Interview With Actor Marcus Rosner, “Autumn in the Vineyard”

By Ruth on October 8, 2016 in Interview, movie, television
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Once in awhile, a dashing and debonair actor who performs with such precision and heart comes along, and pure magic happens on the screen each time he appears. And in the case of Marcus Rosner, all of that happens and more. The only downside has been is that from some of his earliest appearances with Hallmark in When Calls the Heart to his more recent work in Summer of Dreams, he NEVER gets the girl and always departs the film with all his money intact, but none of the integrity and dignity that he possesses in his everyday life. I had the pleasure of interviewing Marcus again within this past week, and he gave a few hints regarding his upcoming works. In fact, just maybe the tables are about to turn for his forthcoming characters. Hearties can only hope.

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RH: You have been very busy from what I can tell.

MR: It’s been very busy in Vancouver the last six or seven months. So I’ve been capitalizing on that. It’s been nice.

I did ask for fan questions, and a couple of the Hearties said, “Be sure to tell him that we really do love him and think he’s a great actor. It’s just we didn’t like the character he played in When Calls the Heart.”

{laughs} I haven’t given them a lot of reason to show me as much love as they already have, but I’m hoping that these next couple of Hallmark flicks will do that. It’s so rewarding for me based off how they treated me. I get to play some nicer guys who are much more easily likable than some of the guys I’ve been playing to date.

WHEN CALLS THE HEART - HEART'S DESIRE Abigail travels to Hamilton to stay with Elizabeth's family and is compelled to accept Bill Avery's help on a personal matter. A heroic act by Jack brings him closer to his ex-fiancée, Rosemary. Elizabeth returns to Hope Valley, she and Jack come together to consider what the future holds. Photo: Erin Krakow, Marcus Rosner Credit: Copyright 2015 Crown Media United States, LLC/Photographer: Eike Schroter

Erin Krakow, Marcus Rosner Credit: Copyright 2015 Crown Media United States, LLC/Photographer: Eike Schroter

My mom doesn’t know your name. She knows who you are, but I always have to say, “Okay, he’s the guy who always plays–“

–the guy who’s the jerk. {laughs}

–who never gets the girl. And that’s what everybody wants to see. “Oh, is he finally gonna get the girl? Oh, we want him to get the girl.” 

The girl is coming very soon.

Yeah, that’s kind of what I thought. Now, I don’t know if that’s the case with this next one coming up, Autumn in the Vineyard. I’m not sure if we’ll see you get the girl in that one.

You know,Autumn in the Vineyard, it might leave room for multiple people to get the girl in this one. I don’t know exactly what their plans are, but there was talk about maybe doing a couple of these. Brendan Penny, who is playing my older brother, of course is gonna get the girl, Rachael Leigh Cook, who is a really wonderful person herself. But there’s sort of a family tree. and I’m part of that family tree, so there might be room for more than one guy to come away with a girl.

wp-1475943811390.jpgOh, okay, I didn’t know about that. That could be interesting then. While you told us something about your character, is there anything else you can tell us without ruining the story?

Yeah, well basically we are a wine family in Napa Valley. We have the most successful vineyard in the valley, and our competing wine family is Rachael Leigh Cook’s family. And so in our family, there’s me, Brendan Penny, and then our youngest brother is played by Nathaniel Middleton. The movie sort of alludes to a Romeo and Juliet kind of thing where there’s two competing families, and then the favorite son and the favorite daughter in each family have this sort of forbidden love and then ultimately bring both families together. That’s basically the plot line, and they’re incredible–Brendan Penny and Rachael Leigh Cook. I’m actually looking forward to this one. I think their chemistry is fantastic from the clips that I’ve seen so far. I think it’s going to do really well. I think people will respond to it primarily because of their chemistry. And then Rachael Leigh Cook’s best friend is being played by a wonderful actress named Ali Liebert, who’s actually a good friend of mine. She plays my love interest, and we sort of may or may not wind up together

I got to interview Rachael Leigh Cook ’cause she was in a movie this summer.

Isn’t she great?

I actually got to interview all three leads in that film.

Yeah, what was the name of that movie? It aired while we were filming.

Summer Love.  What I loved about Rachael is that she went out of her way to send me a really lovely response after the interview was posted. And it truly meant a lot to me.

