There is no doubt about it. Paul Campbell is a Hallmark fan favorite leading man, and due to his penchant for comedy, we viewers have grown accustomed to his movies being consistently fraught with well-placed, well-timed humor. It just so happens that his most recent Hallmark movie, A Godwink Christmas which premieres on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tonight (11/18), is a different sort of vehicle for this incredible actor. Recently, he and I chatted about this film and much more, and as I share this interview today, it is vital to be cognizant of two things. First of all, there is no possible way for me to detail just how much I found myself laughing throughout the interview. (Honestly, that probably added at least ten minutes to our chat!) And secondly, please realize that this interview is peppered with Paul’s signature sense of humor. Nothing written here is mean-spirited, and while I will attempt to clarify when he is joking, the written word sometimes fails in situations like this.

RH: Paul, it is so good to chat with you yet again. 

PC: Ruth, thank you again for reaching out. Always nice chatting with you.

Now, before we jump into A Godwink Christmas, I don’t know if everybody got to see you on Take Two, but I did. I really enjoyed that show. And it was nice to see you on the show.

Take Two

Oh, well, I don’t think EVERYBODY got to see me on Take Two. The ratings would have been unbelievable if they did.

Well, I think some people are late in discovering this show. I haven’t heard officially whether the series is canceled as of yet, but if people want to catch up and see you, I think they can look the show up and stream it. It was a nice treat to see you on that show.

Doing something a little bit different.

And I think a lot of Hallmark fans would like the show. It’s light and not dark or heavy.

Right. It’s not suggestive. It’s what I would call easy watching.

But onto A Godwink Christmas. 

Yes, Hallmark is very busy making movies, and I am happy to be in one of their Christmas movies airing this weekend.

Paul Campbell, Kimberley Sustad Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

Yes, speaking of this film, A Godwink Christmas, I don’t know if everybody caught it, but those of us who did were super excited when it was announced that you and Kimberley Sustad were both cast in A Godwink Christmas. In fact, my friends over at the Hallmarkies Podcast were ecstatic when they heard that announcement.

{laughs} I got a real sense of that, yeah!

In fact, I think they wanted to say they had dreamed up casting the two of you in a film together and that somehow Hallmark heard about it and took their advice.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Bill Abbott has a listening device for dreams, so I’m not going to try to take any credit away from those ladies.

Paul Campbell, Kimberley Sustad, Ryan Alexander McDonald, Lucia Walters Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

I think A Godwink Christmas is going to be a very big movie for Hallmark. They have done an incredible job of promoting it. And I think some form of this movie had been in the works for quite a while. 

Well, Kathie Lee {Gifford} and SQuire {Rushnell} and Louise {Duart} had started talking about making this series of films based on all of these Godwinks stories for quite a while. And I’m pretty sure the original idea for this film was to have it made in time for last Christmas, but it seems like at that time, something prevented it from moving forward. But they circled back this year and finally got it off the ground.

What can you tell us about the film and your role in it?

Paul Campbell Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

I think one of the things that drew me to this film in the first place is that it’s actually based on a real couple and their real story. These Godwinks stories are all based on real-life events. This story, in particular, is based on Gery and Paula Conover, who own and operate the Charlotte Inn in Martha’s Vineyard. It’s this incredibly stunning old-world inn that is one of the most well-regarded and well-respected anywhere in America. You can look it up online and see just how beautiful it is. The story is about the circumstances that brought them together…how they met and how they fell in love. I don’t think there’s a ton of artistic license that’s been taken here in making the film version of their story. I think for the sake of keeping things succinct and a little tighter, they probably omitted some of the detail. But the general sort of coincidences and the general Godwinks that they talk about in this movie and that SQuire has written about…all of those things really happened. It’s such a lovely story, and it’s so much fun being able to play this character, Gery Conover, who’s not unlike myself in a lot of ways. It was nice knowing that I was telling the story of a real person. Both Kimberley and I took great care to be respectful of the story and respectful of the character and just try to do it justice. And I think we did a pretty good job.

Kimberley Sustad, Paul Campbell Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

I have no doubt you and Kimberley did an amazing job. I’ve been following your careers for a while now, and neither of you ever disappoint. 

Thank you, Ruth. Fingers crossed. I know that the people will let us know what they think.

Well, I think something special the movie has going for it is the casting of both you and Kimberley. The Hallmark fans really enjoy seeing you in films very much.

