For those who know me, it should come as no shock just how much I love Paul Greene! I have done two interviews with him that still dominate the top five all-time popular posts on this site. When Paul contacted me last week from Costa Rica to ask if I’d like to do another interview with him in light of his upcoming Hallmark movie premiere, My Favorite Wedding, I couldn’t write back quickly enough. And when he said that he would be driving through the jungles of Costa Rica while conducting this interview, I laughed and thought, “Only Paul Greene.” And indeed, he is a one-of-a-kind person, actor, father, boyfriend, son, friend and so much more. And if this interview does not cement for you the type of human being he is, I may recommend someone takes your pulse to make sure you’re still alive!

Photo: Paul Greene Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Ricardo Hubbs

RH: Thank you so much, Paul, for taking time from your retreat in Costa Rica to talk with us.

PG: My pleasure.

We will discuss your upcoming movie in a moment, but I know a lot of Hearties are asking about next season’s When Calls the Heart. What would you like to see from your character next season?

{laughs} What would I like to see from my character? I haven’t had a whole lot of time to figure it out yet. I really hope they give me lots of variety and diversity with my character this upcoming season. I would even like to see some comedy now that I’ve made peace with my past and my wife’s death. I am looking forward to some brighter, more humorous moments and that I will get to use my whole toolbox as an actor. My character had to work through a lot last year, but I’m ready for some adventure. We are in the wild west, so I know there is adventure for us men in this town.

I can’t even begin to imagine what may happen with the love sector and relationships.  My character needs time to recover from his wife’s death and that situation, so I don’t imagine there will be much of that. My hopes are just to play lots of scenes with Jack Wagner, Lori {Loughlin}, Erin {Krakow}–just a lot of diversity. That’s what I’m most excited about. We all know my character’s coming back, and he’s setting up a doctor’s office. The railroad is in town, and I know people are going to be injured, but…you know how back then the doctor was one of the central characters in town, and they went to him with all their secrets, and the doctor was someone they could really trust. I hope my character is like a pastor in a way where people can share their secrets, what they would only tell their doctor. So those are my hopes for next season. And I hope I get to use my horse ’cause I love my horse. I love being out in the woods because personally, I love nature. I would love if Carson had to go treat someone who was injured in the woods. I would love that. I so enjoyed the scenes I did last season with Erin and Lori. They’re such great actors, and I’m looking forward to lots of scenes with both of them.

I think we all loved those scenes last season too, but some of my favorites were the lighter scenes you had with the kids.

Photo: Lori Loughlin, Carter Ryan Evancic, Paul Greene Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Ricardo Hubbs

Yes, I love working with the kids, and I love being able to use my sense of humor with them.  Maybe if Carson has to treat one of the kids who gets sick or something like that–I would love to have more scenes with them.

I know that Saturday you have your next movie coming up My Favorite Wedding. 

I guess you’re right. Boy, they come around quick. It seems we only wrapped a couple weeks ago. This will be the fastest turnaround yet.

What can you tell us about your character and storyline without spoiling anything?

Photo: Paul Greene Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: David Dolsen

My character is quite unlike any of the other characters I’ve played on Hallmark so far. I’m a divorce lawyer. Imagine a divorce lawyer at a wedding–there’s going to be some pretty funny, oppositional moments that will add a lot of comedy to the film. My leading lady was Maggie Lawson, who has done a lot. She’s done Psych and she was in another series called Angel From Hell. She’s great, and she’s very funny. Our dialogue is super quick and witty. Our director was Mel {Damski}, and they had worked together on Psych for many years.  I fit right in, and we hit it off immediately.

Photo: Peter Benson; Paul Greene Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: David Dolsen

My character has quite a past around marriage. I don’t think it’s giving away too much to say that I was stood up at a wedding, not right at the wedding but bailed on right before the wedding. And it caused me to view everything about weddings as a big waste of time and money. Of course, Maggie’s character, Tess, is so in love with the whole romantic dream of marriage. We couldn’t be more opposite. We have a lot of funny moments come up because of how opposite we are.  One of my character’s best friends is getting married to one of Maggie’s character’s best friends. The movie shows a lot of things that happen as we’re getting ready for the wedding. We’re forced to go on all these trips together into town, and all I want to do is go golfing and fishing and do all the things with the boys, but I keep getting roped into driving her around to do all these errands. Again, there are some pretty funny situations, and eventually, she and I start to have some things in common. But we have to start out incredibly funny by being opposite. It’s really fun.

