 32:53
  Eric Rutin: So is there something about like hallmark movies that they act like you're talking about suits and you know the other products you've been in something that's different about being on the hallmark set than it is being in other movies or other shows.
• 33:08
  Eric Rutin: I should say.
• 33:11
  Benjamin Ayres: You know it's been a while since.
• 33:13
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, the one thing I love about hallmark is is there is just a real comfort.
• 33:19
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, like the second I land on set, I just sort of I know what it is Usually, I know the team or I know you know some major part of the team, so it feels comfortable to me like a television series does.
• 33:37
  Benjamin Ayres: I sort of feel like I'm on a TV show.
• 33:38
  Benjamin Ayres: So that comfort level is is two.
• 33:42
  Benjamin Ayres: So two things it's good to feel anxious and nervous and get to set, and I still do.
• 33:48
  Benjamin Ayres: My first two days aren't usually my best days on set because it takes a while to fall into the rhythm, especially if you're making some specific choice for your character or you're not too sure, and also you know the network, sometimes not fully sure what the choice you've made, or the wardrobe, or you know, I remember doing a Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas actually, and I remember thinking I'm going to come in with my hair a little wavy and on day one they pulled me aside.
• 34:13
  Benjamin Ayres: We just started filming and I think they had done one take and I got pulled aside.
• 34:18
  Benjamin Ayres: And you're already so self-conscious on day one you're walking in.
• 34:21
  Benjamin Ayres: I already know Rachel Lee Cook.
• 34:22
  Benjamin Ayres: I know David winning, you know, I know the team, but you're, there's still.
• 34:29
  Benjamin Ayres: You're still self-conscious and you don't want to be self-conscious when you're acting and to walk in there and have them pull you aside and say what is going on with your face or your hair and then having them trying to straighten it.
• 34:40
  Benjamin Ayres: It's not working and you're like I don't.
• 34:41
  Benjamin Ayres: You know now, you just don't.
• 34:43
  Benjamin Ayres: You don't feel comfortable.
• 34:44
  Benjamin Ayres: You have to feel very comfortable.
• 34:45
  Benjamin Ayres: So there is a state of comfort.
• 34:52
  Benjamin Ayres: That's now happened with Hallmark.
• 34:53
  Benjamin Ayres: That is refreshing and I really like it.
• 34:55
  Benjamin Ayres: But yeah, I mean, but still, every project is different.
• 35:00
  Benjamin Ayres: You never know what it's going to be and that's that's sort of what keeps you on your toes.
• 35:03
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, and I think that's that's what I loved about the experience of giving everybody that experience in Vancouver is that feeling of like oh here comes the camera.
• 35:12
  Benjamin Ayres: Oh, you're on.
• 35:13
  Benjamin Ayres: You've got to work really hard to make it look like you're not nervous.
• 35:16
  Benjamin Ayres: There are many times when we're shitting ourselves, but inside it, especially saving hope.
• 35:21
  Benjamin Ayres: I used to get it all the time.
• 35:22
  Benjamin Ayres: It's the only time I've had a panic attack.
• 35:24
  Benjamin Ayres: I've had two panic attacks on set from that show because it was so, so precise and to be playing like I'm not an ER doctor.
• 35:36
  Benjamin Ayres: But I remember, like I remember walking in the first day and David, david Wellington, who's the executive producer, writer, director, and he's like okay, so, and there were no background in there, yet this beautiful ER and he's walking me through it.
• 35:52
  Benjamin Ayres: I've now been cast because this is yours, this is your domain, you own this, you run this.
• 35:56
  Benjamin Ayres: Everybody coming and going, you know who's in there, who's out, this is yours, you are the boss here.
• 36:02
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like, okay, I'm kind of walking around and trying to get a feel for the first few lines, as I'm going to say in that first episode.
• 36:08
  Benjamin Ayres: And then you go and you kind of hang out your chair, you're chatting with the cast and then they bring in the background.
• 36:13
  Benjamin Ayres: I'd say there was 100 background performers there, you know, like police officers, they're patients and we had a lot of wonders coming out of an ambulance, through the ER, kind of landing at the trauma base and stuff.
• 36:27
  Benjamin Ayres: And if you screw up your lines you have to reset from the top.
• 36:30
  Benjamin Ayres: So your lines are like you know get them a tennis booster, cross match three in its blood, start two liters of saline 200, and you're saying these lines while putting on gloves and having, like you know, these, these, these robes put on you and we would always laugh because at the end of the take you'd go put your hand up and like your gloves aren't on because your hands are also really sweaty, because you're so nervous and you can't get those gloves on.
• 36:53
  Benjamin Ayres: And they don't want to do the powdered gloves because it gets all over your costume and then you've got blood squirting.
• 36:58
  Benjamin Ayres: You got to reset.
• 36:59
  Benjamin Ayres: So the pressure to to get it perfect every time was, was, was big and you would, you know your heart would be racing.
• 37:07
  Benjamin Ayres: It was, but so exciting and so fun.
• 37:10
  Eric Rutin: Well, your scripts for Hallmark are a little easier because like oh go, get like the gingerbread house as opposed to whatever medical things.
• 37:19
  Benjamin Ayres: Let me tell you what's difficult about Hallmark is that and I think it's why people love the movie so much.
• 37:25
  Benjamin Ayres: But this is what makes it hard as an actor is that In the medium of film and television, it is show don't tell.
• 37:33
  Benjamin Ayres: So oftentimes all you have to say is the camera can push in and that's enough.
• 37:39
  Benjamin Ayres: With the swelling music, like you know, there'll be a scene where I'm like you know, I need to cry in order to portray this moment.
• 37:46
  Benjamin Ayres: But honestly, all I could do is be very still and the camera just pushes in slowly and the music swells and you, the audience, are going to feel something.
• 37:53
  Benjamin Ayres: You don't need me to feel it If I'm on stage.
• 37:56
  Benjamin Ayres: You need me to feel it for you to feel it.
• 37:58
  Benjamin Ayres: But there's there's a lot of editing involved in film and TV.
• 38:02
  Benjamin Ayres: However, in this world of you know, show don't tell, hallmark is a lot of tell.
• 38:07
  Benjamin Ayres: So we're expressing our emotions and our feelings all the time.
• 38:11
  Benjamin Ayres: We're talking about how we feel about things which isn't really how people talk.
• 38:15
  Benjamin Ayres: Unless you have a therapist, you have a very healthy relationship.
• 38:18
  Benjamin Ayres: So to say those lines and not sound very earnest or hard on your sleeve, you know, it's why some actors don't quite make it, because you won't even realize why you don't respond to some actors or you think that maybe you know they're just tricky to say those lines in a believable way or throw it away or find a way and nuance or to be like I'm not going to say this.
• 38:47
  Benjamin Ayres: Sometimes if you just say some of those lines as written, it's going to be very hard.
• 38:52
  Benjamin Ayres: So there's just a lot of nuance, because it's tricky to say, to really be expressing how you feel all the time.
