I don’t recall the first actual movie in which I initially saw the actor Peter Graham-Gaudreau featured. His characters have often been a part of the supporting cast members in Hallmark movies (and a few Lifetime movies as well), but I do know that I officially learned his name thanks to the Lifetime Christmas movie, Poinsettias For Christmas. That movie prompted me to research who played the school principal, and upon learning just how many times I had seen him featured in films and shows, I knew I needed to reach out to him for an interview. We were able to schedule one over the Christmas holidays, and it is my honor to present our chat today in celebration of two of his recent works that were released just this week.

Photo by Bob New Photography

RH: Peter, it’s nice to chat with you today. It’s been so busy the past few months.

PG: Nice to chat with you too, Ruth. And I agree with you there. Hallmark put out so many Christmas movies this past season; it seems like they and the other networks just kept their movies coming.

Well, I notice you’ve been in a few Hallmark movies yourself. In fact, until I was researching you and your career, I wasn’t even aware of all you had done with the network.

Have I? I’m not sure. {laughs}

As Arnie Michaels in Love by Chance, with Beau Garrett (left) as my daughter Claire Michaels and my other daughter

I know, that’s always the struggle in Canada. Trying to figure out which movies are Hallmark and which ones aren’t. I mean, I would have thought Poinsettias For Christmas would have gone to Hallmark this past season, and yet it was a Lifetime movie.

I know that Lifetime is going very much the same way Hallmark is with some of their Christmas movies. My wife {Jennifer-Juniper Angeli} just did a Lifetime movie with Toni Braxton this past year. And I was thinking it was a Hallmark movie, but it was Lifetime. It is called Every Day is Christmas.

The Engineer in Miss Saigon

Yes, I finally got a chance to see that movie. It was fantastic. So, Peter, how did you get involved with acting?

Well, I had a really great theater teacher in high school. It was one of those lucky things where I was doing mostly sports. I transferred back to the high school in my hometown in grade eleven. I was just running around like a maniac playing sports, but this really great drama teacher said, “Hey, you, I think we’re going to put you in this.” So I was put in Camelot and a bunch of other plays. I also ended up in a band through a music program. So there I was singing and doing musicals in high school. She was an amazing drama teacher who was also a math teacher and ended up becoming the principal. She is also a pilot. She saw me and I think she thought that I needed some direction and she wanted to channel my energy towards something other than sports. Then she took us all to New York City and I saw The Elephant Man with John Hurt and a whole bunch of plays and musicals. For university, I got a sports scholarship, but I continued to do drama. And then eventually, I just decided to switch over to acting and study that.

I find it so interesting how many actors seem to have a sports background. Lots of times, because of an injury or something else, they have to go a different direction and not become a professional athlete. And that’s how they end up finding or rediscovering acting. 

As Ed Parker in Disney’s Pants on Fire, with my TV family – Bradley Steven Perry, Jill Teed, and Brittney Wilson

I think acting and sports are not that far off from each other. When I was in university, everyone thought they were completely unrelated. They thought it was absolutely insane that this guy who played every sport under the sun would also be going off and putting on the dance leotards and doing plays! But the reality is they are quite similar, especially theater. Because you go out and you prep, then you go out and you do it for two hours. Just like going out for a game. And once you’re out there, there’s no director or whatever.

as Dickie Schenkman with Stephen Baldwin in Slap Shot 2

Obviously, film is a little different. I met a number of athletes when I did Slap Shot 2 for Universal. They had a number of pro hockey players, including Dave Babych, who played for the NHL for decades. He is an amazing guy who was looking to shift into acting because his career in hockey was over and he felt that there was a similar kind of thing for him in the acting career. They put him in because he was a great hockey player, and he was always laughing about his acting skills. But he was a very sweet man, a great athlete, and a great guy. So I think there are a lot more similarities than people might think.

It’s something I have learned to see as well. I was a music teacher, and I can see how you have a group of people coming together like a sports team does.

with Audrey Smallman on Benchwarmers 2 set as Melanie Carmichael with her mom Dina and Peter as Howard

Yeah, that’s right. You’re coming into a very intense period like you do with sports games where you have to up your game. You have to be solid, centered, and work as a team. Just like this upcoming baseball movie I did with Lisa Durupt and many others called Benchwarmers 2. It was an amazing experience, but it’s not always that way. If you’ve got a film where people don’t come together, just like a sports team, it can fail miserably. Again, the pressure’s on to deliver, but you’ve prepped for it a long time.

What was your earliest significant film/TV job in the industry?

With my wife, American actress Jennifer Juniper-Angeli on Pumpkin Pie Wars. I played the husband of her best friend/rival.