Oh, that’s really sweet. Thank you. I enjoy being in films.

Paul Campbell, Kimberley Sustad Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

Then whenever I bring up Kimberley’s name, the fans are always pushing for her to be in more lead roles.  After all, she hasn’t been cast in a lot of leading roles. 

That’s right. I think the only other lead role she had was in The Nine Lives of Christmas. She’s played the friend in a bunch of stuff.

Yes, she even got to play the murderer in one of the Hallmark mystery films. 

Right, that’s not a stretch for her. She’s got a real dark side.

{laughs} Okay, if you say so.

And she would totally be okay with me saying that.

Actually, it was something to watch that particular movie because her transformation to psychopath was really quite frightening. She had been a nice person throughout the film until the very end. My mom and I were a bit freaked out. 

Mmm, not a huge stretch for her to go from nice to murderer. {laughs} In the blink of an eye. No, seriously, you know what? She’s a legit actor, and I think Hallmark has realized that and is finally utilizing her talents in that way. She can do it all. She plays the dramatic stuff very, very, very well, and then she’s also really funny. I think I would compare her to Sandra Bullock, who you kind of believe in any role. She’s able to walk that line of being quirky and funny without being too broad. You will see a lot of that in A Godwink Christmas too. She fought really hard to bring some levity and some comedy to what was a really sweet and genuine story. But nobody’s gonna complain if there’s some laughs in there, and she was really good about fighting for bringing that levity to it. And I think she’s done a great job. I played it deadpan. I gave nothing to the role, so we’re relying totally on her for all humor-related aspects of this movie.

Well, I guess we’ll have to see what the fans say about that. 

With SQuire & Louise

It’s actually true. This is probably my most earnest role to date at Hallmark just because the character is just not overtly funny. He’s not sarcastic. He’s genuine, sweet, and confident, but he’s earnest too. So there’s not a lot of humor. I mean, I kind of tried to bring as much lightness as I could to it because I think Hallmark wanted that and probably cast me for that reason. But it’s not a funny role, and it’s not a funny movie. It’s very sweet, and there are light moments, but it’s a really sweet love story.

How was it working with Kathie Lee Gifford?

She’s a force. She’s a force to be reckoned with. Really, I only had one scene with her briefly at the end because she played Kimberley’s character’s aunt.  So ninety-eight percent of Kathie Lee’s scenes were just with Kimberley. But I was on set a few days when she was working, and I got to watch her do her thing. She’s just incredible. She has the confidence of somebody who’s been in front of a camera for her entire life. That’s just invaluable. She can fearlessly walk into any scene and try anything and do anything and bring that incredible presence to the screen. You’ll see it. Not very many actors can bring that sort of presence to the screen take after take after take. She’s a huge asset to this movie. After all, this is partly her project. But it was just so much fun to watch her work. She’s such a sweet, genuine person, and she was a real treat to work with.

And you got to work with one of my friends as well–Giles Panton.

With Giles

Oh, Giles. You know what? I had zero scenes with him.

Oh, zero scenes? Then you just took a picture with him. 

Yes, we took that picture on the final day of shooting. I wasn’t working. I just came to set to drop off some gifts for people, and then I was like, “Dude, we have to get a picture.” So we had that picture, but we did not work together. He plays the guy who’s not so lucky in love, and I’m the guy who takes his lady. So it’s probably for the best that we didn’t have scenes together. We might have come to blows otherwise.

Regardless, I’m very excited about this movie. No, I have not read the book in spite of the fact that people tell me I should read the book. And I know there’s a long list of books I should read.

Sure. And this one should go right to the top of the list. I’ll be honest. I haven’t read the book either because I didn’t want to have a preconception going into this movie. I just like to go and do my own thing. So I haven’t read the book, but I feel like now I’m really familiar with the story so maybe I don’t have to read it. I have books on parenting that I have to read. I have a whole pile of books on how to deal with a two-and-a-half-year-old. So reading a story that I’ve already told in a movie is a little lower on my list of priorities.

{laughs} I can understand that. There are unique challenges when dealing with two-and-a-half-year-olds, but then again, there are unique challenges to dealing with every age. But in my case, I love the fact that my daughter is a teenager. Actually, the younger years were harder for me just because of my personality. 

