The year was 2016, and I was reviewing a Hallmark movie right before it premiered on the network (that’s what I used to do before all these interview opportunities came along). Enter tall, dark, and handsome Benjamin Ayres, and I somehow knew Hallmark had struck gold. By the time he appeared on Hallmark again, I was an established entertainment journalist. I reached out to him and asked for an interview, and he politely declined. To be honest, I cannot tell you how many times I have encountered that response, and while I never badger the actor until they agree, I am known as a particularly persistent person in many areas of my life. When Ben was announced as the leading actor opposite Ali Sweeney for her new mystery series Chronicle Mysteries, I decided (with some hesitancy) to request an interview with him yet again. This time, Ben was not as quick to turn me down. In fact, I began to witness the glimmer of hope for which I had been waiting. After all, he is a kind-hearted gentleman, and it troubled him to keep refusing my offers. He agreed to a sort of interview, but his schedule was so unpredictable that scheduling anything seemed like a bit of a nightmare. Well, my dear readers, it just so happens that Ben and I finally spoke this past week, and today, I am elated to share my first (and definitely not last) interview with the brilliantly gifted Benjamin Ayres in anticipation of the new Chronicle Mysteries premiere on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries tonight (August 25th)!

Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: David Starbuck/Alexx Henry Studios, LLC.

RH: Ben, thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. I’m so glad it worked out.

BA: Ruth, I’m glad we get to finally talk after all these years of playing “Instagram tag.”

I tell you, Ben, I’m grateful too. Whenever I mention to someone that I am trying to get an interview with you, people are like, “We don’t know anything about him.” It’s clear that people want to know something about you. The fans know who you are and they’ve seen you in these movies here and there, but you appear to be a man of mystery. 

Photo Credit: Kyle Cassie

You know, I don’t do a lot of these interviews. I believe when we first started communicating, I was thinking, “There’s a lot of people out there you can interview,” but I wasn’t sure it was really my thing. But then I started to read a lot of your interviews. You’ve interviewed so many of my good friends. Sometimes trying to find more time in my schedule can be difficult. But I wasn’t sure I really wanted to talk to you–just kidding! {laughs} Of course, that wasn’t the case.

No, I do understand. I’ve dealt with so many actors who are very much like you. You’re not the only one who isn’t sure they want to do an interview.

Oftentimes I feel like my work speaks for me. And it can be hard. You just don’t want to talk about yourself. Sure, I know a lot of actors who love to talk about themselves. But I’m not one of those who like to do it very often. But I’m happy to be talking to you now.

I’m glad to talk to you too. It’s been fun to see all the different things you’ve been a part of. And now I get to talk with you and learn a little more about you.

I appreciate you watching and especially supporting these shows and the actors who do them. You have supported so many actors over the years, and you continue to support them and do these incredible interviews. I appreciate you taking the time to do that.

I enjoy getting to do this and supporting all of you.

Right on. I guess that would be a real bummer if you didn’t enjoy it.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t be doing if I didn’t enjoy it. So, Ben, how did you get started in acting?

Benjamin Ayres Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Kailey Schwerman

I’m from a small town in British Columbia, Canada. Growing up, it was never something that I thought I could do. I didn’t know anybody else that was doing it. I know many actors in LA, and I mean, when you can grow up in a city where you can see examples of it, you might say, “Hey, maybe I’ll go dabble in that and see how it goes.” But for me, I didn’t even realize it was something I could do.

When I was twenty-two, I moved to Vancouver to pursue acting. I had graduated from high school and started a theater program in college. I thought I was going to be a drama teacher. That was probably what I was on track to do.

But then I was like, “Oh, but I really love golf as well.” So I worked on a golf course for a long time, and I thought, “You know, I think I’m gonna become a golf course superintendent.” It was a great job. I could have the winters off and travel. I love to travel. In fact, for four years back then, I did a lot of traveling through Southeast Asia and Australia.