That sounds like her. For someone at her level, she is one of the most down-to-earth people I have ever worked with. She really set the tone on the set, and it was just a great working environment.

wp-1475943796438.jpgAnd, of course, Chesapeake Shores fans are going to like this because of Brendan Penny and Ali Liebert.

Yeah, they play a couple on Chesapeake Shores. And now Ali and I play a couple on this film. So that’s funny. We’re just like square dancers up here. We trade partners in different films. {laughs}

I remember you also had that small part in the last of the summer films, Summer of Dreams

Yes, with Debbie Gibson. Yeah, I was just barely in that. I had a lot of fun working with her in those couple of scenes that we did have. She was great to work with. She was so generous and so curious about acting. You had the sense that acting wasn’t her primary focus obviously. She’s a singer. But she was so inquisitive about the craft and getting better at it. She really had a curiosity about acting that I really appreciated for someone who was approaching it from a different profession.

Your character wasn’t on there much, but your character was on there long enough to think that yeah, he was a jerk–

–to hate him. {laughs}

You played that part extremely well.

I know. I think a little too well. {laughs}

I do remember that one. By the end, it was like, “Oh, no, he’s back. Get rid of him. We don’t want to see him any more.” 

Yeah, get him out of this movie. {laughs} Please don’t let him say any more.

Right. But it was at least nice to get to see you on that.

I appreciate that.

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KWIK KWOTES

From the Fans

Abby Flink: I just love him!

Tiffany Weister: Marcus is a fine man with an outstanding sense of humor and stellar acting skills! A must-follow for folks on Twitter! He’s full of charm and charisma, which really shine through in each and every character he portrays.

Ioana Anger (@ yoanna28): I follow Marcus on Twitter and Instagram; I think he is funny and his posts make me smile, and I need that. I enjoy following his career and all the different roles he is portraying, but also looking forward to seeing him as a lead. I think he is going to be great! 

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wp-1475943830348.jpgI was actually looking at who the directors are for these upcoming films. I noticed Scott Smith is the director of Autumn in the Vineyard. Hallmark people, of course, know Scott Smith ’cause he’s done so much Hallmark stuff. Had you worked with him before?

I had never worked with Scott Smith or Jim Head. Together, they do a lot of these Hallmark films. I had never worked with either of them, but I had actually auditioned for the both of them on several occasions. I always felt like we hit it off in the room, and I always felt like it went really well. My first day on set for Autumn in the Vineyard, Jim Head, the producer, came up to me and said, “You know, Marcus, we’ve been wanting to put you in something for a long time, and we’re thrilled to have you here.” And that just brightened my whole day. And the whole time I was on that movie, I remembered him saying that. But it’s what good people do. They make the cast feel warm and welcome, and I can’t say enough about the environment and the team we had for this film. I hope we get to make more of them because I couldn’t imagine a better group of people to work with.

Coming from you, I would say that’s a pretty great compliment because you’ve been on a wide variety of sets. 

Yeah, I definitely have been on a wide variety indeed.

You also have two other films that are listed as upcoming. There’s Infidelity in Suburbia

wp-1475943579098.pngYes, and the other one is Firehouse Christmas. We did both of those this summer. I’m not sure exactly what their plan is going to be with Infidelity in Suburbia as far as distribution goes. It’s directed by a great guy, David Winning. My two co-stars in that are Sarah Butler and Peter Benson. That was great; it was fun to tackle. It’s a thriller. It’s much different than Hallmark, that’s for sure. It’s just sort of darker, and there’s some gratuitous scenes, a lot of violence. But it was a lot of fun to tackle something different that I haven’t had a lot of opportunities to do. I play a bit of a psychopath that does some less than respectable things. I’m not sure what their plan is with that. They were talking about Lifetime, or it might go straight to DVD or just like a digital release like on Netflix or something like that.

wp-1475943718090.pngA Firehouse Christmas is going to be on ION Television. I play an Olympic hockey player–that’s in the description of the movie, but I’m not sure how they differentiate between that and an NHL player–but I play an ex-hockey player who retired to go move to the town that his daughter lives in. His ex-wife is an Olympic figure skater who has taken her to this small town. I move there, and I fall in love with a local firefighter played by Anna Hutchison. And that one was kind of a lot of fun. It’s gonna be a very goofy movie. {laughs} I spend about half the movie in a Santa outfit trying to climb up and down chimneys.