Well, the first one that was really important to me…I had a bad car accident in 1994, so my whole journey changed quite a bit. I had to leave acting for a long time. I became a care worker for people with disabilities while I was recovering myself. There was a long lawsuit. So during that time, I learned two things. I learned to work behind the cameras, and I was a stand-in. I had primarily been doing theater up to that point and still doing some sports here and there. When I recovered from the accident, I found my way back. I had lost a lot of weight, and my whole body had changed.

as Dick Schenkman with The Hanson Brothers in Slap Shot 2

When I came back, I wrote a play–my wife and I did–and she and I made a short film out of it. I wrote the screenplay for it. And at the same time, I got cast in Slap Shot 2. Now, the original script for that film was really great, but I don’t think the movie turned out as well as was hoped. But the screenwriter and I became good friends. I got to play a wacky character and play a lot of hockey and be in training camp. I had always dreamed of going to the pros as a hockey player, and I ended up playing with the Hanson Brothers and guys that played in the pros. But instead of being a pro, it was as a bunch of goofball guys that are going nowhere. So that was an important time because I was coming out of seven or eight years since this car accident and I needed to get back in the game. I felt that this was a lucky break for me. At the same time, I met another great actor, Jonathan Scarfe and his wife. He’s a great theater actor. He was making a film, and at that time, they were still making films on 35mm. He gave me a whole wack of 35mm. I had a friend who was the director, and we shot my short film. We took that film to some festivals. Between that and the hockey film, it kind of boosted me into the film and TV world.

Now, I am attempting to figure out what your first Hallmark movie was. That can be difficult at times. 

Yeah, I think it was Mrs. Miracle.

I was gonna say that one!

On set of Pumpkin Pie Wars – as Reggie McArthy, with my wife Jennifer-Juniper Angeli as Lydia Harper, and our real-life kids Sapphire and River Angeli

Back during that time, Hallmark was doing as many films. But the fun with that was Doris Roberts. That was one where I had three or four lines, maybe and three or four days on set since I was one of the family members. The woman playing my wife was an excellent local actress, and she played the sister to the lead actress. As is always the case, things get resolved, and Doris Roberts plays a “Mrs. Doubtfire type character.”

And that movie is always a perennial favorite. We try to watch it every Christmas in our household. Doris Roberts was just so talented and fantastic in both of the Mrs. Miracle films she did for Hallmark.

as Pastor Wade with Diane Ladd on Chesapeake Shores

Yeah, she was lovely. I loved meeting her and talking with her. The same kind of thing was true when I was in Chesapeake Shores. The first episode I did was with Diane Ladd. I was playing the new pastor, and she has a secret that she’s not telling anyone in the family that has to do with her going back to Ireland. Sadly, they ended up cutting that whole scene from the episode, and it was such a shame because it was a really great backstory for her character. And she is such a force. But the great thing with Diane was just sitting around talking with her about her mom and what she called her “miracle daughter,” Laura Dern. Then I was talking about my dad, and Diane is a writer, so she was like, “You’ve got to write this story about your mom! Your mom’s story is amazing!” We had several hours where we got to sit around in this beautiful area by the ocean just gabbing. When it came time for us to do the scene, we felt like we had known each other forever. So even though our scene was ultimately cut, the best part is always the work. Just working with her and seeing how she dealt with things. I was coming in new, and while I wasn’t really nervous, you’re not on the same term with the regular cast of the show. But she made me feel really comfortable. And I saw how she worked the scene and talked it through. She is a really confident, forthright person who always makes sure she does her best with the work she is given and to even make it better. And it’s just so great working with someone like that because it’s all about making the scene better.

But I was glad they didn’t cut my stuff with Treat Williams because that was a great scene, and it was an emotional scene that he had to deliver. He was bang on, and we didn’t really have any time to chat before we did the scene. I knew it was all on him, but still, you want to get your part right and to be in the right place for him to deliver his emotional scene. His scene took place at the grave of his father, and he actually addresses his deceased father. I was glad they kept that scene in. It’s astonishing the actors that Hallmark gets. Such top-level actors, and to get a chance to work with them is really sweet because that doesn’t really happen for someone like me unless you get cast in a feature. Getting cast on TV is not usually opposite these legendary actors.

On set of Poinsettias for Christmas with my son River

So I did see you in Poinsettias For Christmas. I’m sure a lot of Hallmark fans did. I know your role was small, but it was memorable, and it’s what prompted me to look you up. 