• 38:59
  Benjamin Ayres: So yeah, hallmark has its own challenges, for sure.
• 39:02
  Eric Rutin: But I think you hacked into my Google Docs and are just leading me into my next questions to beautifully.
• 39:09
  Eric Rutin: So I was chit chatting with Jeff Beasley One night after a couple weeks ago and use, we're just talking about the holiday season.
• 39:20
  Eric Rutin: It was just like a little Instagram DM back and forth and he'd like talked to me literally for an hour and a half.
• 39:24
  Eric Rutin: Funny, funny guy, right, but he's awesome.
• 39:27
  Eric Rutin: He was telling me about the miracle in Bethlehem, that it was a real challenge because what he got he just wasn't really comfortable with and he gave you.
• 39:38
  Eric Rutin: Basically, he said, what saved that movie was Benjamin is just a genius and Laura is absolutely beyond believably talented and that you guys really brought a whole bunch of like.
• 39:53
  Eric Rutin: Not necessarily on this I don't want to speak for him, but script change is anything that but really brought like a whole bunch of things that just weren't there necessarily on paper.
• 40:03
  Eric Rutin: That, he said, is what completely made the movie and I just like I guess that that's the thing and like you're kind of saying it's, do you really like, when you're doing that movie and knowing that it was this, this way, did you expect it to be the hit?
• 40:21
  Eric Rutin: I mean, because that was the hit of the hallmark movies and mystery season and, from what he said, it didn't start out like beautifully but it finished so well.
• 40:34
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, there it's, it's.
• 40:35
  Benjamin Ayres: It is always hard, like every movie.
• 40:37
  Benjamin Ayres: I try to think how to answer that, you know, because I would say that very early on I probably didn't change much.
• 40:51
  Benjamin Ayres: I was like, oh, this is because I had heard to, and I think it has changed a lot.
• 40:54
  Benjamin Ayres: But very early on, hallmark, it was like, you know, whatever's written has to be said.
• 40:59
  Benjamin Ayres: As it is no facial hair on men, the hair's got to be trimmed to a certain length.
• 41:04
  Benjamin Ayres: You can't be wearing these types of colors like it was.
• 41:06
  Benjamin Ayres: There were a lot of rules and I was, like you know, unsure that.
• 41:09
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like what is this place?
• 41:11
  Benjamin Ayres: It has changed a lot since then and I think, with the actors that they trust they allow a bit of freedom to bring their ideas and make it collaborative, and I think that's why there are a lot of your favorite actors out there that that you love to watch.
• 41:27
  Benjamin Ayres: I can guarantee you are bringing in a lot of their own ideas, because, oh yeah, miracle in Bethlehem got greenlit very quickly and from the idea to the first script to the second script all happened very quickly, quicker than any other movie.
• 41:44
  Benjamin Ayres: I had been on Dayspring, had done a couple movies the year prior with, like Nikki DeLoach and Brandon Elliott did one, but it was very grief-ridden, lots of very faith-based but like it was like grief and it was a heavy, heavy dramatic.
• 42:02
  Benjamin Ayres: They wanted to go more rom-com, lean more into the comedy for this years and when I read the scripts I was like like it's not a funny script, I don't even know where, and in fact it was the first time I didn't really it didn't.
• 42:19
  Benjamin Ayres: When I got it they didn't say it's a Dayspring movie.
• 42:21
  Benjamin Ayres: But as I was reading it, it's the first time I've ever actually said the words Jesus or my faith in God and I was like whoa, what's going on here?
• 42:30
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, I've just I've never even read a script at a hallmark that said anything like that.
• 42:34
  Benjamin Ayres: So then discovered this is a Dayspring movie.
• 42:37
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like, oh, that's cool, okay, great, this will be fun to sort of figure out.
• 42:40
  Benjamin Ayres: But when we did the read-through of it it had a lot of challenges.
• 42:46
  Benjamin Ayres: It was, as I was saying earlier, like they were saying things you just wouldn't say and it was, and you know, and they were speaking in the kind of scripture.
• 42:54
  Benjamin Ayres: So every once in a while too, and I was like, oh, this is just kind of bumping.
• 42:57
  Benjamin Ayres: So there was a new draft that got much better.
• 43:02
  Benjamin Ayres: But when we got to set, you know, I must say, between myself and Laura and Jeff and Seth, our producer but Jeff really takes some big, you know.
• 43:11
  Benjamin Ayres: They brought him on because they wanted a comedy and they're like you know, jeff is a great comedic director and he has wonderful ideas and you know he'll tell you this and I told him this too.
• 43:22
  Benjamin Ayres: Like I resisted his ideas at first because I came in with my ideas for my character and he kind of had some big broad stuff and I was like I just wasn't sure yet that that's where the movie should go for this character, you know.
• 43:34
  Benjamin Ayres: But after day two we really leaned into it and we had so much fun and we made up a lot of stuff.
• 43:41
  Benjamin Ayres: And you know, I've even read some reviews and there was one in particular that I really appreciated and it was the fight that I had with my ex-girlfriend when she catches us kissing.
• 43:50
  Benjamin Ayres: You know which.
• 43:51
  Benjamin Ayres: We added that scene Hi, hi, hi, don't we walk into the house?
• 43:55
  Benjamin Ayres: And it's this big fight.
• 43:56
  Benjamin Ayres: We improvised this entire scene and it was awesome.
• 43:59
  Benjamin Ayres: I felt like I was doing a play.
• 44:01
  Benjamin Ayres: There were so many times.
• 44:02
  Benjamin Ayres: I've also talked about this.
• 44:03
  Benjamin Ayres: The way Jeff works is that he cross shoots everything.
• 44:06
  Benjamin Ayres: So it's not do you know what that is Now, computer, that term.
• 44:10
  Benjamin Ayres: So traditionally the way a movie is shot is all the lights will be facing in your direction, the camera is on you and I'm kind of beside the camera like this, okay, and I'm talking to you and you're looking at me, but the camera's right here and right behind him is right behind there, is your camera operator and then your focus puller over here and everybody else back here.
• 44:33
  Benjamin Ayres: So you're looking at me, but it's so distracting behind me.
• 44:36
  Benjamin Ayres: It's very distracting, but when I'm looking at you it's great because I'm actually in the scene, because behind you there's no crew.
• 44:42
  Benjamin Ayres: Then we do your take two to three times, then we take a break and we turn all the lights around to the other side and now it's my turn.
• 44:54
  Benjamin Ayres: Now you've got the camera beside you and we do the scene that way and back and forth.
• 44:57
  Benjamin Ayres: And that's sort of traditionally how you film a movie.
• 45:00
  Benjamin Ayres: The way this movie was filmed, there were two cameras that were on at all times, one shooting me and one shooting you.
• 45:07
  Benjamin Ayres: So the second action is called.
• 45:10
  Benjamin Ayres: We're both in the scene, there's no like, oh, I'm not on camera.