But that sounds like an ION film though. Lots of times, their films are similar to Hallmark, but they put a few elements in that wouldn’t necessarily be Hallmark.

You know, I’m not even aware of ION. We don’t have it up here I don’t think. So when we were cutting promos for that, I was actually curious about the network. So I’ll have to check it out when it airs. I had never heard of ION, and the whole time we were filming it, I thought it was for Lifetime.

I thought the same thing. But ION does usually do movies for Valentine’s Day and Christmas. And their movies are often a little bit goofier, but if they have really good actors in them, then they’re usually worth watching. {pause} Back to Infidelity in Suburbia and David Winning, well of course, Hallmark fans know David Winning. He’s done so much Hallmark stuff this year. 

Yes, he had mentioned that he had done Tulips in Spring, I think? He was quite proud of that one.  Right before he shot ours, he did one with Dan{iel Lissing}. December Bride, I think.That’s gonna be coming out this Christmas.

Yes, he has done so much. He’s a great guy. He’s one of those people that I’m going to interview him if his schedule ever permits it, but every time I ask him, the guy is so busy. 

Probably works around the clock.

I’m sure. All I’ve ever heard from actors is that he is a great guy.

He’s such an old pro, and he brings a real calmness to the film set that is really important.

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David Winning, Director Infedelity in Suburbia

“Marcus created an incredibly creepy villain with Elliot; riding a fine line between disarmingly charming and down-right sinister. Had a blast working with him!”  www.DavidWinning.com

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And I noticed the writer, Christie Will, has done a lot of Hallmark stuff too. She’s done writing, directing producing–she’s done it all. It’s nice to go through and recognize the name of not only actors but directors and producers and other crew members as well.

I know, it’s such a funny business. Just six degrees of separation. {Okay, I had to look up what that phrase meant.} Everyone has sort of worked with someone who has worked with someone you know. And if you talk to someone for a while, you’re going to find like twelve people you’ve both worked with and both enjoyed and both know on a personal level. It’s just funny how that works. It’s also sort of a weird serendipity, it feels like. I know a lot of times when I work on a project, there’s this weird, serendipitous feel both with the people I run into and the experiences I have. It’s really neat, but it’s something that really surprised me when I got into this business. If that makes any sense at all.

Yeah, you’re making sense. {pause} And then the director of Firehouse Christmas has done a lot of films I am familiar with for various networks, George Erschbamer.

What I can say about George is that he has a very unique style of filming unlike any other director I’ve worked with. You just have to buy in and trust the process. Everyone that I worked with who has worked with him before told me that he makes very good films. And so I trusted the process, and I can’t wait to see what we came up with.

wp-1475943629571.pngNow was it during that film when you started an instagram account?

Yeah, that’s so funny that you know that. I was just sitting around on lunch hour, and Anita Brown and the others all started bugging me. They were all instagramming, and I was just sitting around eating my food. And they said, “What’s your instagram? We wanna tag you.” And I said, “I do not have one nor have I ever had one.” And they sort of collectively peer pressured me into signing up. I’ve been trying to maintain a decent rate of posting, but….you know, it’s really funny. What you yourself consider interesting and what other people think is interesting. I just never think anything I’m doing is that interesting to promote myself with, but it’s something I’m learning to get over and understand that just sharing a small thing is a nice way to connect with other people who are interested in what you’re doing.

That is very true, and I honestly do understand. I mean, as much as I’m on social media, I’ll go and retweet something from one of the actors and I’ll think, “I don’t even know why I’m retweeting this,” but for sure, there is somebody who is interested. There are those who follow me and rely on me to keep up with their favorite actors. 

It’s so true. It’s absolutely true. Obviously, that’s the role that you play especially. You promote these people and get the word out to the fans. You bridge the gap basically.

You know, I’m an actor because I like acting. But I know a lot of actors who approach it from a different perspective. They do it because they like attention more than they seem to like the craft of acting. My natural gut reaction is to do the exact opposite and not promote myself at all, which is totally not necessary and I’m starting to learn to get over and understand that there is a happy medium that can be reached.

Oh, I hear ya on that.

Yeah, I’m sure you see it more than anyone.

One of the things I always try to do is learn how the actors I promote use social media. And I’ve noticed a little bit of a change with you. I noticed you’ve been posting more.

