If you’ve followed Erin Krakow and Brendan Penny for awhile you know that they find joy in their art and live their lives to their fullest.
The two, who starred in this weeks Hallmark Channel movie, The Wedding Cottage are so funny and kind, I was enamored sitting their watching them interact with each other. Each one finding a reason to laugh at life and live it to it’s fullest.
Both were just filling my cup with inspiration and an understand that life was and could always be what you make of it.
I had to know what they were laughing about all the time, but especially in this picture that they both posted on their Instagram timelines.
But I was so nervous I asked about this one. Well, I said it was the one that I was talking about, cause I couldn’t think.
“Actually, this was during Brendan’s final scene of the movie. I had a few more scenes after that, but he was wrapping out after that and–” Erin started, “I can’t remember if it was just like a happy moment as we were saying goodbye or, I think what it was, I was really failing Brendan in this scene. [laughs] He was supposed to look to my face and see then…”
Brendan took over telling the story and they were both happy to tell it, “She was supposed to stop on a mark and go to a different place. There’s one cue that I need to say, “Oh, what’s wrong?” Let’s just say, everyone is human. At that point, she was very human for the first time.”
I have to admit, I wondered what “very human for the first time” meant and well, it wasn’t anything I wanted to ask. Maybe Erin could see the look on my face, because she explained more.
“I failed as an actor. Let me just break it down for you.” she laughed, “I walk up, I don’t hit the mark, and Brendan is like, “It’s okay, pal. You’ll get it next time.” The next time I hit the mark. Then just before he’s supposed to say “What’s wrong?” I just had a giant smile on my face. [laughs] Then I realize and I go, “Oh.” He’s like, “That’s okay. You’ll get it next time.” I was, I think, just having such a good time that I got distracted and there were a lot of laughs in that scene.”
“It’s not really one specific thing. I don’t know if there’s one person is the big joke. Erin makes me laugh very hard, very, very hard.” he said.
From what i’d seen, the two made each other laugh really hard. And I knew that they did it all the time, because when she said, ‘I got you’ to him, I couldn’t help but just be enamored by them.
“It’s just a constant. It doesn’t like, once it’s time for action, we’re professional. Then we do a good job,” Brendan said, “Mostly. Behind the scenes, it’s very loose. Very fun. Personally, that’s how I work on these Hallmark movies where, if I was shooting a show where it’s really heavy, then that is absolutely not appropriate. In these lighter movies where you’re falling in love and you’re trying to keep things light, it’s really good to have that energy backstage too. You can just float into it a little bit easier and be a bit more free.”
I was thankful that these two had each other, because it translated into the movie so effortlessly and beautifully.
It’s when great things happen – when there is chemistry.
The there is the fact when something happens, there are always people to thank. It’s one thing that I have learned in life, that I don’t get anywhere in life without someone being there for me.
In making movies, there are always hundreds of people behind the scenes. Hundreds of people that weave together the magic of words and actions. Hundreds of people that create magic; magic that makes us have hope and feel something.
I learned from interviewing Tyler Hynes, Paul Campbell, and Andrew Walker last year that Hallmark actors really are a close knit community. When they work on movies they appreciate the people that are behind the scenes as much as they appreciate all of us. Actors have called the people who work behind the scenes the real stars.
I think that this is important and so unique, as I have worked behind the scenes on so many movies and it’s hard work. It’s kind of one of those things that I don’t really ever think people get all of the works and I really, personally, appreciate that they have such love and admiration for the people that help them.
So with every interview I do, I always ask, who should we be thanking and acknowledging for getting this movie made?
“Oh, everyone. It’s hard to explain just how many people play a role in making these movies happen. From our network executives to the writers, our director, our whole– our crew, the people in the production office, making sure that we have our sides every day,” Erin said, “It is a very long list of people and it’s very much a team sport. Those in front of the camera often get the most credit, but it’s really pretty silly because everyone else is working just as hard if not harder and often in challenging conditions. It was freezing when we were filming this movie and our whole crew was out in the cold. We had a really incredible team and everyone was there with a smile on their face every day. It was a great, great crew. What do you think?”
Brendan said, “Yes, I think it was pretty much me. I’m pretty much the one– I didn’t even notice other people there. Were they there? Strange, I guess. They’re obviously–“
He’s obviously joking and that’s definitely part of Brendan’s charm. He’s got this sarcasm that he’s laughing and such dry humor at the same time. Erin and I were both laughing at this point.
She chimed in, “You’re such a nut.”
He smiled and said, “The crews, it’s such a well-oiled machine. Again, you have three weeks to shoot these and you don’t have time to not know what you’re doing. Everyone almost surgically comes in when it’s their turn to do their job and gets everything done and set deck and they’re all there at 4:00 in the morning making sure everything is set up before we even come close to being there. Absolutely, it’s the camera crew, it’s props, it’s everything. Wardrobe, everyone from top to bottom is– and especially on this one. This was– you always get different crews. This crew, I knew all the camera crew, I knew Tim, our sound mixer, and a bunch of other people and just, we got really lucky with a very talented crew.”
The actors went on to tell me about how their experience on set was very unique, because of somethings that happened behind the scene in the show.
Erin said, “We also had a unique experience because usually on one of these movies you have a single DP cinematographer and ours had to leave for personal reasons at one point and we had someone else from the crew step in, and then again, for scheduling reasons, I think we ended up with four different DPs. Jason was there for a half day, I want to give him credit.”
She finished off by saying, “It’s basically four people in that job, but mostly three. Watching the rest of the crew navigate working with a different leader with maybe a slightly different vision or process, and everything was seamless. There were no bumps. It worked as Brendan said, a well-oiled machine.”
“That’s again, and which is fantastic for them, but it’s also another testament to Terry Ingram on most days, not losing the plot and he’s so experienced he could step in and DP it if he needed to.” Brendan said,
“We were super balanced. He was a great leader,” Erin reiterated.
TBH, I loved listening to them and how supportive they all were to each other. It was so nice to see in an industry like this, people had loyalty and love for those they work with.
I thanked them both for their time, because I didn’t know how to thank them for the laughter and not sound corny. These two are definitely joy, pure joy, and I was so appreciative of the 23 minutes of joy that they gave me in this interview.