• 45:14
  Benjamin Ayres: So the level of nerves is the same for both of us and oftentimes what happens is you'll leave the scene going oh, do you know what I should have done?
• 45:25
  Benjamin Ayres: And you'll discover what you should have done when it's not on you, because now you've run it a few times.
• 45:31
  Benjamin Ayres: But when you're both on at the same time.
• 45:33
  Benjamin Ayres: It also allows you to edit seamlessly between the two.
• 45:36
  Benjamin Ayres: So if you're filming one version and then the other, you can't start adding stuff because you've already shot the other stuff and it won't cut together.
• 45:43
  Benjamin Ayres: But if you're filming you both at the same time, you can improvise and then you can cut between because you're both being shot at the same time and you're not, yeah, so it allows for a lot of improvisation.
• 45:54
  Benjamin Ayres: That was a long-winded way to say.
• 45:56
  Benjamin Ayres: It allows for a lot of improvisation because you can cut between.
• 45:59
  Benjamin Ayres: So that scene in particular was a very real fight we had and it felt raw and we changed it every time.
• 46:08
  Benjamin Ayres: And I've read a few people have reached out to me to say that it was kind of the most honest, real fight they'd ever seen in a Hallmark movie, and I think that there were a lot of those types of moments and it's because of that type of shooting that allows for dropped down truths, because the actors are both in the moment.
• 46:28
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, and this movie once we started filming it, we kept saying I'm like, is this way better than we thought it was going to be?
• 46:37
  Benjamin Ayres: It is right, like that scene really worked out.
• 46:39
  Benjamin Ayres: And the next day I'm like dude, that scene was amazing last night.
• 46:42
  Benjamin Ayres: And we kept like adding little bits, or like we would do one version as scripted, then one version completely off script, and then there's a real beautiful amalgamation of all of those things together and then there's I hope we do an extended version of it because there are some incredible scenes that didn't even make it in because they're always running long.
• 47:03
  Benjamin Ayres: The movies tend to run long, we shoot too much so there were, I'd say, five big great scenes that aren't even in the movie.
• 47:11
  Benjamin Ayres: Really, there's a scene at the end where there's a sermon at the church and Paul is his name.
• 47:18
  Benjamin Ayres: I've worked with him before.
• 47:18
  Benjamin Ayres: He's an incredible actor and he had to get up and deliver the sermon and we had probably 150 background performers in this church.
• 47:26
  Benjamin Ayres: This beautiful camera, this camera shot, so we shoot him and then we have the camera shot going through the crowd and their pews and just them.
• 47:35
  Benjamin Ayres: Some people are crying, coming right up and landing on Laura and I that kind of share a glance, and then the camera comes back Like it was a big production and the end of the day you're like it didn't really move the story along.
• 47:47
  Benjamin Ayres: So those little moments you don't even realize.
• 47:50
  Benjamin Ayres: Sometimes you're already being pulled out by a commercial.
• 47:52
  Benjamin Ayres: A commercial gives you a second to breathe, but if you have a scene that's a bit of a dud.
• 47:56
  Benjamin Ayres: You sort of like you can just pull you out of the movie for a sec and I feel like ours was cut together so well that you really you know, everybody said it like the two hours just fly by All right.
• 48:10
  Eric Rutin: Yeah, like I say it was very interesting when I was talking to him about it cause he was like I, when I went into it I didn't know what was coming out of it and, like I say, it turned out to be the biggest movie of the year for that.
• 48:24
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, it was the biggest and you know why somebody a couple of people have said that too.
• 48:27
  Benjamin Ayres: The dancing, you know, like he there was, I'm like, okay, I'm dancing with the baby.
• 48:32
  Benjamin Ayres: She comes down, and he's like I'm thinking full risky business.
• 48:35
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was like because I think you slide in and I was like really I was sliding in Cause, yeah, and you're like dusting, and I'm like what are you talking about?
• 48:45
  Benjamin Ayres: And I remember it just totally made sense.
• 48:49
  Benjamin Ayres: And we went for it.
• 48:50
  Benjamin Ayres: Man, we went bigger and bigger every time and I was even like I'm just.
• 48:53
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm not even gonna have a shirt on, I'm just gonna be in like a tank top and like and they loved it, you know, like the.
• 48:58
  Benjamin Ayres: You know I really give it up for Jennifer Kramer, who was our executive.
• 49:03
  Benjamin Ayres: She was there that day and was such a fan of it and just you know she was a big, big, a big supporter of what we were doing, so I'm very grateful.
• 49:12
  Eric Rutin: That's awesome.
• 49:13
  Eric Rutin: Yeah, like when you were Casper, when we did a little preview, it was like I'm not sure Benjamin's like the guy for this one, just based on your stuff.
• 49:25
  Eric Rutin: But then at the end of the day, what you made with that character was great.
• 49:30
  Eric Rutin: Like I say, he really sort of blended that thing Cause, like you say, it can be a very heavy movie because of the you know, the overt religious factors of it, but you brought in a levity to it that I thought was a great balance, so it was awesome.
• 49:46
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, it was a great and I think Jeff added it too that he was like this rock star and it just instantly was a kid great Peter Pan syndrome.
• 49:52
  Benjamin Ayres: He's just fun.
• 49:52
  Benjamin Ayres: It's just going to be a heightened version.
• 49:55
  Benjamin Ayres: Honesty of me and you know, in some ways you know I have it's, it's.
• 50:02
  Benjamin Ayres: It gave me the freedom to sort of do what I like to do.
• 50:05
  Benjamin Ayres: I came from very big comedy.
• 50:06
  Benjamin Ayres: I've done a lot of television comedy, dark comedy, then kind of got into saving hope, which is a bit more leading man with some comedic stuff, and then went over to Hallmark and sort of really leaned into more of the kind of leading man with a couple of little funny moments here and there.
• 50:23
  Benjamin Ayres: But this year I really was like you know what I'm just going to have.
• 50:28
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm just I've done that now Like I've done enough of the movies to be like we've seen that version I'm going to, I'm, I'm, I would like to seek out and talk to Hallmark about doing more comedic stuff and being okay to lean into it.
• 50:42
  Benjamin Ayres: And I sort of got the okay, you know.
• 50:44
  Benjamin Ayres: So it's nice to get to do really what is more my strength than actually what I love to do.
• 50:50
  Eric Rutin: Well, like you said earlier, hallmark you know, if you look at the holiday season, this past one, they really are not the Hallmark of 2019.
• 50:59
  Eric Rutin: I mean, they were doing some, really.
• 51:01
  Eric Rutin: You know, obviously the very traditional ones, but then other ones that you just never would have seen.
• 51:07
  Eric Rutin: Like you say that we're just great comedies.
• 51:10
  Eric Rutin: You go back to the.
• 51:11
  Eric Rutin: You had the two Hall out, the Hallways, you know, the last two years round and round was like just fantastic.