You can read so much into how an actor posts, what an actor posts, hashtags that are included. There’s so much to read into it. That’s all I’ll say about that. But I am enjoying getting more connected to the fans out there and people who are interested in what I’m up to.

Yeah, and you’re definitely up to a lot of good things.

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KWIK KWOTES

From the Fans

Sherry Edie: “I’ve noticed that Marcus works a LOT! He has become very prolific. He filmed two Hallmark movies, a David Winning movie, and a Christmas movie for ION, all within a very short time span, back to back, or even overlapping in some cases. And I’m not even counting his work earlier this year or last year. Many actors would love to work as much as Marcus works, but many of them don’t. So that is a true testament to Marcus’ appeal — he has a certain charm, charisma and talent that is attracting all of the TV movie networks to him! They can’t get enough of him!”

Lela Wann: “I enjoyed Marcus’ role in WCTH. He is a fun actor to follow on Instagram. I hope he returns in future seasons …perhaps he and Nurse Faith could become friends…???”

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Oh, I just remembered. One of the fans wanted me to ask you what you thought of the new Dallas Cowboys quarterback.

Yeah, Dakota Prescott. {laughs} You wanna hear about it? I have a lot to say.

Yeah, go ahead.

wp-1475944708841.pngHe’s doing great! He’s completely holding down the team in a way we haven’t had in years. The thing with the Dallas Cowboys, there’s been this missing ingredient for twenty years, since I’ve been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys. What Dak Prescott brings to the team is a bright future along with Ezekiel Elliott. And just a reason to be hopeful and sure, which is something that we haven’t been able to do for so long. It was such a roll of the dice with Tony Romo, and Dak Prescott brings a cool head and a hint of certainty that I have desperately longed for as a Cowboys fan. Okay, I won’t bore you any more. {laughs}

No, honestly, you didn’t bore me. I don’t know if I ever told you I used to live down in Dallas.

I think you said that. I think we talked a little bit about that. I don’t know how I know that, but I do know that. Were you a Cowboys fan?

I was never really a Cowboys fan. I also lived in Florida, so I was a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan for a while. 

Really? That must have been rough. {laughs} No, they had some good years. They won the Superbowl in 2000 {yes, he knows his football facts}.

I was somewhat of a fan because I really liked their coach, whose name escapes me right now. When I lived in Florida, the Buccaneers were a horrible team. Then they got a new stadium ’cause they were threatening to leave.

That happens once every couple years somewhere in the league.

More than anything, I was impressed with the coach, and that sold me on the team for awhile. 

That’s the thing with football. It’s hard to attach yourself to a player ’cause they move around so much. They’re sort of interchangeable. But more than any other sport, they’re sort of pawns in the chess game. You kind of have to attach yourself to something bigger. When I was young, I think I just liked the Cowboys. They were the prime time team, America’s team, and they kind of got the most attention. It sort of drew my liking.

When I was growing up, it was the Seahawks, and they were a horrible team…oh it was Tony Dungy who I liked.

Yeah, I wondered if that’s who it was.

I was so impressed with him as a person and the way he led the team.

Yeah, you really had to respect his coaching style ’cause he did a lot differently than almost any other football coach. He was all about not yelling and not berating his players, not doing it the traditional football coach way. He was sort of that peaceful man who had that sort of aura about him. And it was effective, which is very interesting when you see somebody doing it completely differently from the rest of the pack.

But I was never really against the Cowboys. I’ve still got Dallas Cowboys shirts.

Oh yeah?

Yeah, and I’ve worn them around here, and people can’t believe it. People have gotten very upset because I was wearing a Dallas Cowboys shirt. 

Blasphemy in Wasington {state}, I’m sure. {laughs}

For me, football is not a big thing. My mom is the football fan. She and my brother were the football fans. But I’ve learned to appreciate the sport. But with the Cowboys, they’ve had such a legendary past. But now they’ve gone through all these struggles, so I hope for the Cowboys’ sake that things are turning around for them. That would be great. 

I hope so. Desperately, I hope so.

I was down there when Tony Romo joined the team, and all they would ever cover on the news was Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson.

{laughs} Oh yeah. When she showed up to the game, everyone blamed the loss on her.  Fans can be ridiculous.