Photo: Paul Greene, Maggie Lawson Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: David Dolsen

That sounds like a different kind of role for you then we’ve seen you in. 

Yeah, a little bit I guess. When you bring any two actors together, the dynamics are always going to be a little bit different. It’s the magic of film when you bring everybody together and they’re working together and understanding the bigger vision of what we’re doing. Working with any of these girls brings out a different side of me. I’ve also been working with a different acting coach. and so I approached this character from a different perspective. I created such a life for him, and I didn’t worry about memorizing my lines too much. Wow–I wish I had a video I could show you what I’m looking at. These views of Costa Rica are amazing.

I can imagine. I have not been to Costa Rica, but I can imagine it must be gorgeous. 

Oh yeah, it’s outrageous. Anyway yes, my character is slightly different, and what makes it different is the dynamics, the chemistry, and the writing. And the adventures are different. Our chemistry is different than any of the other ones as well. It was very snappy and quirky and funny. It was just great. She’s an awesome actor. I loved working with Maggie. I think this might be her second Hallmark film, {I think it’s her first from what I can tell.} I’m not sure. It might be her first. But I think the Hallmark fans are going to love her.

I am sure you’re right. What I’ve found is that while every Hallmark movie may not be an absolute favorite, I can almost always find something enjoyable in it. I’m sure there will be something we can connect with. And of course, it’s always good to see you in anything. That’s always a plus.

Well, thank you. I had an absolute blast shooting this one. My approach to it was so different. It was fun to mix it up that way. Not to stress about work, but know what you really want from the other actor and what the bigger picture of the story was that you’re telling. It was a slightly different tweak to my approach, and I enjoyed doing it a lot.

It sounds good to me. And it also sounds like a good way to end the June Weddings since this is the last of those films. We’ve had really fantastic films, and now we’ve got yours as the big ending. 

I love that they put ours as the last one. I think that’s a good spot. {laughs}

I had a fan who asked me specifically about a picture you posted on Instagram with Antonio Cupo. At the time, she thought it might be from My Favorite Wedding, but as it doesn’t look like he’s in My Favorite Wedding, she wanted to know if there was anything you could tell us about the picture. Are you two working together?

There might be something in the works. It’s top secret. He’s not in My Favorite Wedding, but he and another one of my producer friends who worked with me on Anything For Love–we have another project that might be a Christmas project that we might be chatting/have chatted with the brass at Hallmark about for sure. That’s all I can say.

Your response, Paul, is exactly what she wanted to hear. 

We can always share a lot about the films. There’s a formula to these films that people expect, right? If I told you that Maggie and I figure out a love for each other at some point, no one’s going to be thinking I spoiled a film. They know what a romantic comedy looks like, and that’s why they watch it. They want to see how we overcome these obstacles, and most of the time, they figure out that these two people are great for each other though at first, they didn’t think so.

I know you got to contribute music to your last Hallmark film Campfire Kiss. Did that happen at all in My Favorite Wedding?

I played a lot of music on the set. The director and I were messing around, and there was a piano I got to hang out on. But nothing in the movie. I still gotta find that perfect movie where I get to do a lot of my music and have a great story. It will come. I just have to find the right project and the right team to do it with. Maybe it will be Hallmark, or maybe it will be something else. But that’s my ultimate dream to play a lot of music in a film and have that be part of it.

I think that is something we all would be very excited about, so we’re all pulling for you too. It will happen eventually. It’s just finding the right thing. I know exactly how that goes. 

I love the opportunity to do music in these things. I don’t know if you saw my film, Sweet Home Carolina. It’s not on Hallmark. I got to play my guitar on that, and one of my songs made it into the film.

