When Cedar Cove was in its second season on the Hallmark Channel, an actor appeared as a love interest for Justine, and initially, I was rather against this character played by the robust and handsome Jesse Hutch. Around the same time, I saw him in Let It Snow with Candace Cameron-Bure, and I enjoyed his performance opposite her. However, I didn’t immediately make the connection between these two divergent roles. At some point, I discovered I was quite delighted with this rugged and intriguing actor, and I began to learn all I could about him and his substantial career. Before long, he was easily on my top ten list of favorite actors. Meeting him last year in Vancouver and ascertaining his true passion for his family, the industry, and above all, his faith in Jesus Christ, has caused him to become a person who holds a special and endearing place in my heart, and when it comes to Jesse, he will always have my unquestionable support. I am immeasurably grateful that a simple message to him last night ultimately opened the doors for me to finally conduct a quick but powerful and sincere interview with one of the brilliant lights of the entertainment community today.

Photo by Yinger Wong © Hutch Productions

RH: Jesse, thank you so much for making the time to chat with me this evening.

JH: Ruth, thank you. It has been so busy, and I’m glad it worked out like it did.

Let’s start off with your new movie that’s coming out this weekend.

Sure, I’m in a new Christmas movie this year called Snowmance. It will premiere on Ion Network. And actually, during the film shoot I just did, a background performer came up to me, and she had already seen it. She said, “I loved it! It was so good to see it!” I’m not sure how she saw it, whether it’s already available digitally on video on demand or iTunes or Amazon, but I guess it’s already out there. {And, yes it is available to rent or buy on Vimeo, Amazon, and elsewhere, I’m sure.}

Well, that’s good to know. I’ve already got it set up to record.

This is actually my first Ion movie, I do believe.

And it is also the first Ion Christmas movie this season. They have five they are airing and Snowmance kicks everything off. 

That’s great. This is an exciting film. It’s Christmas, and I like that. It’s a romantic comedy, and I really enjoyed it because my character, Cole, is unlike any other character I’ve ever played before. It’s not your typical love story. I’m actually a snowman that comes to life. Basically, the lead character every year since she was a kid makes a snowman, and she gives the snowman the qualities of her dream guy. One evening, she comes out and realizes that her snowman has been torn down or something. She’s mad, and she comes to the door to have a look, and I’m actually at the door, and I’m like, “Hey, I found this scarf outside, and I think you should have it back.” And that kicks off this romantic journey during which you discover that my character genuinely cares about her. But I’m also a snowman, so I’ve been around so long that I know her family, and I know her. I know her friends. So I got to play a matchmaker, a snowman, the love interest, and even the “enemy” or the antagonist of the lead character all in one movie. It was a lot of fun for me ’cause I got to be very creative. The director, Doug Mitchell, was fantastic. He and I have worked together before. He was actually the first assistant director on Joyride 3, which is a really different genre. When I found out he was directing this one, I jumped on board.

Oh man, I had a blast playing a snowman that comes to life. You ask yourself questions like, “What would a snowman be like if he came to life?” I came up with all these quirky decisions. Like, a snowman never eats or drinks, but a snowman will honor the idea of that because he doesn’t want anyone to feel uncomfortable. So keep an eye out for that when you watch the movie. Another thing. Have you ever gone out in the winter when there’s fresh snowfall and you hear everything? I decided in the character, I hear everything that people say, but I decide what I want to respond to.

That does sound like a unique story, and I can definitely see it being one that you would have a lot of fun with. 

There’s also the aspect of the cold. We actually did for once, believe it or not, film a Christmas movie in real snow. {laughs} So when you see the snow and you see our breath coming out freezing in mid-air, that’s real. Everyone is dressed up–parkas, earmuffs, scarves. But my character, the snowman, has no problem with the cold, so I really stuck to the character twist that I only wore one shirt and a pair of jeans. Sometimes I wear a sweater, but I rarely wear anything that everyone else does. The upside of that is I think it fit the character and I had fun with it. The downside is there were some really cold days. {laughs}

I can imagine! Where were you guys filming?

We filmed that in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Right at the beginning of the shoot, it was extreme cold, blizzard snow, and then as we neared the end of the shoot, it actually started to warm up to the point where it was a lot more bearable. The crew was able to strip off a couple of layers and not be dressed like they’re on a rescue mission in the Arctic.