I’m so glad I remembered to ask you since one of the Hearties specifically asked since she remembered talking about football with you at the Hearties reunion last year.

{laughs} Well, she spurred a very weird, passionate response. Good question.

Well, people love reading about more than just acting, and that’s something I love about putting my interviews on my blog. 

I’m sure your blog lets you tackle it from any perspective you want. You can reach a more personal level, and get to know the actors on a more personal level, and you have the freedom to do that. It’s not just about promoting the work they are in.

Yes, and people really like that about my interviews. Not that the other interviews out there are bad, but my approach is what sets them apart from the typical interview. Sometimes, you feel like you read the same material over and over again when actors are promoting their works.

Totally. Absolutely. You see somebody on a late night show, the least interesting part is always them talking about the film or this song, the album–you know what I mean? People are smart and they can tell when someone’s trying to sell them something.

Yeah, that’s true. You make a good point there. {I’ve quoted him several times this week–I’m not joking!} That’s what all the late night shows do. They don’t spend much time promoting the film or show. They spend the time doing some fun activity with the actor. 

Totally. And that’s why you watch it, and it’s enjoyable.

wp-1475944775493.pngDo you have any other works coming up that you can mention?

Yeah, I think so. No one told me not to. So let’s talk about it and see if I hear anything back. {laughs} I am filming in Victoria, BC, another Hallmark film starring Jewel.

Oh yeah! Jason Cermak told me he’s in that, too.

Yeah, he’s playing the cop. Yeah, it looks exciting. And I think they may also want to make a few of those. And it should be fun. It’s gonna be for the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Network. Jewel plays the lead. The title now is This Old Homicide: A Fixer Upper Mystery. It’s based off a series of novels.

Yes, and it was good to hear that they were going through with that ’cause they had announced this series months ago.

Yeah, I noticed when I got the part that it seemed like they had announced that they were going to be doing these way back in January or February or something like that. It was funny. I was watching The Roast of Rob Lowe. And her part, ’cause she was one of the roasters, she was doing her part when I got the call that I was gonna be doing this movie.  So going back to what I said about serendipitous. That’s one of them right there.

That’s really interesting about your doing a mystery film ’cause I just did discover–I had not made this connection–I had interviewed Alison Wandzura recently. She was in Garage Sale Mystery with you. 

Oh yeah, she’s doing a show called Van Helsing now.

And that is why I interviewed her. So when I saw she was in Garage Sale Mystery, I could vaguely remember her. And then I was watching her reel, and I was like, “Wait a minute! I didn’t know that Marcus was in this.” 

Yeah, we both pop up very briefly at the start of the film. Yeah, we’re jewel thieves. Yeah, she’s fantastic. I love Alison.

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Alison Wandzura, co-star Garage Sale Mystery: All That Glitters

“I had the pleasure of working with Marcus on Hallmark’s Garage Sale Mystery: All That Glitters, where we played jewelry thieves. We filmed the getaway scene in a convertible, at high noon on the hottest day of the summer, sharing one flimsy dollar-store fan between us. But despite being drenched in sweat, we had so much fun cruising around the suburbs in our cherry-red Jag. It’s hard not to have fun hanging out with an actor like Marcus and a director like Peter Deluise. Can’t wait to do it again sometime!”

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Well, that is good that we’ll see you in another mystery film ’cause I don’t think you’ve made a lot of mystery films. 

No, not really other than the one we just talked about. And that was only for two scenes and then I quickly died. It will be nice to tackle a mystery film, and it’s still Hallmark TV and the Hallmark family, but it will be nice to tackle a different one.

Oh yeah, I love the Hallmark mysteries. While I love all the romances and love stories, I love the mysteries. My mom and I both really love them. We always loved murder mysteries. I grew up watching them. 

I was reading the script for it, and these things have such a way of hooking you in. You just turn the page ’cause you’re like, “What’s gonna happen?” I’m always baffled at how many different ways film and television find to tell more or less the same story like with “who done it?” A classic whodunit is always so gripping.

I agree. I don’t get tired of them, and they’re usually well done. And Hallmark kind of goes back to the old murder mysteries from the ’80’s and ’90’s that were so popular. And they usually have such a strong cast in those mystery films. 

Absolutely. And I think this one will be no different. I was looking up the cast the other day, and I hadn’t met any of them before this film. But the cast list is strong with a lot of recognizable names. I’m looking forward to the film.

