I simply revel in the discovery of new Hallmark actors, and once in a while, I even get an unexpected gift. I will never forget reaching out to Ryan Rosery since I happened to notice his inclusion in the most current Ruby Herring Mysteries film. Recently, we had a chance to chat, and I was overwhelmed to learn that we would be seeing him in the upcoming When Calls the Heart Christmas special! In anticipation of the Christmas Day premiere (December 25th) of When Calls the Heart Home For Christmas, it is my distinct honor and cherished privilege to share Ryan with all my readers today. (Hearties, I implore you to take some time to read this because I think you just might become enamored with Ryan!)
Photo by Kristine Cofsky Photography
RH: Ryan, thank you so much for making the time to chat with me today.
RR: Thank you for reaching out, Ruth. I really appreciate it.
I think I told you that I noticed you because of the last Ruby Herring Mysteries movie that you were in, which I think was also your first Hallmark movie.
That is correct. That was my very first Hallmark movie.
That’s what I thought. Well, I am very supportive of Hallmark and all their movies and shows, and when I happen to notice a new face, I really like to be the one to reach out and feature them when I can. I love networking with the people behind the scenes and the supporting cast as well.
That’s cool that you do that, that you reach out to the smaller people, if you will.
There is nothing like watching the journey of these supporting cast members. I have seen so many of them rise in the ranks and get a recurring role or finally land their first leading role. I love seeing that happen.
I can see that. It’s great to see the journey of these individuals, for sure.
So let’s go on to your journey, Ryan. How did you get started with acting?
Do you want the truncated version or the full version?
I’ll leave it up to you.
Okay, it started off when I was in fourth grade. I remember I was with my mom and my sister, and we were sitting down watching an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, one of my all-time favorite shows. Uncle Phil was dancing with his newborn son. As he was dancing, Will Smith ran down the stairs yelling, “Earthquake!” because Phil was a much bigger guy. That whole scenario was hilarious to me. Then Uncle Phil chased him up the stairs. And I remember turning around to my mom and my sister, and I was like, “That’s what I want to do. I want to make people laugh like Will Smith.” My mom was like, “Acting’s not a real job, and it’s not something you can just break into.” And I was like, “Okay.” I was around seven or eight years old at that time. For years, I kept trying to get my mom to put me in stuff, but she was like, “No, no, don’t worry about it.” And so I was like, “Okay.”
Then in high school, around grade ten, there was a girl at the time that I was really infatuated with. I thought her and I were going places and that things were gonna happen between us. But she ended up breaking my heart. And at that point, I remember thinking to myself, “What am I gonna do now?” For years, I had been thinking I would be a football player or a video game designer. But after she broke my heart, I was like, “You know what? I’m gonna get her back by becoming famous.” I wondered how I was gonna do that, and I started remembering back to my childhood dream of being an actor.
Photo by Kristine Cofsky Photography
So in tenth grade going into eleventh grade, I started doing background work. My sister’s husband had an aunt who was involved in the background world, and that’s how I got involved in that. I was eventually able to get an agent. I am originally from Toronto, so that’s where my first agent was.
While I was doing background back then, there was this kid’s show. I remember seeing one of the leads doing what I do now, and I was thinking to myself how I could very easily do this. And that was the day I stopped doing background and put all my focus into principal work. Throughout this time, I was trying to find my voice and find my style as an artist. But the thing with me is that I look very young, but I’m a lot older than I look. People assume I’m between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two. But I’m almost thirty. I’ll be twenty-nine next year. So for me as an actor, I was always having a struggle getting certain parts because of how young I look.
Photo by Alwyn Kumst – © Rookie Blue
In Toronto, the acting circuit can be a bit of a challenge to break into. I did get a couple of things out there. I did some commercials here and there. I did a show called Rookie Blue, which is a cop show. I filmed that in 2013, and it came out in 2014. And then I was not on another show or film for quite some time.
Since it had been a while since I’d been on a film or TV set, I decided it was time to make a transition. I decided to move to Vancouver, and that was in 2018. Within the first month, I booked something. I had originally just planned to come out here and see what it was like. I came for about four months; that was my initial plan. Then I got two projects back-to-back. And then I thought, “Why would I leave Vancouver if I’m able to get work here when I wasn’t getting it in Toronto?” And that’s why I’m still living in Vancouver, BC. So far, that’s my journey of how I got here.
Interesting. Now, you do look young, and I’ve talked to lots of actors your age who have similar problems. They’re near their thirties, and they’re being cast as high school and college kids. It can be hard to make that transition. I know it’s a good problem to have on one hand, but it can be difficult on the other hand since you’re almost being typecast. But that’s great you made the move out to Vancouver from Toronto. And you’ve come at such a great time too.