This one sounds like one that your fans will enjoy. I mean, you still have a lot of Hallmark fans, and it sounds like something that will appeal to them.

Oh, I have a lot of Hallmark fans who are always asking if I’m in a new Hallmark film. Speaking of Hallmark, I know Let It Snow will be reairing on Monday, I think, as well as several more times before the end of the year. And then my other Christmas movie on Lifetime, Becoming Santa, has already aired once, and it will air more as well. So it’s really kind of cool with all these Christmas movies. There’s the typical Let It Snow on Hallmark where I’m the love interest of Candace {Cameron-Bure}. That movie was fun and just had some great actors in it. Then over on Lifetime, there’s Becoming Santa where I’m going to become the next Santa Claus. And now with Snowmance on Ion, I’m a snowman who comes to life. I’m really loving these Christmas movies because they’re not all typical. There’s a little bit of spin on every character.

I did just see you recently in The Lost Wife of Robert Durst. 

How was that? I haven’t seen it yet.

Actually, I really liked it. I know your character was a small role, so we didn’t see you a whole bunch. 

You know, I worked with that director {Yves Simoneau} years ago on a show, and we had a great time together. Then when he said he was coming into town, I met with him, and he said, “Hey, we have a small role. We will totally not be upset if you don’t want to come out and do this role because you don’t have to, but it would be great to just work with you again.” He told me I could keep the beard and have a mustache, and I was like, “Okay, all right.” And it was great to just pop in for like two days. I got to see him and I got to see a lot of crew I had worked with before. So that was a role that I did mainly because of the people involved and just to get rub shoulders with some people I hadn’t seen in a long time.

I was glad you alerted us to the movie. I remember reading about it being filmed, and then I got busy and forgot about it. When you tweeted out saying you were in it, I was so grateful for the reminder. With Lifetime films, it’s often fifty-fifty whether I’ll like them or not. But I thought this one was well done, and it was a bonus to see you in it.

with Al Sapienza

I just finished playing the role of a sheriff in a small town in Kansas City, and that probably won’t be out till this summer is my guess. It was an intense shoot, some of the most challenging scenes that I’ve had kind of in a long time. When it comes to movies, sometimes the heaviness of the situation plays a part, so I’m really interested to see how this one turns out. I got to do a scene with Al Sapienza playing my father. And you know, it’s not every day that you get to yell at an actor from The Sopranos. {laughs} So that was a lot of fun for me. And I also enjoy jumping around in different projects. I really like the aspect of exploring different pieces of humanity and different emotions that our hearts can express. For me, it’s really great to have a Christmas movie that can be light-hearted and fun. Then you have a Hallmark movie that’s so sweet and tugs at your heartstrings. And then I can be involved with projects where my role is more dramatic and maybe a little more edgy and has some scenarios that are quite challenging. When they release that movie, I believe it will be called Gone: My Daughter. That gives you a hint about what it’s about, but I won’t say any more for now. A lot happens in the four days that that script takes place.

Now, if I remember correctly, didn’t one of your kids have their first acting role?

Yes, my six-year-old son did a role on the series SIX. I know it comes out in the new year, but I’m not exactly sure when it premieres. But it was pretty cool for him to be on that show, and I was pretty proud of him. And that’s a pretty crazy show. I hope one day to have the opportunity to work on it.

Oh, Jesse, I could sure see you on that show. But we will plan on watching your son second season of Six. And didn’t your son say something about liking the food when you did a mini-interview with him?

Oh yeah, he loved the crafty table. He was hilarious.

What about Stake Out? I know you haven’t done any more episodes of that in a while. Any updates?

So that show is still in the works. I’m looking for investors. I have six episodes written. Actually, I filmed a table read of the pilot episode with potential actors in 360 VR, and I’m working on completing that. I am working on some pitches, and that’s where that’s sitting right now. The little episodes I did online were a series of tests, and from there, I’ve branched out and written an entire series, and I would love to do it. It’s kind of an online media format. They’re written at a length right now that there would be no commercial breaks, and it’s about thirty-three minutes an episode. It’s kind of a Netflix style. I really want to do it. I think it has this great balance of drama mixed with comedy mixed with really wicked action. In the pilot and in the series, we get out of the vehicle. We get into the police precinct. We go undercover. We get into foot chases and car chases. We’ve got funny, quirky scenarios. We’ve got characters that are witty, but at the same time, you never know if your favorite character is going to get injured or go missing. You never know.