• 51:18
  Eric Rutin: So yeah, so they're definitely pushing the limit.
• 51:20
  Eric Rutin: So you, like I said in, they obviously trust you because, like I said, you got to turn that movie into what you did.
• 51:27
  Eric Rutin: So, all right, we're going to and it's like.
• 51:30
  Benjamin Ayres: It's like you said, we go back because they filmed so many.
• 51:32
  Benjamin Ayres: You can take a risk with a few and see how they do, and then you'll notice that the next season then there's like an indication from the season previous that more movies, the push the boundaries a little more again on a couple, but not all of them.
• 51:46
  Benjamin Ayres: So you have your traditional ones and then ones that they'll take little risks on, which I think is smart, a smart way to do it.
• 51:51
  Eric Rutin: Yeah, yeah.
• 51:52
  Eric Rutin: Well, we're going to now go into the rapid round.
• 51:55
  Eric Rutin: Just a couple of quick questions.
• 51:56
  Eric Rutin: The short answers, don't have to really think about it, just boom right.
• 52:00
  Eric Rutin: First one I always ask is what's your opinion of pineapple on pizza?
• 52:07
  Benjamin Ayres: They receive pineapple express, is it Okay?
• 52:10
  Benjamin Ayres: I like pineapple I like pineapple.
• 52:13
  Eric Rutin: Okay, so you're psychotic.
• 52:15
  Benjamin Ayres: That's a strategy, I don't just wait, I don't order it.
• 52:19
  Benjamin Ayres: But I'm telling you, if there's a pizza in front of me and it has pineapple on it, I am not going to resist it because there's pineapple on it.
• 52:26
  Benjamin Ayres: Are you going to starve yourself?
• 52:29
  Eric Rutin: I will.
• 52:30
  Eric Rutin: Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the true psycho.
• 52:35
  Eric Rutin: I love pizza, I'll do most.
• 52:37
  Eric Rutin: I won't do fungus and I won't do pineapple on my pizza Anything else.
• 52:41
  Eric Rutin: He wants to be mushroom.
• 52:43
  Eric Rutin: No, no, all right.
• 52:46
  Eric Rutin: Number two what is your favorite movie of all time?
• 52:52
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, there Will Be Blood is one of my favorite movies.
• 52:55
  Benjamin Ayres: I just, I love, I love.
• 52:57
  Benjamin Ayres: It's like the perfect acting vehicle for Daniel Day-Lewis.
• 53:01
  Benjamin Ayres: The opening of the film is this incredible portrayal of perseverance and persistence.
• 53:08
  Benjamin Ayres: And it's a silent film.
• 53:09
  Benjamin Ayres: The fact that Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead is the one that scores it, it's just.
• 53:14
  Benjamin Ayres: It's one of my favorite movies Interesting.
• 53:17
  Eric Rutin: I never got it, but I also was when I saw it.
• 53:21
  Eric Rutin: I saw it in the theater and there was a problem with the sound, where it just kept going in and out and where they eventually like half the people walked out and then they came in and they offered us our money back and so we're like, oh, we're with the hell to stay and watch it.
• 53:36
  Eric Rutin: So I think my experience of it was that's a bummer.
• 53:41
  Eric Rutin: So, yeah, yes, the only time I've ever had a movie like that, where it like, yeah, it was just messed up beyond belief.
• 53:48
  Eric Rutin: All right, so Homeark has the big hit right now with the Way Home.
• 53:53
  Eric Rutin: So if you had access to a magical time traveling pond, would you be going forward or would you be going backward, and then where would you go?
• 54:05
  Benjamin Ayres: Explain, explain the conceit of it a bit.
• 54:07
  Benjamin Ayres: Is she able, are they able to?
• 54:08
  Benjamin Ayres: Anybody can jump in it and travel through time.
• 54:10
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, just the two main characters.
• 54:12
  Eric Rutin: They go in and it goes back.
• 54:14
  Eric Rutin: So the main character's brother disappeared and so when they jump into the pond, which they find out by accident, it takes them back to in time when the kid was there.
• 54:26
  Eric Rutin: So it's kind of solving a little bit of a mystery of what happened to the kid.
• 54:30
  Eric Rutin: But her daughter becomes friends with the teenage mom, so it's like all sorts of weird things and there's like butterfly effect which does apparently does not happen in this movie, but I was going to ask now if they go back, are they affecting what's happening now?
• 54:48
  Benjamin Ayres: That's too complicated.
• 54:49
  Eric Rutin: Apparently, what they say is it's already happened, so you're going back.
• 54:53
  Eric Rutin: But it's already happened because where we are, so you're going back, but you're going to do what's already happened.
• 54:59
  Eric Rutin: That makes sense, Right.
• 55:03
  Benjamin Ayres: But here's the thing, because the other conceit is you go back, but you're like a ghost and you actually are unable to affect it.
• 55:10
  Benjamin Ayres: So if you went back, is it like you know, back to the future, where all of a sudden now you're like falling in love with your mom?
• 55:17
  Benjamin Ayres: That's not good, Right.
• 55:19
  Eric Rutin: So but if you go back and can just view it happening, then so they like I say, they haven't really gone that into that aspect of it.
• 55:28
  Eric Rutin: Yeah, because it's what you're all being.
• 55:29
  Benjamin Ayres: Listen, you're the whole other world.
• 55:30
  Benjamin Ayres: You're opening up, you know, right, it's a good question.
• 55:36
  Benjamin Ayres: Listen, my daughter Isadora and I talk about this all the time.
• 55:38
  Benjamin Ayres: Would you what?
• 55:39
  Benjamin Ayres: Would you rather go back or would you rather go forward?
• 55:41
  Benjamin Ayres: To be honest, there's nothing I want to go back, like if you can't change anything, and then there's nothing I'd really want to change.
• 55:47
  Benjamin Ayres: Why would I want to go back to get one last like.
• 55:50
  Benjamin Ayres: There's that, like maybe go back and have a conversation with my grandpa that I never had.
• 55:54
  Benjamin Ayres: Okay, I guess that would be it.
• 55:57
  Benjamin Ayres: Obviously, I'm very, very interested to see where we're going to be in a hundred years, but that's insane to think about.
• 56:08
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, this is the first generation.
• 56:10
  Benjamin Ayres: This is the first time we're unable to predict what, like our kids' kids' life is going to look like.
• 56:17
  Benjamin Ayres: It's been pretty like.
• 56:18
  Benjamin Ayres: This is what it looks like.
• 56:20
  Benjamin Ayres: Technology is moving at such a rapid pace now that we can't even predict 10 years, let alone 20, 30, 40, 100 years.
• 56:27
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't know, are we, what do they call it?
• 56:30
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't know.
• 56:37
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm scared to go forward.
• 56:40
  Benjamin Ayres: That's the problem too, because you might go forward and go.
• 56:42
  Benjamin Ayres: Oh my God, it's so intense that now nothing means anything.