While I was out there, I decided that ultimately what I wanted to do was to become an actor. I looked a few different programs and found a teacher in Vancouver that I really wanted to study with. I moved to Vancouver, and that’s how my career began.

Photo Credit: Kyle Cassie

I started out with commercials and small parts on TV shows like lots of actors do. The first big thing I did was for a commercial, and I remember auditioning for it. It was for Mitsubishi Montero. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with that vehicle, but I don’t think they make them anymore. This was when Mitsubishi was making its own SUV. It was one of my first auditions. I walked in, and I was a huge fan of Fight Club at the time. So I walked in with my cool Brad Pitt leather jacket. I remember the director going, “Oh man, that jacket reminds me of Brad Pitt from Fight Club!” And I was like, “Cool!” And the next thing I know, I got that part. I remember laughing at that and thinking what a very interesting first job to get. I had never done commercials before, and this first one paid a lot of money–way more than I ever thought you could get paid in the industry. I was very fortunate to start my career with something like that. I know a lot of actors get hooked on their first thing, and this commercial was played all over the United States. It was a huge U.S. national commercial, and it helped me pay for school for the next four years. I supplemented my income by being a bartender. But for me, that commercial was a signal that said, “This is what you’re supposed to do.’

From there, I kept training and doing a lot of theater. We’re covering a lot with this question. I hope that’s all right.

Oh, you’re doing fine, Ben. 

Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

It’s interesting for me to go back. Sometimes I don’t even think about how I got to where I am. It’s been such a slow, steady progress. You’re always trying to manage the expectations of what you thought it was going to be and what it is actually and where it is now.

I honestly am enjoying hearing about how you got started. I always find that fascinating because I have discovered that in this business, no two people have the same exact story. There are similarities, but no one has the same exact way that they ended up becoming an actor. 

Saving Hope

I think this profession is not as clear cut as so many jobs out there. It’s not like being a lawyer where you go to law school and then you become a lawyer. Acting kind of finds you, and then you have to chase it. In acting, not everyone become successful in what they think that success is going to be. If you go through law school, then most likely, you’re going to get a job in law. If you go through an acting program, you might not ever act. {laughs} You might get to do some small community theater. It doesn’t quite compute the same way. If you’re a CEO and you lose your job, you know you can find another CEO job to plug into. There’s a level system–like the corporate ladder–and you continue to climb it.  But we don’t have any kind of ladder like that in acting. From the outside, it might appear like that sometimes on that show or this show. But in between those two shows were months of nothing. Lots of auditioning and not being too sure what’s gonna happen. So I think that’s why every actor’s path is different.

SAVING HOPE — “Out of Sight” Episode 105 — Pictured: (l-r) Erica Durance as Alex Reid, Benjamin Ayres as Zachary Miller — (Photo by: Steve Wilkie/NBC)

And sometimes I think back too, and remember how I wanted to be a doctor. Or being a lawyer would be cool. I really wanted to an astronaut. I would have loved to have been a cop. But I remember thinking that as an actor, you kinda get to do all those things. And I’ve been lucky. I got to be a doctor for five seasons on the show Saving Hope, and it was a real crash course in medicine. I started to feel like I was a doctor. Then I got to go over to Burden Of Truth, and I got to play a lawyer. And now I’m a journalist on Chronicle Mysteries. It’s really fun to get to jump around to all these different careers that would be sort of impossible to do in real life.

Burden of Truth

I remember taking my daughter to the dentist. The doctor knew that I was an actor, and we talked about Saving Hope. The hygienist was in the room, and she was new, and she was listening to the conversation. All she heard was that I was an ER doctor, and now I’m a lawyer. After I left, she said to the dentist, “Can you believe it? He’s so young and so accomplished. First, he was an ER doctor, and then he quit that and went to law school, and he’s now a lawyer.” And the dentist started laughing. “He’s an actor. He played a doctor, and now he plays a lawyer!” {laughs} It was so hilarious. But that’s the cool thing about being an actor is you get to jump around. That’s what really interested me about Chronicle Mysteries. It was the fact that I could play a journalist, and then as a huge podcast fan, I was excited to get to jump on board this ship.

Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

And of course, we’re loving you on Chronicle Mysteries. We’ve loved the three we’ve seen so far, and the fourth one is coming up this Sunday! 

Yes, and this one is a good one. I always find myself saying that each one is my favorite for different reasons. I like the first one because it introduces the characters. With the second one, we start to understand the characters’ world a bit. And the third one continues on from there. But with this fourth one, we have kind of dialed back the story a bit, and we focus on some things that we’re really excited about. We see more of the relationship between these two main characters, and I think the fans are really gonna like it.

Now, Hallmark fans were actually introduced to you in a couple of films on the Hallmark Channel before you joined Chronicle Mysteries. 

Photo: Beau Garrett (Claire), Benjamin Ayres (Eric) Credit: Copyright 2016 Crown Media United States, LLC/Photographer: Eike Schroter

Yes, the first Hallmark movie I did was called Love By Chance with Brenda Strong and Beau Garrett. It was the first thing I had done for Hallmark as a leading man. That sort of straddling drama and comedy is what I love to do best. I really think it’s one of my strong suits. When that script came, I was like, “This is really fun.”

Benjamin Ayres Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Kailey Schwerman

And the same thing with Falling For Vermont. There’s nothing better than when you get to play the awkwardness of moments and have fun within the comedy realm of drama as well. I’ve been lucky to get great scripts and fantastic actresses to work with that like to do the same kinds of roles. We’ve always had great chemistry while being able to do those things.

With Peter Benson

Going back to Chronicle Mysteries, I have talked to Peter Benson, Rebecca Staab, Dave Collette, and I even interviewed Ali Sweeney during her Murder, She Baked days. And I interviewed Melissa Salmons as well. And every one of them says how incredible you are and what a great actor you are. They always rave about you. 

Well, I pay them a lot of money to say that.

Oh, okay. 

{laughs} So that’s how that works. Be sure to let me know at the end what I owe you so you’ll say nice things about me too. {In case you didn’t realize it, Ben was joking!}

{laughs} Okay, I definitely will. Now, I don’t think you had worked with Ali before this movie series.

With Ali at TCA’s

No, I had not. But you know I have been lucky enough to have a few things come across our team’s desk as far as projects to do with Hallmark. There were a couple of murder mysteries that had been around, and this one in particular really excited me because of a few things. One, my love for podcasts. Two, having not worked with Ali Sweeney, only heard amazing things about her. And three, mostly the fact that she created the idea and was an executive producer on it and that they don’t come from books. That, to me, was all really exciting and fun, and it’s been a very collaborative process for me to get to work with her on this series. We pitch ideas together and try to come up with future scripts. We solve all sorts of problems as we’re going. She’s just so fun, open, creative, and just great to work with. I’m happy that this one took off. It had really stood out to me for all those reasons.

I understand you had known Dave for a long time. 

Ben, David, and Peter

Yeah, I’ve known Dave and Peter forever. We all kinda started acting together. We’ve been on the stage together. We’ve written our own short films. Peter has written and directed feature films that we’re in. When I was there for the last Chronicle Mysteries, we had a guy’s getaway where we drove down to Seattle and spent the night. We see each other all the time. In fact, I had to come back early because I’m working these next two days, and my kids and wife stayed with Peter and Julia {Benson} and their kids last night and this morning. I actually texted him and said I was chatting with you today, and he said, “She’s awesome. Tell her I said ‘hi.'” But yes, we are really tight, and that was another huge plus for me. I told Dave, “Hey, I think I’m going to be booking a series that will be shooting out in Vancouver. It’s called Chronicle Mysteries.” And he was like, “Oh, man, that’s awesome! It will be so great to have our buddy back in town.” And then four days later, he asked, “Hey, man, what’s the name of the series you’re doing?” I said, “Chronicle Mysteries.” He was like, “I think I’m gonna be doing that too.” I was like, “Come on!!” It was pretty exciting when he booked it as well and we got to hang out on set.