Well, my daughter and I both enjoyed the web series, so hopefully, you’ll find some investors because I would love to see this show happen too. 

Yeah, it just takes time to get things like that into a position where it can get made. I want to do it right, and I’d like to hire a lot of the people that I’ve worked with over the years, and there’s people I have in mind that I’d like to bring in, so we’ll see how that works out.

And I know that Love’s Last Resort finally got released. 

Yes, it did! It was great. I got a lot of good comments from that one. It was also quite a fun movie. I enjoyed that one. The director, Brian {Herzlinger}, is awesome. Him and I have become really good friends since then and we talk a lot. I got to do a lot of comedy in that film as well. There were some really good dramatic moments, but I was able to inject some good comedic elements in there as well.  The director was great and let me do some really fun stuff. And of course, that was one of Alan Thicke’s last films. So it’s quite emotional too. I had done three projects with him, and his death came as a shock when I heard about it. While it’s not like we were best friends, I had worked with him enough over the years that we were able to have a candid conversations and get to know each other a little bit. When I got the news, it was a little more impactful for me than normal. I think the first time I worked with him was in 2007, so we had quite a connection we had developed. He was such an awesome, gentle, kind man.

I have heard similar sentiments from other actors who worked with him. But it does make me want to look this one up and definitely watch it soon. I have been meaning to do so. But I know I will be watching tonight. And hopefully everyone else will tune is as well. So thank you, Jesse, for taking the time to chat with me. 

Well, thank you, as well, Ruth. I know you work with a lot of Hallmark projects and actors. I’m hopeful that one day I’ll be a part of a Hallmark project again, but it just hasn’t worked out in quite a while.

Well, here’s hoping for the perfect role from Hallmark because your fans would be so happy to see you return. 

Me too. Thank you, Ruth, for your support and all the support of all the fans. I really appreciate it.

Photo by Yinger Wong © Hutch Production

Now, I am aware of the fact there were several topics we didn’t discuss in this interview, and most of that was due to time restraints. This was a last-minute interview after all, and it truly made me question my sanity as I am totally swamped at present! But in the case of Jesse, he was already on my “ultra preferred list,” and I believed it was the right time to bring this interview to the fans in order to present Jesse’s humble nature, his solid devotion to the craft, and above all, his commitment to bringing his utmost to every project in which he is involved, regardless of the size of the role, the genre, or any other peripherals.

Having spoken with Jesse at length previously, I will never forget how impressed I was with his unilateral allegiance to God and his family. No matter what projects have come his way over the years, his steadfast commitment to the Lord always shines through. He never accepts a role unless he knows it is what God would have him do, and while many might question some of the roles he has portrayed in the past, he knows that in every project, God has used him, even if it was merely to plant seeds in others behind-the-scenes. Jesse is not one who will herald the extraordinary ways in which God has used him. He is aware of the fact that he is an ambassador of his faith in every situation, and trust me–he does not take that lightly. Sometimes people may be inclined to impugn his sobriety due to his sometimes outlandish sense of humor, but I can state categorically that when the situation demands prudence and composure, he is there one hundred and fifty percent. If you could have heard the pride in voice as he spoke of his son’s inaugural role or the pathos and sorrow that saturated his voice as he related his memories of Alan Thicke, you would have apprehended just how intrinsic Jesse’s convictions, values, and compassion definitively are.

Therefore, I entreat all my followers to watch Snowmance tonight on Ion Television (or check out where you can stream it) November 26th because Jesse is one of the good guys out there who still places God and family first, and as a result, there is consistently something uplifting and genuine when we viewers are watching one of his projects, not to mention they’re consistently charming and captivating. Furthermore, please check out all of his links below and consider following him where applicable. While Hallmark fans have missed seeing him since fall of 2015 on this wonderful network, his projects since then demonstrate that he is continuing to hone his craft and advance his solid character and beliefs in ways few in this industry are able or willing to do so. He is one remarkable young (yes, I can still call him young by the way, for he’s younger than I!) man for whom I hope and pray that the blessings of God will rain down on his family and career in ways no one can perceive at this moment. I am honored to be able to call him friend and to support his dynamic and eventful career!

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