Photo by Kristine Cofsky Photography
Yeah, when I first started talking with people about Vancouver…I remember talking with a lot of actors back in 2017, and they said I should go to Vancouver. They told me back then that there were basically no black guys in Vancouver, and a lot of the cities that they film in Vancouver are generally supposed to be San Francisco and LA–major cities. Since there’s black people in those cities, they’re going to need black people for these shows. When I got here, I was like, “There are no black people here.” And still to this day, I don’t really see a lot of black guys. A lot of the actors I know from Toronto–black men and women–are thinking of coming to Vancouver because they feel there’s a market here for them. So that’s another reason I decided to come here as well.
Oh, yes, there’s a real push for diversity in Vancouver and all over the film industry today. And Hallmark has received criticism for the lack of diversity in their casts. I understood that one of the issues was that they were shooting so many of these in Vancouver, and it used to be that the city was mostly white people. But I am beginning to see the change there in Vancouver, and over the past couple of years, Hallmark is making the change as well.
Yes, and it has definitely worked out for me working here in Vancouver.
So you have been on Riverdale and Van Helsing.
Yes, that is correct.
Photo by Machio Lall – © Riverdale (2018)
I’m a huge fan of Riverdale. Can you remind us of your role?
Yes, it was last season. I was in season two, episode twenty. I was only on that one episode. Now, originally, I think they were planning to bring me and the other gentleman I did the scene with back for more episodes. We were essentially playing suitors who were trying to get money from Veronica. But as sometimes happens, they evidently changed direction, and they only brought back Elio, the gambling dude. So my character was going to be a potential recurring, but they ended up changing the storyline.
And I know those kinds of things sometimes happen. I do remember your role. And it’s cool you got to be on such a massive show like that. Now, Van Helsing is a show I don’t watch, but I know it’s great and has a lot of my friends on it. You were on that show last season too?
Photo by Vlad Horodinca – © Van Helsing
Yes, season three, episode five. I filmed it this past March. It’s a really strong show, and they just announced that next season would be their final season. But I have a friend on the show now, and he said that this show is just next level. And there’s a strong following for that show for sure. And it was Van Helsing and Riverdale that were the two shows I booked back-to-book when I came out here.
The next thing I booked was Twilight Zone. My character didn’t say anything. It was one scene. I had auditioned for another character, but when I didn’t get that, they needed someone else to fit another character in the episode. In my scene, Jacob Tremblay’s character is going to be their president with the help of some other people. They want someone new and fresh to run for president, which is why they turn to this eight-year-old kid. So they’re doing a mock debate, and I was just there for the pretend person he would be going up against.
I have had that series on my watchlist for a while, and I really need to sit down and watch it very soon. Now, Hallmark fans saw you in Ruby Herring Mysteries: Her Last Breath.
Ruby Herring Mysteries
Yes, that played somewhat recently here in Canada, and several people reached out to say they saw me in it.
Since you don’t have the Hallmark Channel in Canada, did you know about Hallmark before booking this role?
Yes, I was aware of them. When I was growing up, we would watch a lot of Hallmark shows because they would just be on random selected channels. So from time to time, we would watch Hallmark movies, especially during the holidays. Me and my mom would watch a Hallmark here and there. I didn’t know that the specific network was called Hallmark, but I knew of the media type. But now I know there are channels specifically called Hallmark and Lifetime that both put out quite a few movies, especially at Christmas.
It’s great that you’re part of the Hallmark family now, and we hope they’ll keep bringing you back for even more movies and shows in the future. You could even become a recurring character on one of the mystery series or other series they have. That happens sometimes.
That would be pretty cool if that did happen.
So working with Taylor Cole and that whole cast must have been fun.
Yeah, it was. Taylor was very welcoming. She’s fun to work with and super nice. She knows how to have fun and make the day light and not to take it too seriously. She’s very easy to work with. If something wasn’t working, she would be like, “Oh, you know, could we maybe try it this way?” It was all to help our characters, and of course, it was never a problem. I guess you could say that was my first big star to work with, and she is such a lovely, wonderful person that you could really engage with and have fun with.
I have never had the opportunity to meet her or interview her, but I’ve always heard such great things about her. Had you ever seen the first one in the series?
No, I have not seen the first Ruby Herring. It’s a little hard to find those movies sometimes here in Canada.