Alison Sweeney, Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

And, of course, the one Peter Benson guest-starred on…I know that one was like a dream for you guys. 

I remember saying to Ali, “You know, a good friend of mine, Peter Benson, is coming in and auditioning for a role in our next Chronicle Mysteries movie.” And she said, “I don’t know if I can take the energy of another one of you guys on set.” Then he came in and just killed it, and she was like, “Oh man!” She texted me and was like, “Oh man, he’s a really good actor! So I guess I can deal with it!” We were all laughing about it. I mean, we all hang out at lunch, and we listen to podcasts and talk about whatever. So it was fun to have him there and have the four of us hanging out together on set.

Benjamin Ayres, Alison Sweeney Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

I think the fans are finally warming up to Chronicle Mysteries. I’m sure you know that before this series, Ali was on a well-loved mystery series called  Murder, She Baked. It was very successful and had a huge fan following. I knew she was involved with Chronicle Mysteries from the very beginning. I knew it was her idea, and I was really excited about it. But some of the fans were very disappointed that there weren’t going to be any more Murder, She Baked movies. Thankfully, I seem to be hearing less and less of that. 

Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

Well, I’ll tell ya that I wasn’t that familiar with the Murder, She Baked series. She mentioned the situation and the motivation behind Chronicle Mysteries. But then people were asking about the characters in Murder, She Baked because they were supposed to be getting married and they wanted to see their wedding. And that’s when I said, “Ali, people really love the Murder, She Baked series.” And I get it.

One of the things I really love about Hallmark is that it’s kind of like a big studio system. The same actors appear in multiple movies and series. They overlap in these various shows, and I think that’s pretty cool. But I think it’s quite easy to get attached to a certain actor as a character. And once you introduce another male lead actor, it can be a bit complicated. You wonder where the other relationship went, and then when you see them with a different lead actor, you’re like, “You’re cheating on him!” Which, of course, doesn’t really mean anything to me, but I respect their feelings because I understand the situation.

With Chronicle Mysteries, we tried to go a little bit darker, and we tried some things in the first couple of movies, and now we have made some adjustments. If you remember, we filmed three, and then all three of them aired. That’s when we saw how they did, and then we were able to make adjustments here and there. When we watched the final versions of the first three, we were able to see what might be missing or what might need to be changed. We decided to sprinkle in some sugar and add a little more salt, and that’s kind of what the next one will be like.

Alison Sweeney, Rebecca Staab, Benjamin Ayres, Olivia Steele Falconer Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

Also, back to Murder, She Baked, how many movies did they make? Like five? That’s five movies, and they reair all the time. At this point, we’ve really only done the three Chronicle Mysteries movies, and the fourth is out this weekend. Hopefully, the more Chronicle Mysteries we do, the more people will be apt to get over the other series and move on with ours. But we definitely respect and understand what the fans are feeling.

I get exactly what you’re saying. I think most of the fans are moving on, and I’m pleased to see that shift happening. I think that if most people go into this series with an open mind, they may find this series is just amazing. I know that can be a hard thing to do sometimes, especially when you love the old series. But I think once people really give it a chance…I see a lot more responses that show people are truly connecting with this new series. I’ve noticed a lot of people are excited about this one coming up.

Alison Sweeney, Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

I’ve noticed that too. And what I noticed before is that there were a few very strong voices at work who were saying, “We want the other one back.” And again, I understand and respect their feelings. But I agree that a good share of people seem to be positively excited about this next Chronicle Mysteries. And I have a really good feeling that they’re gonna like it. It’s a great story. I would say that Melissa wrote a really great one as she always does.

Without giving away anything, is there anything you can tease about this upcoming Chronicle Mysteries movie?

