For an updated interview with Casey, please see the post here.

Being the Hallmark aficionado that I am, I am very familiar with the works of Casey Manderson, especially the works he has done for this network. However, it was not until last summer that I matched his name with his obvious talent I was witnessing and enjoying on screen. While Once Upon a Holiday is most memorable for me (Tara Wilson was the one who was kind enough to tell me who was playing her love interest.), but until he played Bill Wallace’s butler in Garage Sale Mystery: Murder Most Medieval, I was unable to match the name to his character. Recently, Casey went out of his way to make the time to answer my extensive and detailed questions in his indomitable style.

Photo by Kristine Cofsky

RH: Casey, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions today.

CM: Hi Ruth. Great to hear from you. Here we go!

Why did you decide to become an actor? What kind of training have you had?

Well, I’m sure you’ve heard this many times before, but I didn’t exactly plan this whole thing out, nor did I have a ton of options to choose from when I finally decided to give it a try. I’ve never been much of a planner, but I guess I decided to be an actor when I was about twenty-five. I played sports a lot when I was young; I dressed up and acted silly for school assemblies and was part of a sketch-comedy group in High School. I’ve always loved making people laugh and making a fool of myself. I also spent a lot of time on my own: playing out fantasies in my backyard or the basement, pretending to be someone else, having conversations with imaginary people. I actually still do that last part, but don’t tell anyone. I also watched a lot of TV of course.

My favourite part of watching TV shows or movies was always the actors. I love watching actors and I’d always imagine myself being there, doing what they’re doing. So it was basically just a dream that I kept to myself for the most part. It was fun to think about and of course, when you’re young you think you have all the time in the world to dream and imagine what the future will be. My parents have always supported whatever direction I’ve decided to take my life, but I kept this acting thing a secret because I think I was afraid that if I said it out loud, I would have to admit that it would probably never happen. Oh man, that sounded kind of sad; I don’t mean to sound so maudlin!

I grew up, moved from job to job and eventually discovered Yoga, which led me to spend some time living in a retreat centre where I re-discovered my creative side. Afterward, I travelled around Thailand and India and finally settled in Vancouver. I eventually needed another adventure to go on and one of my roommates turned me on to Outward Bound, an outdoors leadership program that eventually led me to being alone with my thoughts for a day and a night on the top of a mountain, seriously. So basically it came to a point where the only thing I couldn’t stop thinking about was being an actor and I figured it was about time I gave it a try. I wasn’t sure if I’d be any good (I’m still not sure actually) and I really had no idea how to go about it, but I figured it was worth a shot (and the worst thing that would happen is I’d be right back where I was anyways). For the rest of that month-long hike, my mind wouldn’t stop shoving the idea of being an actor in front of my face. I couldn’t escape it so when I got back to Vancouver I started taking dance classes, acting classes, “how-to-audition” classes, anything I could get my hands on because I still wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do, (again, not much of a planner).

Meanwhile, I looked for as many short-films, student-films etc that I could audition for, and within a couple months I think I’d done about six. Please don’t look for them; I’m sure I’m horrible! But it was great learning on the job like that. Making mistakes, memorizing lines, doing something called “blocking” and being asked to do things I’d never done before without any real guidance….okay maybe it wasn’t “great”, but it felt good to be doing something rather than just thinking about it all the time. I soon realized…that as much as I loved performing in class and feeling creative, I needed some technique to help me understand exactly what I was doing. I gave a few different classes a try until I found one based on the “Meisner Technique”. I loved it immediately. First let me say, I’m no expert in the technique; I’ve been lucky to cross paths with a few great instructors who above all, helped me learn how to be myself and listen–which is surprisingly difficult! I actually do enjoy a certain amount of structure and the technique gave me something to grasp onto as I continued looking for work because paying or not, I still intended to do most of my training on the job. And so I did. I don’t know if it was the best way, but it’s the way I chose to do things and to be clear, I still don’t understand exactly what I’m doing.

What was your first professional job in the business and what are your memories of that job?

Wow, you’re really testing my memory here, aren’t you? Haha! It’s hard to say what my very “first” professional job was as an actor. Once I had an agent, I started doing mostly commercial auditions, so it’s possible that my first job was a “Worksafe BC” spot with Victor Zinck Jr or a “Mazda” spot with Reilly Dolman. It might have even been a safe sex PSA…..but the one I remember “feeling” like my first was an episode of the show, Fringe.

I played some sort of technician during the “crisis mode” part of the episode where everyone’s scrambling to prevent another disaster. I think I had a line or two, I had a name tag and a bunch of buttons and dials to play with. I was pretty excited. I couldn’t believe how many times we had to do it! I wasn’t used to TV yet or much of anything outside of low-budget land but I loved every second of it. They even had me say an extra line to Lance Reddick’s character and I didn’t accidentally step on his foot or bite my tongue or anything!