I can understand that. Well, you got to be in the less controversial of the two films because there was a big thing amongst the fans concerning Ruby’s hair color. The first one, her hair was a little too red, but by the second one, they had toned it down a bit. But that was honestly the only complaint, and hopefully, there will be a third one some time down the road. And maybe they’ll bring you back.
That would be great.
So do you have anything else coming up that you can mention?
As Walter
When Calls the Heart Home For Christmas
Yes, December 25th I will be playing a character in the When Calls the Heart Home For Christmas movie. That was a lot of fun.
Oh my goodness. Do you realize that once you’ve been in When Calls the Heart…do you know about the Hearties? {laughs}
Yes, everyone on set from Paul Greene to Martin Cummins…Pascale {Hutton} was telling me, “The fans are HUGE!” And in hair and makeup, they were also telling me, “Yeah, the fans are very invested in the show!” So I’m looking forward to interacting with them.
I had no idea you were going to be guest-starring in the Christmas movie for When Calls the Heart. Also, everyone in the cast basically knows me. I have really good friends in that cast. And the fans are incredible. And they’re very supportive. Paul is one of my very dear friends, and I love Pascale.
I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes together. I play Walter, and I hope that everybody finds him funny and charming and sweet. I did the best I could to bring this character to life in the best way possible.
When Calls the Heart Home For Christmas
That had to have been amazing to be on that set.
I can say without a doubt that it has been my favorite set to be on thus far in Vancouver. It’s an amazing cast. Everybody just wants to get the best product possible and put it out there. It’s really funny that back when you reached out to me, it was just a couple days later that I had found out that I booked When Calls the Heart. So it was very funny how that happened.
I will say that once you’ve been on When Calls the Heart, not only will the network probably continue to cast you if they like you, but the Hearties will follow your career closely too. And maybe they’ll bring you back to Hope Valley someday. It could happen. Can you tell us who you share most of your scenes with?
I’ll hint at it; I won’t say who. Let’s just say I see the doc.
Oh, and since Home & Family recently showed a clip from the movie with you and Dr. Carson…that gives it away, I’d say. So is there anything else upcoming you can mention?
Yes, in the new year, you’ll see me in an upcoming episode of Batwoman.
When Calls the Heart
Wow, Ryan, you are booking some fantastic roles! I’m so happy for you! So are you planning on remaining out here in Vancouver?
Yeah, I’m thinking since things are going so well, Vancouver is going to be the base of operations for me for the next little bit at least. I do go back to Toronto and see my mom from time to time. But we’ll just see how it keeps going here in Vancouver. I seem to be doing really well out here.
Your mom has to be happy that you booked a Hallmark Christmas movie.
I told her about it and she was very excited. Hopefully, she’ll be able to see it on Christmas Day. I will be in Toronto for Christmas this year, so hopefully, we can all watch it together.
It will be showing on Super Channel Heart & Home at the same time it does here in the States on Hallmark, so hopefully you and your family can watch it.
I hope so too.
Well, Ryan, thank you so much for taking the time to chat. I’m very excited to see your character, and I hope 2020 is even more prosperous for you.
Thank you, Ruth, for reaching out. I’m excited to see what everyone thinks. I look forward to interacting with all the Hearties!
When I reached out to Ryan, I had no idea that he was going to be featured in the When Calls the Heart Christmas movie, so that was an unforeseen blessing that inspired me to inform as many of my friends as possible about my extraordinary tidbit of news. It only made things better when I realized one of his major scenes is with my dear friend, Paul. I know that there is much speculation and anticipation concerning the main players in this upcoming movie tonight (December 25th), but I hope that everyone takes a moment to watch for the character Walter, as portrayed by Ryan, and welcome him officially to the Hearties family. I have learned that Ryan is amusing, humble, gifted, and engaging on social media, so I would also invite everyone to visit his links below and consider following him if possible. I know that very soon my U.S. friends and I will be tuned to the Hallmark Channel for the premiere of When Calls the Heart Home For Christmas, and I would venture to say that many of my Canadian friends will also tune to Super Channel Heart & Home for the Christmas Day event that will transcend every other show around the world (or at least, we’ll try!). There could not be any better person than Ryan to add to this exceptional cast and series because Ryan is one of the most authentic human beings who is always ready to share a laugh or a tender moment with whomever may need a virtual shot in the arm of hope and goodwill. He regularly places the needs of others before his own, and there is no doubt in my mind that Hallmark has uncovered an aspiring star whose values and ideals match everything this network had traditionally represented. I am eternally grateful to have found yet another friend through the phenomenon known as When Calls the Heart, and it is my hope and prayer that all of us will join together en masse for the movie event of the decade on this most sacred and joyous of days, the final Christmas of the decade!
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