Can I go on the record and say I think you are the first person in history to say, “I’m glad that my daughter’s a teenager.” I don’t think anyone has ever uttered those words. So, congratulations. You’ve broken the mold.

Paul’s son

Well, probably my parents might have said that when I was growing up. I think my daughter is very much like I was as a teenager. I wasn’t a problem teenager. I was not the typical rebellious teenager. I think that’s one reason why I struggled to understand teenagers because I was never like that. Now, my older brother was a typical teenager, and when I saw what he was doing, I decided I wasn’t going to be like that. And thankfully, my daughter has not gone down the wrong path either. I’m very grateful that she’s making the right decisions and not being a troublemaker.

That’s the kid I want! I don’t want the troublemaker. We’re trying to raise this one right.

I commend you and your wife for that. I know sometimes no matter what the parents do, the kids don’t turn out right, but hopefully, your son will grow to be one of those good teenagers too. Interestingly enough, good teenagers do exist. 

Nice, that’s good to know.

So we have A Godwinks Christmas premiering on November 18th. It’s great that we get to see you in another Christmas movie. Your last Christmas movie was Once Upon A Holiday.

Yes, that’s right. Because I did Sun, Sand & Romance a couple of summers ago. So 2016 was my last Christmas movie. I skipped last year. I know expectations are high with A Godwink Christmas, and I hope we live up to those expectations. I know that the response from Hallmark so far has been very, very positive, so I’m hopeful. And I was there while we were filming for a bit of it, so I kind of recall thinking, “Hey, this might be very cool.”

{laughs} True, that’s good to know. I do know that Hallmark has been promoting this film quite a bit over the past few months.

Sadly, we don’t get the Hallmark Channel here, so I don’t know about the whole marketing scheme they have for this film. But I will say that of course, I’m always willing to talk about myself, and I’m glad you reached out to me for that purpose, Ruth. All I need is for someone to give me a platform, and I’ll go on and on about it. Just try to shut me up.

{laughs} Oh, yes, Paul, that is definitely what you’re all about. 

What I can say is that I’m pretty sure this is the first film Hallmark has ever done with “God” in the title.

And I can say that you are unequivocally correct in that statement. 

Paul Campbell, Kimberley Sustad Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

I also know that SQuire and Louise have a series of these “Godwink” stories that they’d like to turn into film. The hope is that Hallmark will get behind this, and ultimately, I think the network would like for this series to work out as well. It’s nice any time that you can kick off a film series, and if Hallmark finds that this is a successful franchise, they can promote it upfront heavily and get people interested. Then they can know down the road that they have five or six films that people are going to tune in to see. So it’s nice to be a part of the first one.

Now, Kimberley and I have discussed the series and the possibility of using the model that other shows have done. You reinvent the show over the course of the series, but you use all of the same actors. So Kimberley and I have already decided that we will play the leads in all of the Godwinks movies. We can just play different characters in every movie. It will be sort of a fun thing for Hallmark to do!

You know, I bet a lot of fans would say that’s okay with them. 

Actually, Kimberley and I are writing a spec script for a Hallmark Christmas movie right now.

Oh, really? 

Kimberley pitched an idea to me when we were working, and we’ve dug deep and are into it now. So, Bill Abbott, if you’re reading this, give us a million bucks!

So you two hadn’t worked together previously?

No, we had never met. And then we met.

So you had this instant connection, and now you want to keep working together.

Yeah, we work together really well. We found that we were on the same page about a lot of things. We both immediately had a ton of good ideas. I’ve done a bunch of comedy writing, but I’ve never written a full spec feature. I’ve been meaning to do it for a long, long time. Sun, Sand & Romance, I wrote a bunch of dialogue on that, but I didn’t actually write the story. This seemed like the perfect opportunity with a great idea for a film which I will keep very top secret for the time being. It ends happily; I’ll give you that much. We plan on writing it together. I recently finished fleshing out most of the outline. And now it’s just about time to dig into the actual script. So that’s exciting.

Now, does Kimberley’s story of this potential script match up with yours? She didn’t say a whole lot about this script.

Oh, boy, um, off the record! Scratch that!

{laughs} No, the fact that she mentioned it in passing is a good thing. I knew you were telling me the truth. 

If what she says doesn’t match up with what I’ve said, she’s a total liar and you can’t believe anything she says.

In all seriousness, she is so busy it was a miracle she was able to fit me into her schedule for an interview.