So when the episode eventually aired, I made sure my family and friends checked it out. They’d seen me on screen before, but this was a “real” show, on TV. I think I saw the side of my face and the back of my head a couple times and that was that.

I realize you have done other work besides Hallmark. Please tell us about your past significant non-Hallmark works. 

I got very lucky in 2007. I crossed paths with my now friend, Terry Miles. It really was chance that brought us together. I auditioned for an independent film that Terry’s friends were making and Terry was operating the camera for the auditions. I didn’t get that role, but Terry contacted me soon after, asking if I’d like to be in a web-series. There was no money, but I was already used to that and it didn’t really matter to me anyways; I was just so excited to act!

Terry is a lot of things: a writer/director/producer/filmmaker/musician/podcaster and so much more. I’m not sure there’s anything he can’t do if he puts his mind to it. He’s one of my best buds and he played a huge part in the beginning of my career. Our first film together was called When Life Was Good. It initially started as a web-series, a guided-improvisational story about 20-something’s navigating life in the city. But almost immediately after the first day of shooting, he changed his mind to the more ambitious idea of making a feature-length-film instead. It was seriously one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. I got to improvise a lot and see how everything worked. That experience will stay with me for the rest of my life for sure. I met two of my closest friends, Terry and Kristine (Cofsky); the three of us continued working together for years, making more films, a few web-series and attending film festivals across Canada.

So much goes into making a movie and I really got to see that first hand while we made these very low-budget projects. I love being involved in more than just the performance aspect. I sort of cut my teeth working on low-budget, independent projects where everyone pitches in. We all helped (where we could) with set-decoration, lighting, sound, food, locations, casting etc. This was truly independent film and I’m so grateful to have been a part of those projects in the beginning of my career; I guess it was sort of my version of film school.

Like I said, we did a lot together, too many to list here, but one more film I’m really proud of that we made together is called The Red Rooster. It was my first chance to play a “character”; I grew a beard, changed my posture and practised smoking for a month on the roof of the house I was living in at the time. Oh, and my brother was in it! I mean, what a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; to go on a road trip to a cabin on Vancouver Island and make art with my brother and my best friends.

Kate Isaac with Casey Anderson Nutshells

The best thing about indie films is that you meet other creative people and wind up making stuff with them too. Meeting Terry gave me the opportunity to meet Rob Leickner and we eventually partnered up to make The Lonely Light of Home, a dark, slow-paced thriller where I play a guest at a family-run fishing lodge. Rob makes beautiful movies in his spare time and has a wonderful ear for music and score. Michelle Kim, Rob and I partnered up as well to make The Tree Inside, Michelle’s creation. I play her boyfriend; it’s a great relationship movie with an improvisational tone. Michelle recently published her debut novel, Running Through Sprinklers. Hi Michelle! Lastly, I have to mention my friend Rob Carpenter. A couple years ago we teamed up with a great cast of local actors and made Nutshells, an ensemble style Dramedy (is that a word?). Rob is an actor/writer/producer/director and an all around beautiful person. I don’t know why I’m so lucky to have so many cool, creative friends but I love it.

Jumping ahead a few years, another significant (non-hallmark) role for me was WILL in Season’s Greetings. Other than my indie work, I hadn’t played the lead yet, so this was a huge opportunity for me AND I got to work with Al Harmon again, one of my favourite directors. We had worked together once before on a pilot episode for a show called Wolf Canyon. That show would have been so much fun. Kevin Sorbo was in it, first of all. I played an insecure actor on a low-rated TV show who pretended to be a British thespian, but was most famous for his chicken commercial…. c’mon! But alas, it didn’t get picked up.

Season’s Greetings

So not only did I get to work with Al again, but I shared the screen with the incredible Laura Belle Bundy and an amazing cast of equally hilarious people. Sometimes you cross your fingers for a sequel just to be able to hang out with people like that again. C’mon Season’s Greetings 2!! (I also may or may not have almost killed us all pretending I knew how to drive a pontoon boat, but Laura saved the day, as she always does).

Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe your first Hallmark work was a small role on Signed, Sealed, Delivered. What was it like being a part of that episode? Also, please remind us of your role and the episode.

The novelty of having a trailer, going to wardrobe, even being called to set was still funny to me. I just kind of soaked it all in and tried my best to look like, “Hey, this is totally normal; I do this all the time”…. It was in 2014, Season 1, Episode 6, “The Future Me”. Before you get too impressed that I just rattled that off so easily, please know that I most certainly looked it up just now. I had a scene with Crystal Lowe and Geoff Gustafson. I actually knew Geoff from one of the Meisner groups I was in years earlier as well as just generally seeing each other around town at auditions etc. I think he’s super funny and a really smart guy. Hi Geoff! I believe I played a clerk in a post office or some sort of government-type-place where they were looking for information. I don’t think I was very helpful and I remember I was really obsessed with flipping pages in a book and moving a stapler. I love props and continuity, so sometimes I get obsessed over those little things.