Benjamin Ayres, Alison Sweeney Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

So with this next one, there’s a murder that takes place right at the beginning. And what’s fun about this one and something I really like is that it is kind of a race-against-the-clock court case that’s happening. Basically, there is a wife who is on trial for murder of her husband, and we need to try to get as much information as we can to help her because we believe that she is innocent. We’ve only got four days to find the necessary information. So we’re working at The Chronicle 24/7. We’re not getting any sleep. It’s just quick pow-wow, Chinese foods, and chopsticks, and we gotta keep going. So it’s got a really fun pace to it. It was really fun for us to play the immediacy of it.

From all the previews, it looks great, and I’m very interested to see it. In fact, this past Sunday, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries had a preview show where they overviewed all the mystery series coming up. They didn’t say much about Chronicle Mysteries, but they showed a bit of a teaser for it. Now, speaking of this next one, I think the fans are also going to be interested in the romantic issues of the storyline. We’ve been seeing a bit of a love triangle between Drew, Alex, and Fireman Sean { Toby Levins}. And we knew Toby from Murder, She Baked because he played Ali’s brother-in-law. 

Rebecca Staab, Olivia Steele Falconer, Benjamin Ayres, Alison Sweeney Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

I’ll tell you that one thing about Ali is that when she finds actors she really likes to work with, she continues to hire them. She had worked with Dave before in a Christmas movie. In fact, Melissa had written that part for Dave. Ali loves working with Toby, and so she brought him in for Chronicle Mysteries.

Speaking of the romantic situations in this next Chronicle Mysteries, I’m not going to say much except to say that the fans need to watch. There hasn’t been a lot of romance going on for Ali’s character yet, and yes, she is caught in a bit of a love triangle. I don’t think my character is too happy about Sean always showing up, and I think Sean isn’t too happy either. My character has a daughter and an ex-wife, and we don’t know everything that’s going on in that situation. But we know that since this is Hallmark, something is bound to develop between Drew and Alex. It’s almost impossible for something not to happen. But the fans have to watch to see what that something is.

Benjamin Ayres, Alison Sweeney Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

So far, the series has spent so much time focused on the murders and “who dunnit” that there wasn’t a lot of room left for relationships. And any of the room that was left didn’t focus much on anything developing between Alex and Drew. I think some questioned whether Drew was even ready to make a move. In fact, I was thinking that if he wanted to make a move, he’d better go ahead and do it before someone else beats him to it. It’s really hard to have such a complex relationship going on when there’s so many other things happening. We wanted to make sure that we had a couple of scenes to truly define who we are as characters and what our characters want in life. There needs to be a good conversation between the two of them that has nothing to do with the case. Thankfully, I think the audience is going to notice that we found a couple of great scenes for that in this next one. So I think this movie is going to give the audience what they want and what they were looking for and maybe what they didn’t even realize was missing from the formula. I think it’s the relationship that people really want. There will still be things that pull these two apart, but I think everyone wants to see these two start to come together.

That sounds interesting, Ben, and I look forward to seeing what the viewers think. The response should be very interesting.

Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: David Starbuck/Alexx Henry Studios, LLC.

I think it will be very interesting indeed. I’m sure there will still be people thinking she needs to go back and be with her fiance from Murder, She Baked. I did actually see one of those movies finally. And yes, Ali is really sweet in those, but the movies are more about the whole family. And I think that’s why people strongly connect with Drew and Kendall. There’s that whole family dynamic there. In fact, they started writing more for us. We’ve got some great stuff between us in this next one. It’s really sweet. I think we found the formula that’s really gonna work for the show. I hope everybody loves it, and if it lands the way we think it’s gonna land, then I think we’ll be making many more of these.

That’s great! I know that the ultimate plan is to lots more of these for many years to come. From everyone I’ve talked to there seems to be plenty of material for you guys. 

Very true. The wealth of knowledge that Ali has on it all is amazing. She pulls it in from here, a bit from there, and then pulls together these fabulous outlines. She and Melissa are very collaborative on this series. They can be tricky to write and to pull apart, but Ali and Melissa really do it so well.  I’m actually surprised that it’s not more of a big network show. Considering that everybody out there that is watching podcasts, I am surprised there’s not a network show with a female podcaster that’s solving crimes.