That is on my list to watch. I haven’t actually had a chance to watch it, but thankfully summer is here, and I’m going to be watching a lot of stuff this summer. 

I think you’ll like it. It’s a little more drama than the Hallmark ones, but I would love for our Hallmark audience to go check it out. I think they’ll like it. My girlfriend said it’s awesome.  I know it’s available on Amazon and some other streaming services as well. The girl I did it with, Heather McComb, is a terrific actress. She’s done some Lifetime movies and also Ray Donovan. She’s a great actress. I’m so lucky to get to work with all these awesome girls.

Well, they’re lucky to get to work with you too, Paul.

Oh, that’s so nice of you to say, Ruth.

Well, I’m just speaking the truth. When you messaged me the other day to set up this interview, I thought, “How cool is this? One of my favorite people in the whole world sends me a message and says they want to talk to me.” Well, sure! 

Aw, that’s great. I just wanted to make sure the PR was in place for this one. These films doing really well is important to me because then I get to make more. The better they do, the more press that they do, the more buzz there is, the better they do, and we get to make more. I’m very proactive with this. I make sure that the word gets out. Sometimes people get overwhelmed, and I want to make sure everyone knows about these films and supports them.

I feel that same way. I know how busy everyone is, and if I can help out, that’s great. And then you’re proactive. That’s fantastic. {pause} Now there was a really great fan question I wanted to be sure to include. If you had to pick a song to play at a wedding, what song do you think you’d pick?

Oh, that is a great question. If I would play a song at a wedding…. I love Hallelujah. I know that’s not really a wedding song, but I love the visual images of that song. I may have to think about that for awhile and message you the answer. I know there’s one on the tip of my tongue, but I’m driving right now and I need time to think.

Actually, Katie {his girlfriend} just came up with a really good idea. Before I got on the phone, she and I were talking about what we could do to make this interview different and even more exciting. I will record a video of the song once I figure it out. Let’s see if we can make that happen.

That would be phenomenal!

We have a few days to do it, and our scenery is the kind of gorgeous scenery people dream about. So I’ll make the video with this beautiful scenery as the backdrop.

Oh, Paul, that is so nice of you to offer to do that. Thank you. 

You’re welcome. I’m glad you made me think about what I would play at a wedding. I’ve never really thought about it.

I’ll have to be sure to thank the fan {Lori Pearson} for that awesome question.

Message me her name, and I’ll be sure to thank her at the beginning of the video.

I will definitely do that.

That’s great. My intention with our interview was to make it a little different and add another dimension to it. My girlfriend, Kate, is full of good ideas, and this is one of them. I should make her a T-shirt that says, “I’m just full of good ideas.”

As to this movie, I don’t think I have much more than I can say except that this movie is slightly different. It is the same as the ones that I love the most in that they are classic and their pacing is like the old film noir where they have a very classic timing to them. Our director was really good at pushing us to have our conversation be very much like real life. It’s going to be one of those films that you’re going to want to watch again because it has a very classic feel. I’ve seen it a couple times already, and I think people are going to love this movie.

Thank you so much for your time, Paul. I greatly appreciate it. 

Oh, and tell your daughter congrats for all the awards she won. That’s got to make you proud, and tell her that “Paul says he’s proud too. Awesome!”

By way of explanation, the first conversation Paul and I had got cut off, but before that brief call ended, he asked me how I was doing, and when I mentioned how my daughter (who is the same age as his son) had received all these awards, he wanted to know all about them. In spite of the fact that we were interrupted and had to get reconnected a bit later, he didn’t forget what he had discussed, and he made it a point to pass those words on to me for my daughter (and it did mean a lot to her, by the way). 

Since Paul was going above and beyond the call of duty with his promotions and time (even interrupting his vacation time), I knew I wanted to do something special for him as well. And that is exactly why this video is here. This is a tribute to this wonderful actor and human being that continually shares his life with all of us on so many levels. So while we await the premiere of My Favorite Wedding on Saturday, June 24th on the Hallmark Channel, enjoy the video below. And Paul, know that we Hallmarkies love you unconditionally and will continue to support you as long as there is life and breath in us!

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