• 56:46
  Benjamin Ayres: So, honestly, I don't want to play with time.
• 56:49
  Benjamin Ayres: The only thing I want to be able to do my superpower, I love to like transport back and forth to, like you know, locations.
• 56:56
  Benjamin Ayres: Flying, that's all I want to do.
• 56:57
  Benjamin Ayres: I want to fly, so yeah, but you can get there quicker.
• 57:00
  Benjamin Ayres: Like it's not about getting there, it's about the act of doing.
• 57:04
  Benjamin Ayres: Like I want to fly, that's the only thing I want to do All right.
• 57:09
  Eric Rutin: so there was the big.
• 57:11
  Eric Rutin: I'm in the interest of all I'm saying.
• 57:12
  Eric Rutin: I agree with you.
• 57:13
  Eric Rutin: There was a big movie last year, Three, Wisemen and Baby.
• 57:16
  Eric Rutin: You know it was kind of a buddy flick there.
• 57:18
  Eric Rutin: So if you were doing your own buddy flick, what three hallmark actors or actresses would you have in your?
• 57:26
  Eric Rutin: Three cool people in a toddler.
• 57:32
  Benjamin Ayres: In the toddler.
• 57:33
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, I think ours would be a puppy, wouldn't be a toddler.
• 57:37
  Eric Rutin: So I'm looking at them.
• 57:39
  Benjamin Ayres: Probably a puppy, and I have said it before, but it's going to be Peter Benson and I Okay, he's a good guy, he's a good guy and I need to see, we need to see more of Peter Benson on the screen.
• 57:51
  Benjamin Ayres: And then it's a really, really hard choice as to who it should be.
• 57:58
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, everybody I've worked with I want to work with.
• 58:02
  Benjamin Ayres: Again, everybody I haven't worked with I want to work with.
• 58:06
  Eric Rutin: I only ask tough questions here.
• 58:08
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, but that's actually the one thing I love about what they did was now you're like, okay, so we can get some guys together in some movies, and it sort of opened that up where we can tell what was the other one.
• 58:22
  Benjamin Ayres: They did to the wedding veil.
• 58:23
  Benjamin Ayres: Even those are kind of interesting, where it's the couple before they get married and then after.
• 58:29
  Benjamin Ayres: That's always when people are like oh, I'd love to see another falling, a second falling for Vermont, or a sequel to Cranberry Christmas.
• 58:37
  Benjamin Ayres: Cranberry Christmas is the only one that actually makes sense to me for a sequel, because they were married before and we were dealing with this problem and it was an issue that I think.
• 58:47
  Benjamin Ayres: I want to see what happened to Gabe and Dawn, as they're now out there trying to navigate, being on film and TV and kind of traveling around and having a talk show and all this kind of stuff reality show but the rest of them it's always difficult because you're like well, now they've fallen in love.
• 59:03
  Benjamin Ayres: So the best part that we have to watch which is the obstacle of falling in love, which is 90% of these movies is now they're married and then you're just like is that as fun?
• 59:16
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't know, it is, but it's not as.
• 59:18
  Benjamin Ayres: But the wedding veil actually did a good job of tackling that obstacle and problem.
• 59:23
  Benjamin Ayres: So all that to say, I'm not going to answer the third, because I literally stick my.
• 59:30
  Eric Rutin: So it's a buddy movie that you and Peter are going around.
• 59:33
  Eric Rutin: It's Peter and I Getting a puppy dog.
• 59:35
  Benjamin Ayres: It's coming out there.
• 59:36
  Benjamin Ayres: We got a puppy dog that should bring all the people.
• 59:39
  Eric Rutin: All right.
• 59:39
  Eric Rutin: Well, you kind of in the other thing, like we just said.
• 59:42
  Eric Rutin: So, do you like romcoms or mysteries better?
• 59:45
  Eric Rutin: Because the romcom, like you said, is that sort of one-off phone love, have your big kiss, whereas the mysteries you get to you go through and you develop and you have longer stories where you don't get the kiss.
• 59:58
  Eric Rutin: I'll chronicle mysteries.
• 1:00:00
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, I'll, I mean.
• 1:00:02
  Benjamin Ayres: So that's kind of what I love about the loving Jane for us, while it's not, of course, chronicle mysteries, it's seeing us together on camera in a way that you didn't get to see them on chronicle mysteries.
• 1:00:16
  Benjamin Ayres: So in some ways there's like a nod to the chronicle mysteries or love in Jane.
• 1:00:20
  Benjamin Ayres: But yeah, I love them because it's like a TV series.
• 1:00:24
  Benjamin Ayres: They're like one-off episodes, it's like an episodic television series where it's a case of the week.
• 1:00:29
  Benjamin Ayres: So that element is what I do love about the mysteries and I've got some good ideas and potentially one in development and I would like Breaking news.
• 1:00:43
  Benjamin Ayres: Breaking news.
• 1:00:44
  Benjamin Ayres: You heard it here first.
• 1:00:45
  Benjamin Ayres: You know I'd love to do some more mysteries, but I love the wrong coms too.
• 1:00:49
  Benjamin Ayres: So I mean, how lucky are we that there are the two networks?
• 1:00:52
  Benjamin Ayres: You know that we get to do both.
• 1:00:53
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean it's incredible.
• 1:00:55
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm so thankful to have the opportunity All right.
• 1:00:59
  Eric Rutin: Last question of the other, of the rapid round.
• 1:01:02
  Eric Rutin: It's the best thing you ever kept from a set, from a movie.
• 1:01:07
  Benjamin Ayres: Oh, I mean, I usually take.
• 1:01:09
  Benjamin Ayres: I take a lot of the wardrobe every time.
• 1:01:10
  Benjamin Ayres: To be honest, I take, I take wardrobe, I take um.
• 1:01:16
  Eric Rutin: Now, do you do it like overtly, or do you sort of just sneak it into this suitcase and they all of a sudden like hey, we're, we're, we're so cool shoes.
• 1:01:24
  Benjamin Ayres: I talk to the wardrobe and I say, I say like, this is what I want.
• 1:01:26
  Benjamin Ayres: So usually what happens is I'll wear items of my own clothes and then it's like an exchange, like if we wear your thing.
• 1:01:32
  Benjamin Ayres: So you know, in Miracle in Bethlehem it's my jacket I'm wearing the whole time.
• 1:01:36
  Benjamin Ayres: Oftentimes I wear my own boots.
• 1:01:38
  Benjamin Ayres: I personally, I prefer my clothes to look lived in.
• 1:01:43
  Benjamin Ayres: That's another thing that I appreciate.
• 1:01:44
  Benjamin Ayres: Where homework has gone now.
• 1:01:46
  Eric Rutin: Is that normal, though?
• 1:01:46
  Eric Rutin: Wear your own clothes and movies.
• 1:01:48
  Eric Rutin: Um, you kind of like the outlier there.
• 1:01:51
  Benjamin Ayres: No, I, I don't like.