Let’s talk Hallmark. Please tell us about some of your favorite moments from these films from this wonderful network.

Once Upon a Holiday

Once Upon A Holiday: Oh Ross, what a guy. I still wonder if he ever got out of that magical wardrobe. The microphone they had me use when Ross was in reporter-mode had a long cord attached that they snaked down my sleeve, so I couldn’t actually put it down between takes. I figured Ross would never put it down anyways, but my hand definitely got a little sweaty (the heavy coat certainly didn’t help). My favourite thing was how much he wanted Paul Campbell’s character to like him, kind of adorable and I loved saying, “this is Ross Hargrave……” whenever I was reporting on something. So fun! The set decoration on this movie was fantastic. The crew worked so hard at all the tiny details of the magic shop and the overall Christmas-time look. I think it really feels like a Christmas movie because of their efforts.

Once Upon a Holiday behind-the-scenes

Hailey Dean Mystery: This is the closest I’ve come to being on a CSI type show and I’m hoping they write another episode with Trey Simpson dropping some technical jargon on everyone in his sweet lab coat. As I said, I love props and set decoration and all of those little details so I loved being on this show. Once again, the crew puts so much hard work into making everything look and feel real and it just makes my job so much easier. As you know, Viv Leacock is in that show regularly. Viv and I worked on Seasons Greetings together; he’s such a great guy and it would be great to work with him again! Hi Viv!

A December Bride

A December Bride: Anytime David Winning is directing, it’s going to be a good time. I always learn something working with him and you couldn’t ask for a kinder guy to be in charge of things. My memories of this shoot are a strange mixture of Jay Hindle dancing for us in the hair and makeup trailer, Jessica Lowndes singing Christmas carols and me feeling incredibly comfortable catching Daniel {Lissing} and Jessica’s characters in their little web of lies. I have a younger sister of my own, but I never really grilled her and her boyfriend about anything too serious so I relished this opportunity.

The Mistletoe Inn

The Mistletoe Inn: Gark! Garn! Garth! I loved this role! As is often the case with shooting schedules, the first scene we shot happened to be the very last scene between Alicia Witt and myself. I come back, tail between my legs, but still manage to make a fool of myself. Classic Garth. I generally have a certain amount of panic bubbling up as the first take of the first scene on my first day starts to unfold and someone says, “action!”. So the first time Alicia stepped out of her car with the snow falling around her as I hid like a creep on the porch, I was like, “that’s Alicia Witt, holy crap that’s Alicia Witt, stop thinking about it, what am I doing here? What are my lines? How do I act? Ahhhhhhhh!!!”. But as cliché as this might sound, the first time we looked each other in the eyes in that scene, all of that panic disappeared. Because as it turns out, Alicia Witt is some sort of magical creature who just makes everyone around her feel like it’s all going to be alright. Seriously, what a sweet human being she is and so much fun to play around with.

The Mistletoe Inn with Lucie Guest and Alicia Witt

I really didn’t want this one to end, every scene with her was a gift and our director, Alex Wright has a great sense of humour, allowing us to have fun and make the most of it every time. I also met my friend Lucie Guest on this show. I had never met or worked with Lucie before and now we hang out all the time. She’s so smart and talented. Hi Lucie!

Last summer we saw you in Garage Sale Mystery: Murder Most Medieval. Very special movie to me as you played butler to my good friend Sebastian Spence. Please tell us what it was like working on that film and how you got into character for that one–you did it exceptionally well.

Garage Sale Mystery

Oh, thank you so much for saying that. This part kind of snuck up on me. At first, I figured, he’s the Butler; stiffen up your posture, speak clearly and always be available without being obtrusive. You know, standard Butler stuff. But later on during rehearsal, when Sebastian’s character left the room, I dropped all of that pretense and it got a laugh so I stuck with the idea that I was only playing the role of the serious Butler for the sake of my eccentric boss. It made playing Tucker a lot of fun because I actually didn’t say that much in the grand scheme of the story, but I made the most of what I could. I’m glad you liked it, thanks!

You are reprising last summer’s The Perfect Bride role in this summer’s sequel. What can you tease about this film and your role? Any behind-the-scenes stories you can share?

The Perfect Bride 2

Yes! The Perfect Bride 2: Wedding Bells…..I guess you can assume what the movie is generally about, but you’ll have to wait and see I suppose. Directed by Alex Wright of The Mistletoe Inn, what a treat to work with him again as well as Pascale {Hutton}, Kavan {Smith} and Hayley {Sales}, of course. My character, Brendan, sticks around a little longer this time, but freaks out a little less (thankfully) as he now gets to be on the outside looking in as his friends give marriage a shot.