Actually, my “mom” from Autumn in the Vineyard, Laura Soltis, is also gonna be in this Fixer Upper film. We laughed about the fact that literally the last project we both did, we were working together.  Six degrees of separation.

I am always amazed at how interconnected the acting community is, especially in Vancouver. And then I’ll pull up a cast list, and I go down the list and know practically everyone. 

I’m sure you know the entire Vancouver acting pool on a first name basis at this point, Ruth.

{laughs} Not quite, not quite there.

Everyone who matters.

I do know quite a few, and most of the Hallmark community. Not all. {pause} I know the Hearties all said, “You need to ask him if he’s gonna be in season four When Calls the Heart.” And I was thinking, “He’s not gonna be in season four.”

{laughs} I cannot thank the Hearties enough and the producers of that show and the actors on that show. It was such a great experience, and it obviously made Hallmark aware of who I was, and in turn, turned into a lot more work. I am so grateful for that whole experience. I think they’ve long since moved on from Charles Kensington, and that is fine with both of us. But I will always remember it fondly.

wp-1475944651813.pngI can imagine. The show has done so much for so many people. Every time I turn around, when I’m preparing to interview someone, I find out they were on the show. There were a lot of actors that I didn’t always realize were on. 

It’s amazing how big that show has become. It’s such a heartfelt show that I think it connected with a lot of people.

Yes, and what’s good is that the Hearties still seem to be willing to follow the actors who were on the show and support their careers. They still remember you, and they want to know what you’re doing now. And even if it’s not necessarily Hallmark, they’re going to check out what you’re doing. 

I think we had spoken just after I had gone to the Hearties Family Reunion. That experience was so baffling to me. I couldn’t believe how warm these people were. How far they had come from. All over the states, people from China, people from the UK, and just how kind and warm they were. It was really amazing. I played a character that would have given most people a reason to hate me. But the fact that they were so nice to me, I couldn’t be more grateful.

You know, what I’ve noticed in you since last time is that you have defiitely matured as an actor. And you seem a lot more relaxed since the last time we spoke. 

Yeah, I just think it comes with the territory. The more times you do anything, you get a lot more relaxed, more confident in being yourself. I’m enjoying the process. Like anything, it’s a journey. It’s nice to be the lead in some of these movies now. Soon, I will be getting the girl. Well, I’ve already gotten the girl, but it hasn’t aired yet. {laughs}

It really was so nice that you contacted me. I know I had placed the offer there, but so often, I do have to chase down people–which I don’t mind doing. But it was really nice that you reached out to me. 

It is the easiest thing in the world to remember who supported you from more or less the beginning. You promoted When Calls the Heart and my appearance on the show. Every little project, you promoted to some degree, and I am very grateful for that. So I just think it’s really easy to remember when I have something coming out to send you a message and let you know. I appreciate you because you seem to have appreciated me. It just seemed easy to me.

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KWIK KWOTES

From the Fans

Lisa Viera Colangelo: “WHEN is he going to get the GIRL? #InquiringMindsWanttoKnow”

Renee Chin Hatfield: “Hearties wish you nothing but the best! We are cheering you on.”

Kay Smith: “I loved you as Charles on When Calls the Heart. Is there any chance that Charles and Elizabeth can remain just friends? You are a gifted actor and I enjoy seeing you in other Hallmark movies. I would love to see you in a lead role, and I would love to see you get the girl for a change! You are too handsome to always lose the girl.”

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Last question–I know several people asked this. What is your dream role?

What is my dream role?

Yeah, we’ll end with a really hard one there.

wp-1475944682114.pngYou know, the first thing that comes to mind with a question like that is directors really. I think we talked about that last time. I don’t want to rehash that. But I think of directors and filmmakers that I admire and think of their style of filmmaking.  I would like to be a part of something like that with that sort of tone and that kind of thing. The first things that come to mind are a Paul Thomas Anderson or a David Fincher. But as far as a role, I don’t know. The little boy in me will always love the Ocean’s Eleven movies. The ones with Brad Pitt and George Clooney. When I was twelve, thirteen, all those things were coming out, and I just thought those were the coolest things in the world. So maybe the little boy in me would love to be a sharp-dressed con man robbing a bank one day. {laughs} I feel like that’s such a weak, shallow answer. It should be much more deep.