She’s working nonstop. She’s single-handedly taking over Vancouver. All of the work in Vancouver. I’m competing with her for jobs now. Jobs that I should be getting are going to her!

Paul and son

Okay, I know she was on Travelers for quite a period of time. 

Yep, she took that role from me.

Oh, did she? Oh, my goodness!

No, I’m kidding, of course. But I tell you, I just shouldn’t be going out for roles that she’s going out for. I get my hopes up, and then it’s always such a letdown.

It is good to see you two combining forces. Hopefully, something will come of that because I think Hallmark is open to these on-screen couples working together in more than one movie. They’re starting to do more of that. 

I’m sure, why not? If you find a connection, a match, people who work together really well, why not keep it alive? I don’t think anybody having seen A Godwink Christmas if we work together again will say, “Oh, these two? What, are you kidding me? What a nightmare!”

Oh, I have a feeling that good things are in store for both of you. I could be wrong.

No, I think so too. And I think we’re going to see Kimberley in a ton of lead roles now. She’s on Hallmark’s radar, with or without me. I have no doubt that she will be one of the main actresses in circulation.

Now, before we’re done here, is there anything else that is coming up or that has come out recently that you’d like to mention?

Paul Campbell, Kimberley Sustad, Ryan Alexander McDonald, Lucia Walters Credit: ©2018 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss

There was the recent Lifetime movie called The Girl In the Bathtub. It premiered last month on that network, and it will probably come back around again after the holidays if not before. This one is a little racier for Hallmark audiences. I didn’t do anything really racy. It’s based on a true story of a girl who was fairly promiscuous. It’s dark, and it’s about death. I wouldn’t expect a big crossover audience.

Well, you never know. I always remember the Lifetime movie that one of the more popular younger actors with Hallmark did, and the fans came over to see the film just for him. And there were some shirtless scenes, and while many of the fans didn’t watch all the darker elements of the film, they watched his part. So you might have fans who will look it up just to see your part. I’ve been known to do things like that before. 

I see, come for the story, stay for the shirtless scenes? That’s the story of my life.

A lot of fans may tune in. Or they may DVR is and just fast-forward through the scenes you’re not in. 

Right, those are the shirtless scenes. The shirtless scenes are the ones I’m not in. And that works for me.

{laughs} All right, good to know. Paul, thank you so much for your time. It was great getting to catch up with you and what you’re doing.

Ruth, thank you for your time as well. Truly a pleasure. And I hope everyone tunes in for A Godwinks Christmas that can. Fingers crossed that everyone is pleased with it.

Paul and family

To have a chat with Paul is always an entertaining, stimulating experience, and this interview was no exception. He is consistently quick-witted, but he is also incredibly supportive of his fellow actors. He doesn’t take himself too seriously, and once he knows that you “get” his humor, I believe even more of his hysterical antics often surface. In spite of his sarcasm and jocularity, he is also rather pragmatic and knowledgeable about the film/TV industry as a whole. I invariably welcome his insights and it is to his credit that his passion drives him to consistently create such exceptional work. No matter the role he undertakes, viewers can rest assured that Paul will undividedly embrace and embody the character and give an authentic performance that resonates with his audience on a variety of levels. Additionally, the fact that he and Kimberley are already combining forces and making plans to work more together is something that thrills me to no end, and I sincerely hope that Hallmark is amenable to their idea for this script as well as their continued partnership. 

I sincerely hope that everyone in the U.S. tunes in today (November 18th) to the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries premiere of A Godwink Christmas (sadly, there are no dates scheduled for Canada as of yet). Moreover, if you are new (or just need a refresher course) to the wild and wonderful world of Paul Campbell, be sure that you visit all of his links below and go ahead and hit that “follow” button on his social media accounts. (I promise that you DO NOT ever want to miss his updates!) Even though Paul can be quite a character at times and one may wonder if he is as crazy in real life as he appears to be (the jury is out on that right now), I can promise you that when it comes to his work and his passion for storytelling and acting, you couldn’t ask for a more committed, talented, genuine actor than Paul. However, as significant as his work is to him, he consistently places his family first and his son is practically his whole world. The fact that Paul has his priorities straight is something that absolutely impresses me, and I’m thoroughly honored to be able to support an exemplary young (yes, I still call him young!) man such as he!

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