The Perfect Bride 2

It’s hard not to have a good time with Kavan and Pascale. They’re always joking with each other, but they also put the necessary work into each scene. They’re the best kind of leaders because they do so by example. It was great sharing some scenes with Pascale in this one. She likes to tease, she’s very playful and intelligent and her sense of smell is on point. One day, while we sat in hair and makeup, she asked me if I ate garlic that morning. I had and I was a little freaked out because I’d since showered, shaved and brushed my teeth, but I guess she has some sort of super-smelling-power. On my last day, I snuck into her trailer and left her a clove of garlic as a parting gift, because I’m a classy gentleman.

Anything else upcoming you can share?

Photo by Kristine Cofsky

Check out Bluebook on the History channel later this year!

You are also a producer. Any aspirations to do more producing and/or add writing/directing?

Well, that would require some planning most likely and I’m still not the best at that. I’d love to direct someday, but for now, I’ll stick with acting and see where it takes me.

If you had to make an acrostic using your first name, how would you fill it in?

There’s no way I can do this but I’ll ask my girlfriend, “Cherlyn!”.

C-courageous
A-adventurous
S-silly
E-empathetic
Y-…..hmmmmm… Y is a tough one…..young looking?

What are you currently binge-watching? What do you plan on binging next?

I usually have a couple things on rotation at any given time. The Office is generally on at some point during the day, as is Arrested Development. I just watched Big Mouth for the eighth time all the way through and I’m giving The Leftovers another go. I’ll usually smooth things out at the end of the day with an episode or two of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia.

Thanks so much, Ruth. It’s a little surreal to have anyone asking me questions about myself, but it was fun going down memory lane and remembering how fortunate I’ve been. Take care.

When I send out questions for my interviews, I am never certain what the exact responses will be. Most of the time, the answers are concise and only give a brief hint of the person’s temperament and their true spirit, but I am always prepared for the task of “reading between the lines” in order to provide an appropriate snapshot of the authentic soul living between the words that have been quickly penned. If anything, it is an honor to use my deductive skills as well as my mind’s eye that regularly discern potential (including some eagerly sought help from Above) to create an accurate, encouraging description of my interviewee.

When I sent off the questions to Casey (we repeatedly attempted an in-person interview to no avail), I figured his responses would be terse and witty, and I was prepared to construct a proficient post to demonstrate the obvious prowess and kind-hearted human being who was making it a priority to answer the simple questions of a meek, unpretentious writer from Washington State. Imagine my astonishment when Casey’s responses were so prolific and immensely conversational that he made my responsibility remarkably easy. In fact, I joyously take no credit for the authenticity, sensitivity, and humanity displayed in his answers. Casey has decidedly raised the bar in terms of email interviews, and I gratefully consider myself his deferential scribe. Admittedly, Casey is the one whose talent radiates the page in the midst of his clever and entertaining stories, his perfectly-timed witticisms, and his signature humility. He recognizes and appreciates every opportunity that has guided him to the life he now adores, and he has found something unique and sincere in every moment that has contributed to his professional and personal outlook. He may portray the cocky, sarcastic, and sometimes asinine “wrong man” in these movies we have come to cherish, but regardless, Casey is just an unembellished, pragmatic working actor who relishes his chance to live the dream by interacting with amazing people, scripts, and fans on a daily basis. He rarely takes himself seriously, and while he recognizes his strengths, he is not above spotlighting his shortcomings. He is willing to take on any role that is sent his way and invariably infuses each character with his signature style, comedic timing, and distinct talent.

I do hope that every U.S. household has made plans to tune in Saturday night (June 9th) to the Hallmark Channel to watch Casey’s next adventure in The Perfect Bride: Wedding Bells in which he will reprise and expand upon his role that he created last year so effectively that Kavan and Pascale practically insisted on bringing him back for the sequel. Additionally, please visit his links below and consider making plans to watch not only his current/past works but his future ones as well. Oh, and be certain to follow him on that Instagram link, if you would like, With Casey, you will NEVER get those stagnant, perfect-smile, behind-the-scenes poses that so many actors share when on set. As a matter of fact, you never know WHAT you’re going to get with him!

While many actors have a trademark wit and regularly post pictures and quotes that demonstrate this attribute, Casey doesn’t even have to attempt to be funny; it’s his inherent nature to be so! And what I can say is that I plan on being his audacious champion for as long as he continues to stand in front of (or behind of, or underneath of, or…) that camera and provide compelling characters that will transport us from our current, monotonous lives into a world that can only be described as “Casey’s World.” And as far as I’m concerned, I’ll continue to make regular visits to his zany and carefree cosmos because there is nothing better than taking a mental break for an hour or two and luxuriating in something generated by a master showman such as Casey!

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