• 1:01:54
  Benjamin Ayres: I don't like it to look like the character has brand new clothes all the time.
• 1:01:58
  Benjamin Ayres: But if I get, I'll even take the clothes my whatever.
• 1:02:01
  Benjamin Ayres: So if it's a compare of brand new denim jeans, I take them with me back to the hotel and I wear them around the city so that there are natural creases in them.
• 1:02:09
  Benjamin Ayres: Because who has brand new clothes?
• 1:02:13
  Benjamin Ayres: And it drives me crazy and it's.
• 1:02:16
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, when I first started, a home market was like that.
• 1:02:18
  Benjamin Ayres: Every time you put on it was like fully pressed.
• 1:02:20
  Benjamin Ayres: If I'm a lawyer, doctor and he's presenting a certain way, fine.
• 1:02:24
  Benjamin Ayres: But if it's a character like Miracle in Bethlehem, he's a mechanic, I don't want to see brand new denim jeans.
• 1:02:30
  Eric Rutin: I do not think he owns an iron.
• 1:02:33
  Benjamin Ayres: The treads on the bottom with you know this with the sticker on it brand new.
• 1:02:37
  Benjamin Ayres: So you know it's.
• 1:02:38
  Benjamin Ayres: I work pretty hard usually with wardrobe to break it down and have a look of it being worn, you know, not just fresh off the rack, I just don't think.
• 1:02:47
  Benjamin Ayres: Um, like I said there, there are some characters where it's warranted, but others not so much.
• 1:02:53
  Benjamin Ayres: So because of that, yes, I will bring my own ideas and bring some of my own clothes and then in exchange I get to keep some All right, Well, we are a mystery podcast, so we're finally going to get to it.
• 1:03:05
  Eric Rutin: So we talked about true justice and, you know, Nikki, Nikki wrote in.
• 1:03:09
  Eric Rutin: So when she created this character and she called you and said, hey, will you be in it, Was she just like hey, you know, will you be in it as a favor?
• 1:03:17
  Eric Rutin: Or was she like, hey, Ben, let's meet up and I've got a couple of martinis for you, let's get a little bit of liquid.
• 1:03:24
  Eric Rutin: You know, judgment in you.
• 1:03:26
  Eric Rutin: And then she's like hey, will you be in this movie?
• 1:03:28
  Eric Rutin: And, by the way, I'm not paying you.
• 1:03:29
  Eric Rutin: So what do you say?
• 1:03:30
  Eric Rutin: And you're like, I'll do it whatever.
• 1:03:32
  Eric Rutin: And then you woke up the next day and you're like what did I agree to?
• 1:03:36
  Benjamin Ayres: I would say yes to anything Nikki Deloche asks me and I was shooting, uh, uh, love and Jane, um, what was?
• 1:03:45
  Benjamin Ayres: I was saying, yeah, uh, with Ali I was in Vancouver and she called and actually, funny, so we have there's a nice hotel in Vancouver that also has a resident side and Nikki and I, depending on when we're there, we rent this one.
• 1:04:00
  Benjamin Ayres: So she found it and I'm like where did you find this incredible place?
• 1:04:03
  Benjamin Ayres: And then she gave me the contact of the guy.
• 1:04:05
  Benjamin Ayres: So when she's not there I'm staying in it.
• 1:04:08
  Benjamin Ayres: So we take turns staying in this one apartment in Vancouver when we're shooting movies.
• 1:04:11
  Benjamin Ayres: And she called and I thought she called because I sent her a photo of I baked bread.
• 1:04:16
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was in the space and like even when I'm there, I bring my starter with me and I break, I bake bread every couple of mornings.
• 1:04:21
  Benjamin Ayres: And she said you're baking bread in that apartment.
• 1:04:25
  Benjamin Ayres: I can't believe you're doing that, you're a maniac.
• 1:04:27
  Benjamin Ayres: Um, so she was texting me that.
• 1:04:30
  Benjamin Ayres: And then it was like the next day she called me and I thought she was calling me to bust my balls.
• 1:04:34
  Benjamin Ayres: And she calls me to say listen, I have a huge favorite ask.
• 1:04:37
  Benjamin Ayres: I was like, okay, and she goes.
• 1:04:38
  Benjamin Ayres: I wrote a movie that has been green lit.
• 1:04:42
  Benjamin Ayres: We're going to be filming it and I wrote a part specifically for you in it.
• 1:04:45
  Benjamin Ayres: But I want you to know we're not the leads of it, we're like supporting.
• 1:04:47
  Benjamin Ayres: We're both going to be in it.
• 1:04:48
  Benjamin Ayres: It's like a younger cast.
• 1:04:49
  Benjamin Ayres: It's super fun.
• 1:04:51
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was like that sounds incredible.
• 1:04:52
  Benjamin Ayres: I'd you know, yes, she goes.
• 1:04:53
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, do you know what to say?
• 1:04:54
  Benjamin Ayres: Yes, just all, send you the script, you can give it a read.
• 1:04:57
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was like, okay, great, so she sends the script.
• 1:05:00
  Benjamin Ayres: And you know, when somebody sends you a script, you're looking at a couple hours of sitting down to really go through it.
• 1:05:04
  Benjamin Ayres: And you know, I was prepping for my next day on love of Jane and I got it and what I was going to do which is what you would normally do, is just sort of go through and read your stuff.
• 1:05:14
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like, let me just see what my character is here.
• 1:05:16
  Benjamin Ayres: And I just started reading it and it was so good.
• 1:05:20
  Benjamin Ayres: It's like the best script I've ever read.
• 1:05:22
  Benjamin Ayres: And I was like jaw on the floor, cause she's like, if there are any, any, any notes that you have, and I was like Nikki.
• 1:05:27
  Benjamin Ayres: I got like halfway through it.
• 1:05:28
  Benjamin Ayres: I'm like I should have done that before you message halfway through and then the next half isn't as good.
• 1:05:32
  Benjamin Ayres: So I waited until the end and I'm like it was so good and I call her with the notes that I had, which was none, which was everything's amazing.
• 1:05:39
  Benjamin Ayres: There was like a great balance of red herring, case of the week, comedy, introduction to all the characters, individuality.
• 1:05:46
  Benjamin Ayres: You know it was just they, not her, and Meg knocked it out of the park.
• 1:05:50
  Benjamin Ayres: So then you know, yes, when I got to Ottawa with her after we were in Kansas, she's like I want to take you out for dinner as a thank you.
• 1:05:59
  Benjamin Ayres: We went out and had martinis and oysters and steak.
• 1:06:02
  Benjamin Ayres: And, yeah, I love Nikki, she's the best and I'm just so proud of her for everything she does.
• 1:06:08
  Eric Rutin: I will say we've gotten to talk to a couple of the supporting people JC Dotton and Amanda Khan, who both worked with her, and they could not be more complimentary towards her, saying she's just like this incredible role model for them as an actor, but also as just a person and everything like that.