As Principal Edwards on Poinsettias for Christmas, with director Christie Will Wolf and 1st AD Troy Scott

That was a nice one. I had actually read for the role that ended up going to John Schneider. Which if you’re going to lose out to someone, at least it was him. {laughs} It was such a great relationship between the daughter and the dad in this movie. Then the director, Christie Will, asked if I would consider doing a small part, I said, “Absolutely!” I really like her. Then I asked if it was okay for my son to come on as an extra in one of the scenes because he’s been doing some acting. They were like, “No problem.” So he came to work with me that day, and he got to work with Marcus {Rosner}, the male lead. It was this whole gingerbread house scene that was fun for him. There was a whole whack of kids. It was a sunny day, and I remember we were all playing baseball.

as Reverend Oliver in Hope at Christmas

The other one I was in was Hope At Christmas. They asked me to read for the mayor, and that role went to a friend of mine, Jan Bos, who is awesome. So I played the reverend. And again, it was such a bummer because we had this whole singing scene where we sang “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” We did the song with the whole choir and a whole church full of people. They only sang up to five days, but because my family and I always do this big benefit for one of the centers in downtown Vancouver, we do that song all the time at Christmas. So I thought it was great we got to do that song. And then they cut the whole song. It turned out that they had me say how my favorite song was “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” and they cut to the outside of the church. I’m not sure why that happened if it was because of time or whatever, but it happens. But it was fun to be a part of the film and to be in this crazy old church. Some of the stuff in that church had come from King Henry’s time. The windows had come from England. It’s a beautiful old church.

I do notice you have a couple things that have just come out.

Lee Madjoub, Jill Morrison, Zak Santiago, Donovan Wolf and Peter on Benchwarmers 2

Yes, Benchwarmers 2 is officially out today, as a matter of fact.

I have so many friends who are a part of that film!

Yeah, we had a big team. Zak Santiago and Crystal Lowe and a whole bunch of people that you would know. I guess the main team is nine of us. My character is Howard, the pitcher. Then, of course, there’s Jon Lovitz and Chris Klein. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but it was a gas. We got to play baseball for like a month. That was a fun, great cast, and the kids that are in it are just great kids. It was just a great experience all around. So it’s out on DVD today, and it’s supposed to be on Netflix in early February as far as I know. This movie is written by the guy who wrote Liar, Liar {Stephen Mazur}. They started to develop it a little further as they went along. The director, Jonathan A. Rosenbaum, is a great guy who I’ve worked with a few times before, and as usually happens, they had to change a few things as we went along. But it got funnier and got more heart. So I think it will be a funny family film. Which is hard to find in this day and age.

with Katie Cassidy, who plays Laurel Lance on Arrow

Then my episode of Arrow just aired on January 28th. The director of my episode, “Past Sins,” is one of the stars of the show as well, David Ramsey. My character is Brett Collins. It was a great experience to be a part of that show. I worked a lot with Katie Cassidy. She’s the daughter of David Cassidy. She’s great, and it was lovely getting to work with her. I think the only other CW show I’ve done is Life Unexpected, and that was a pretty heavy part. Kristoffer Polaha and Britt Robertson were wonderful in that show. I played an abusive step-foster-father in that show.

That is a show I plan to look up since I know it’s on Netflix now. One of these days soon I plan to binge watch it. 

It was a very well-told story, and I think you’ll like it.

Peter, thank you for taking the time to chat today. I am looking forward to watching Arrow (it’s on my DVR) and Benchwarmers 2 and anything else that comes up for you this year.

Thank you, Ruth. I appreciate your support and all the support of the fans. I hope everyone enjoys Benchwarmers 2 and Arrow! I sure enjoyed filming them.

Our family, with new puppy Viva

One of the things I most appreciate about Peter is his humble demeanor and unmistakable eagerness to work in whatever capacity in the industry that he is able to. While the preponderance of actors typically long for the most meaningful roles and characters into which they can truly sink their teeth, they realize this is a competitive industry in which camaraderie and mutual support is the only way to thrive. While it is evident that it was invariably a disappointment when a role was lost out to someone else or one of his scenes happened to be cut, at the end of the day, Peter is a true professional who wants nothing more than to do the work and support his fellow actors in the business. Additionally, his family is the most important thing to him (we actually had to reschedule a couple of times due to family commitments), and that further assures me that his priorities and values are in the correct place. Indeed, I am grateful that I discovered that he is not only a talented actor, but a very generous and kind man as well who has an extensive supply of amazing experiences and stories he can relate in a rather entertaining fashion.

I hope that everyone will take a moment and check out the links below and consider following Peter on social media if you are so inclined. It would also be fantastic if you looked up his works (as well as his most recent appearances in Arrow and Benchwarmers 2) and perhaps let him (and Hallmark) know how much you appreciate his acting abilities in the various works in which you have probably seen him over the years. I certainly hope that one of these days we will see him in a Hallmark or Lifetime movie in a more significant role (maybe he and Mark Brandon can play brothers or friends who are rivals for the same amazing lady). Regardless, I plan to make it a point to watch for his name in any upcoming works, no matter the network, and I hope that many of my Hallmark friends follow my lead!

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As Howard Pitchman, with Jon Lovitz on Benchwarmers 2

Peter as Howard Pitchman, with Chris Klein on Benchwarmers 2

With Liam Hughes
Benchwarmers 2

Singing with Audrey Smallman at the Benchwarmers 2 wrap party

With director David Ramsey, who also plays John Diggle on Arrow

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