No, no! No, it doesn’t have to be deep. I had wondered if you would like to be in something a little more action-packed.

Oh, that’s interesting. I like action, but I don’t watch a lot of action films. I like doing stunts, but it’s not something that I long for to any degree. I don’t think an action film would be for me. I think my look would sort of be castable in something like that, but it’s not the first thing that sort of piques my interest. Jerry Maguire is one of my favorite movies of all time. One of the reasons I got into acting was because of the job Tom Cruise did in that role. Always so fascinating with a fast-talking, alpha male, sort of getting business done type. And I think if I hadn’t ended up being an actor, I might have been a lawyer or investigator of some sort.

See, you did come up with a good answer.  I wasn’t gonna ask, but several people asked the question.

It’s such a good question. It’s something that makes actors so nervous because they think their answer’s gonna define them as an actor. Actually, it’s funny, something that just came to mind, I was thinking the other day with all the political race going on, I think it would be such an interesting part to play a political strategist. Someone who’s behind the scenes, pulling the strings for one of these campaigns. I think that would be a really interesting role.

Interesting. And it ends up being a good answer because I actually learned a lot more about you.

Yeah, what comes to mind is a Ryan Gosling The Ides of March--those kind of political thrillers. Really interesting.

Yeah, I think I could see you in any of those that you mentioned.

I would love that.

Well, you never know. Something like that could come your way. 

That is true. You never know what’s on the road ahead.

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For me, Marcus is just such a wonderfully benevolent and gracious man with a courteous and genteel way of interacting with fans and interviewers. More than once, he remembered things from our first chat that truly amazed me and decidedly shows just how considerate and attentive he is. You can probably deduce from this transcript that the conversation was extremely relaxed, and we conversed as though we were old friends. As further proof that he is a dedicated listener, he did something that genuinely demonstrated his breeding and good manners. He was an active listener as opposed to a passive listener, and sincerely interacted with the conversation as opposed to being more concerned about what he was going to say next. Furthermore, anyone with whom I can carry on a dialogue about football (a topic I know very little about) and enjoy it must be a master communicator, or at least an engaging one. (My mom could not believe that I discussed football with him for a considerable length of time and wasn’t bored.) Very few people make it to my list of those I really would love to meet someday, but after this exchange especially, he’s on that list, and maybe our paths will cross at some point. But for now, I am content to know that I get to watch him on the Hallmark Channel tonight (October 8) in Autumn in the Vineyard as well as several more upcoming roles in the near future. So don’t forget to tune in tonight to see one of Hallmark’s (really, TV in general) most brilliant up and coming stars who is a true gentleman at heart–very much a lost art amongst today’s generation and the world of entertainment in general. Be sure that you follow him at all the links below because maybe he will be cast in one of those dream roles in the near future, and I have no doubt that his followers will be the first to know. Oh, and he does post a lot about one of his other passions–sports!

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About the Author

RuthView all posts by Ruth
“Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” — Franz Kafka Ruth is an inspirational entertainment journalist who instinctively sees the best in all and seeks to share universal beauty, love and positivity. She is an artist who leads with her heart and gives readers a glimpse of the best of this world through the masterful use of the written word. Ruth was born in Tacoma, Washington but now calls Yelm, Washington her home. She lives on five acres with her parents, a dog, two miniature goats, cats and a teenage daughter who is a dynamic visual artist herself. Ruth interviews fellow artists both inside and outside of the film/television industry. At the core of all she does is the strength of her faith.

8 Comments

  1. Dave Murphy September 15, 2019 Reply

    Now here is a breath of fresh air to the acting community. This lad is an up and not coming talent with plenty of great acting to prove he is at home on the screen. His acting ability proves he has arrived and he certaintly will rise to the full potential as we are just seeing the tip of an acting iceberg.

  2. Coralee Hines October 9, 2016 Reply

    Another great and personal interview Ruth! Marcus’ character in “Autumn in the Vineyard” at least had more lines than the movie with Debbie Gibson – both of the brothers (of Brendan Perry) were what I would call “wiseacres” and definitely added to the story. It’s so good to hear that Marcus is in some new movies coming out and that he gets to be the one who gets the girl.

    • Author
      Ruth October 9, 2016 Reply

      Thank you Coralee!

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