• 1:06:28
  Eric Rutin: So I'm hoping talking to her later this week, her and Meg.
• 1:06:32
  Benjamin Ayres: Okay, good, fingers crossed.
• 1:06:33
  Benjamin Ayres: I hope so.
• 1:06:34
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, that's that is.
• 1:06:37
  Benjamin Ayres: She inspires me in many ways.
• 1:06:39
  Benjamin Ayres: I mean, romance university is born out of my inspiration of working with her.
• 1:06:43
  Benjamin Ayres: It was a whole other level of working with somebody like Nikki.
• 1:06:45
  Benjamin Ayres: She's just a real powerhouse and that's yeah.
• 1:06:48
  Benjamin Ayres: I really, really appreciate her friendship.
• 1:06:52
  Eric Rutin: So you mentioned it.
• 1:06:53
  Eric Rutin: You obviously you and Nikki are both very clearly established lead lead actors, so what was it like for you when she sent you this and said hey, you're going to be a supporting like.
• 1:07:07
  Eric Rutin: You had a fairly small, significant but small role and same with her.
• 1:07:10
  Eric Rutin: What was it like for you to go into a Hallmark movie like that as opposed to being the guy, was it?
• 1:07:19
  Benjamin Ayres: It was nice because it was like I don't have too much to prep.
• 1:07:21
  Benjamin Ayres: I just had a couple of days come in, have fun, keep it loose and be there to answer the questions.
• 1:07:28
  Benjamin Ayres: For some of the actors that hadn't really done Hallmark, you know, help lift them up.
• 1:07:32
  Benjamin Ayres: But ultimately, yeah, it was great with with.
• 1:07:36
  Benjamin Ayres: Of course, you know, if it does well enough, people will be doing more, and there's some it's.
• 1:07:42
  Benjamin Ayres: It's refreshing to just be involved and to be the supporting actor just as much as it is to be the lead actor.
• 1:07:49
  Benjamin Ayres: So, yeah, it was great, Definitely.
• 1:07:53
  Benjamin Ayres: No, there's no.
• 1:07:54
  Benjamin Ayres: I didn't have like an ego situation with it where I'm like, wait, what?
• 1:07:58
  Benjamin Ayres: If I'm not the lead, I'm not going to be in it.
• 1:08:00
  Benjamin Ayres: So that's that didn't even enter my mind.
• 1:08:02
  Eric Rutin: So it's um anything.
• 1:08:04
  Eric Rutin: So I talked to Michael Barbado, the producer.
• 1:08:09
  Eric Rutin: He had reached out and and he was telling me about this movie and so so I talked to him and we really pumped it up a lot.
• 1:08:19
  Eric Rutin: And then I was like got nervous because I was like, oh no, you know what if the movie is not good?
• 1:08:24
  Eric Rutin: And fortunately the movie turned out fantastic.
• 1:08:27
  Eric Rutin: And one of the crazy things first time it's ever happened is we've I've had, um, when Nikki said she's listened to the podcast, megan's listened to the podcast, alexander Nuno Nuno's he listened to the podcast.
• 1:08:42
  Eric Rutin: Sarah, who plays the killer, listened to the podcast.
• 1:08:44
  Eric Rutin: Like I had so many of them who reached out to us and said, hey, I listened to your podcast, thanks for the, for the review.
• 1:08:50
  Eric Rutin: So I was so grateful that we said like nice things and we loved the movie, because that could have been a very awkward.
• 1:08:56
  Eric Rutin: Uh, one had had a gun the other way, but it was, and we had talked a little bit before we started recording.
• 1:09:01
  Eric Rutin: One of the things with um Hallmark mysteries is mystery one-on-one just has a very well-established loyal.
• 1:09:08
  Eric Rutin: They put the fanatic in, fans right, and this is the first movie where we have not had a ton of people come back at us and just sort of say, yeah, it's good, but I really want another.
• 1:09:24
  Eric Rutin: You know mystery one-on-one.
• 1:09:25
  Eric Rutin: This is the first one where people just appreciated it for what it was and enjoyed it.
• 1:09:30
  Eric Rutin: So it was, it was, it was great.
• 1:09:33
  Eric Rutin: And if there's not another two of them I'll be shocked because, like I say, I have not had seen, since we've been doing this, a reception um like this, and they've had some you know, pretty darn good, good mysteries out there.
• 1:09:43
  Eric Rutin: But I think one of the things is, like you said, you got the, the script from Nikki and you said it was just jaw dropping a good script.
• 1:09:53
  Eric Rutin: But and you mentioned it too, like the young cast is kind of like almost an ensemble cast, even though, yes, there was the lead with um, you know, casey and Eli were the two main, but it was really an ensemble cast with this young energy and you could just really feel that chemistry.
• 1:10:09
  Eric Rutin: And I think that's one of the things that made this such a good movie, that you could just tell this group just got along and you see some of their behind the scenes and all that.
• 1:10:18
  Eric Rutin: When you were there, like you say, there for a few days, were you like just looking around and just feel on that vibe of like this is like a group who just really gets you know they're going to kill it, because their energy is just going to come across on screen Like yeah, they they clicked in person behind the scenes big time and uh, I had a really good feeling about that, like I could tell that they were, all you know, already good friends very early on, um, and just had a good energy that they brought to camera, uh.
• 1:10:51
  Benjamin Ayres: But it was also good for me too, because it because I wasn't there that long, you know, I think it was, it might have only been one day or two days, I can't quite remember, but, um, I was just so happy with the outcome.
• 1:11:03
  Benjamin Ayres: Like I watched it for the first time, you know three, couple of weeks ago, and it just it looked so good.
• 1:11:09
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, it was just directed really well shot, uh, all of the things that I that, uh, it just the script, the cast, the way it was directed, the music, like all of all of the elements were there, and sometimes one of those elements can betray the whole thing and unfortunately that happened.
• 1:11:29
  Benjamin Ayres: You know, sometimes you can read a great script and it turns out really bad.
• 1:11:32
  Benjamin Ayres: So sometimes you know it's it's not just about a great script.
• 1:11:36
  Benjamin Ayres: There are so many collaborative aspects and so many things that have to happen for that movie to do well, and then, on the other side of it.
• 1:11:43
  Benjamin Ayres: Some scripts that are a bit of a dud can turn out really well.
• 1:11:46
  Benjamin Ayres: So you just, you just don't know, and and I was very, very impressed with all those actress and I think they all gave it 110% and yeah, I think it's deserving of more.
• 1:11:58
  Benjamin Ayres: So, you know, really hoping they get to do more.
• 1:12:02
  Eric Rutin: All right.
• 1:12:03
  Eric Rutin: Last mystery question for you here is you mentioned it before Chronicle mysteries, great mystery.
• 1:12:07
  Eric Rutin: I just was reading that it is not officially canceled.
• 1:12:12
  Eric Rutin: So what do you think?
• 1:12:14
  Eric Rutin: Think we'll get another one?