Interestingly enough, Fox tried to do a show called Proven Innocent that didn’t quite make it. I enjoyed the show, and it had a female podcaster. But it didn’t have the elements needed to make it successful. Chronicle Mysteries seems to have those necessary elements. 

I wasn’t aware of that show.

But back to Chronicle Mysteries, I want you to know that we’re all pulling for you. 

If everyone tunes in Sunday, we’ll be good. And from what I understand, we’ve got our next two outlines already done. We’re hoping to film one in October, but we’ll see how that goes. But it all moves so quickly too, you know. Sometimes it’s hard to believe how quickly everything comes together. Oftentimes with these movies, I’ll hear a week before that I’m going to be out in Vancouver filming. It happens that fast.

Do you have anything else coming up that you can mention?

I’ve been lucky enough to keep working. Do you watch Private Eyes?

I have not watched it, but I know about the show.

I got to go hang out with them this past week, and then I fly to Winnipeg to go back and reprise my role on Burden Of Truth.

I am also very excited to be able to announce some Christmas movie news. In September, I will be shooting a Hallmark Christmas movie with Rachael Leigh Cook called The Christmas Bride.

Benjamin Ayres, Julie Gonzalo Credit: Copyright 2017 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Kailey Schwerman

I actually know about that one. David Winning is directing that one.

Yes, he is. He was also the director for Falling For Vermont. Rachael and I are great friends, so it will be great to hang out on set. It’s an excellent script, and I haven’t done a Christmas movie for Hallmark yet. And this is a great time of year to do it. To be honest, I’ve not really wanted to do Christmas movies in the summer. It’s too hot in Vancouver in July, and I don’t want to walk around in a parka every day. However, September is not too bad. I won’t mind walking around in a parka as much. And I think we’re shooting in Squamish or somewhere around there.

I am thrilled for you, Ben. Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. And let me tell you, it was great to find out about this “mystery man” that all the fans wonder about. 

{laughs} I really appreciate it, Ruth, and I’m glad we finally broke the ice. I will look forward to more talks with you in the future. And I hope everyone tunes into Chronicle Mysteries this weekend on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

Benjamin Ayres Credit: ©2019 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

Indeed, chatting with Ben was such a categorical delight!! I cannot speak highly enough of him as an industry professional and as a person. He is humble and gracious and invariably prompt to highlight those who have helped him along the way. Because he is a team player on set and consistently works well with all of his castmates, there is no doubt in my mind that his career is going to continue to soar. While he may never be a household name in homes all over the world, fame and fortune are not the reasons he acts. He has a palpable passion for the art of acting, and he can always be counted upon to give his all in every production, no matter the nature or size of the role. While he tends to be a private person who doesn’t prefer to enumerate his countless successes, as he stated in his interview, “his work speaks for itself.” However, the fact that he agreed to open up and share a little about himself with me (and my readers) is something for which I am eternally grateful. Moreover, it doesn’t hurt that he has an affable persona, a benevolent heart, and even a wickedly delightful sense of humor. 

I hope that everyone tunes in tonight (August 25th) for the next of Hallmark’s Movies & Mysteries “Signature Mysteries” entitled Chronicle Mysteries: The Deep End. (Here’s hoping Canada will be able to see this fourth Chronicle Mysteries movie very soon as well.) And while you’re making plans to luxuriate in the next of these entertaining “whodunnits,” be sure to visit Ben at all his links below and consider following him where applicable. While Ben is not one who shares a tremendous amount of content on his social media platforms, what he does share is authentic, pertinent (and truly quite hilarious at times), and you can count on him to keep his fans up-to-date on all his upcoming productions. Now that Ben and I have connected after all this time, he is on my “definitely want to meet next” list, and I can hardly wait to witness all his current and future successes with Hallmark and beyond!

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