• 1:12:15
  Eric Rutin: What's your gut?
• 1:12:16
  Eric Rutin: Or you may?
• 1:12:17
  Eric Rutin: You may not actually know something, but I want, if you do know, I want to help you to it.
• 1:12:20
  Eric Rutin: So I'll just say it's just your gut.
• 1:12:23
  Benjamin Ayres: Yeah, my gut.
• 1:12:23
  Benjamin Ayres: My gut is I don't know.
• 1:12:26
  Benjamin Ayres: Honestly, I think the fans really like the murders.
• 1:12:32
  Benjamin Ayres: She baked worlds, which I understand.
• 1:12:34
  Benjamin Ayres: It's like when you have Ali, she can kind of only exist in one and I feel like that world sort of one.
• 1:12:42
  Benjamin Ayres: A lot there's a, there's a big fan base there from the books.
• 1:12:45
  Benjamin Ayres: So a lot would have to happen.
• 1:12:49
  Benjamin Ayres: But I can tell you we still, we talk a lot about the ideas that we have and there are, you know, there are some good, there's some doozies, so I would love to see it come back.
• 1:12:59
  Benjamin Ayres: That's all I can say.
• 1:13:03
  Benjamin Ayres: I'd love to see it come back.
• 1:13:05
  Eric Rutin: It is solidly in my top five mysteries of all time.
• 1:13:11
  Eric Rutin: I just, I definitely want to do.
• 1:13:14
  Benjamin Ayres: I think the, I think the reruns of it have begun to make it more popular too, like it was sort of like a newfound interest in it, almost yeah.
• 1:13:26
  Eric Rutin: All right.
• 1:13:26
  Eric Rutin: So yeah, we are a mystery podcast, but, like you said, you got Love and Jane coming out, so let's do a little little plug for for that, one of why we're going to be excited for a little Jane Austen coming our way.
• 1:13:39
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, this one's great too.
• 1:13:40
  Benjamin Ayres: This is another.
• 1:13:41
  Benjamin Ayres: David Weaver, who directed two of the Chronicle Mysteries, who I had worked with even before here in Toronto, who's actually a neighbor of mine just down the street, is the director of Love and Jane.
• 1:13:51
  Benjamin Ayres: He wrote and he had the idea, pitched it to Ally.
• 1:13:54
  Benjamin Ayres: Ally loved it, helped him develop it, got it through a hallmark and it just so happened, when she pitched this idea to Hallmark, hallmark had also had three other people pitch them.
• 1:14:05
  Benjamin Ayres: Jane Austen themed movies.
• 1:14:07
  Eric Rutin: Like weirdly coincidence, yes.
• 1:14:10
  Benjamin Ayres: So they're like wait a minute, let's take these four and turn the month into a Jane Austen month.
• 1:14:15
  Benjamin Ayres: So there's no correlation between these movies.
• 1:14:18
  Benjamin Ayres: It wasn't some big grand plan.
• 1:14:21
  Benjamin Ayres: There's not like you have to watch one to understand the other.
• 1:14:24
  Benjamin Ayres: They just have some common theme of Jane Austen.
• 1:14:28
  Benjamin Ayres: That's it, and I think it's so brilliant.
• 1:14:31
  Benjamin Ayres: Love you, airee.
• 1:14:33
  Benjamin Ayres: Jane Austen you know ours is.
• 1:14:36
  Benjamin Ayres: She's a huge Jane Austen book fan and sort of almost lives in the past.
• 1:14:42
  Benjamin Ayres: Her like love of old timey candles and like the set decoration is incredible Just her wardrobe and she works at a, you know, a modern ad agency.
• 1:14:51
  Benjamin Ayres: And she's brought on because there's this tech billionaire guy me who has bought up all these small bookstores and is figuring out a way to kind of bring them into the 21st century and techify them.
• 1:15:04
  Benjamin Ayres: And she said what are you talking about?
• 1:15:05
  Benjamin Ayres: They don't need to be techified, they're perfect as they are.
• 1:15:07
  Benjamin Ayres: You know this is what a bookstore is supposed to be.
• 1:15:09
  Benjamin Ayres: So they're kind of butting heads about what a bookstore could be, can be, should be.
• 1:15:15
  Benjamin Ayres: He doesn't.
• 1:15:15
  Benjamin Ayres: He's not a big Jane Austen fan but he loves literature and they, you know, they have this real sort of back and forth by using quotes from all these favorite, all their authors and stuff like that.
• 1:15:27
  Benjamin Ayres: And over time, you know, he starts to understand the important sub, jane Austen and her, and they start to, like, you know, and there's a, there's a.
• 1:15:35
  Benjamin Ayres: There's a beautiful magical realism in our movie as well, which I don't think has been given away yet.
• 1:15:42
  Benjamin Ayres: So I don't want to talk too much about it until they unless they're waiting to premiere it, or maybe it's eventually it will be in the trailers, but it's, it's really, really well done.
• 1:15:51
  Benjamin Ayres: I got to see a screener the other day and I was just like, oh, I messaged Ali right away and said this is your best movie.
• 1:15:57
  Benjamin Ayres: Like you absolutely crushed it.
• 1:15:59
  Benjamin Ayres: It's so funny, it's big, it's fun, it's broad, grounded.
• 1:16:03
  Benjamin Ayres: She really goes for it.
• 1:16:05
  Benjamin Ayres: It's it's my best, it's the best performance done.
• 1:16:09
  Eric Rutin: I'm so proud of her, all right.
• 1:16:11
  Eric Rutin: Well, it's about a month from now when it airs, so very excited, all right.
• 1:16:16
  Eric Rutin: So that's about it.
• 1:16:18
  Eric Rutin: Do you have anything else coming up?
• 1:16:20
  Eric Rutin: Or you get started in that little get to kick back and relax mode.
• 1:16:24
  Benjamin Ayres: Now, for I'm in the I'm in the kickback relax now mode until until next month.
• 1:16:32
  Benjamin Ayres: Well, now I'm just, I'm starting.
• 1:16:34
  Benjamin Ayres: There's a lot of romance, university stuff, so, in order to do this redesign, to figure out this class, offer these classes email, like there's a lot of sort of behind the scenes stuff to get it up and running.
• 1:16:43
  Benjamin Ayres: And then and then there are some projects that aren't confirmed yet but that are out there.
• 1:16:51
  Eric Rutin: So, yeah, I'm, I'm in a good, I'm in a good place right now, all right, so, so hopefully we'll be seeing you again after February this year.
• 1:17:00
  Eric Rutin: Then.
• 1:17:00
  Eric Rutin: All right, all right.
• 1:17:02
  Benjamin Ayres: Thanks, buddy.
• 1:17:03
  Eric Rutin: Well, it was great talking to you and good luck and fingers crossed on success of All right.
• 1:17:10
  Benjamin Ayres: Thanks for that, bye, bye.
• 1:17:16
  Eric Rutin: Bye.