As a proponent of family-friendly entertainment, I am always willing to promote quality content and industry professionals regardless of the network on which the work is featured. Even though Hallmark is where my heart lies most of the time, I do appreciate the way other networks have begun to produce movies that sometimes rival what can be seen on the Hallmark Network. In the case of Bo Yokely, his most recent film premiered on UP TV this past weekend, and right before the premiere, I had the opportunity to chat with him. In anticipation of the encore presentation of After the Stormon UP this weekend (June 15th) and the subsequent release on DVD next month, I am honored to share our chat with my readers today. 

RH: Bo, it’s so great to chat with you. 

BY: Nice to chat with you too, Ruth. Thanks for reaching out.

Well, thank you for responding so quickly. I’m not used to that happening so fast.

I try to stay ahead of the curve and control what I can control. And that means being on time and being professional. Me and my team…we try to stay on top of things. I know it can be easy to procrastinate with certain things, but we try to take care of important matters the moment they come in, whether it’s a message or an audition or whatever.

That’s just great, Bo. I’m happy to talk with you. I’m in Washington State right now. And where are you?

I’m currently in North Carolina. But by the time your readers see our interview, I will have already headed down to Atlanta for a couple of weeks.

Well, that must mean you’re keeping busy with work.

Photo by Ron Reagan

I feel very fortunate and blessed. I’ve very fortunate in my young career to surround myself with people way smarter than I am in order to navigate the treacherous waters of show business. We have a good team around us, so we’re very fortunate.

I actually came across you because of the recent UP TV premiere of After the Storm. I tend to interview a lot of people with Hallmark, but that doesn’t mean I ignore the other networks. Especially those like UP that are also producing family-friendly content. 

I’m happy to answer any questions about that movie. But you’re right. A lot of the same people are intertwined with Hallmark and UP and Super Channel. It’s all that feel-good, family-oriented programming that seems to be on the rise. I guess it’s because of the treacherous times we live in. Brain Power Studios has done a lot of movies that have been eventually picked up by other networks like Hallmark and Netflix, and this movie is projected to follow in the same footsteps.

I had read something about how UP was going to be raising their game and planning a lot more original movies. And that’s always exciting for me. My preference is to promote family-friendly movies and shows. And then as a result of doing these interviews like I’m doing with you today, I can connect with these individuals and follow their careers wherever they go. I’ve been able to watch a wide variety of movies and shows over the past few years, and it’s been great.

My wife and my mom and grandma are all about the family-friendly movies. I think I like more action movies. I like Braveheart and Saving Private Ryan and all those kinds of heroic movies like that. My preferences tend to lean in that direction. But my role in After the Storm is definitely a great role that came my way. But I’m a movie-minded maverick.

Photo by Ron Reagan

Bo, how did you get into acting? 

Well, I’ve been kind of an actor since I was two years old. So that’s been a few years now. {laughs} I was acting a lot earlier than I was actually getting paid to act. I think it started with me being exposed to movies at the age of two and three…movies like Ace Ventura and Dumb and Dumber. That made me interested in getting reactions out of people and making people smile and laugh.

When I was in middle school and high school, I pursued athletics more than anything though. My father was an athletic coach, and I found that I was a little more inclined to the performance of athletics. I pursued soccer, and I played for about nineteen years. I got to college, and I played one year in college. I decided it was not for me, and that’s when I started to get an eye for acting. I went to a liberal arts school in Greensboro. They had a really great drama department.

It really wasn’t until I was about twenty-five that I began seriously pursuing acting. I had been modeling since I was about eighteen. And as you probably know, the modeling world and the film world are very closely related. Sometimes they cross over. And that’s actually how it happened. It just so happens that my modeling agent said, “Now, this is not in your forte, but would you want to be on the set of Guardians Of the Galaxy 2? It would be a featured part, but you would be there with Chris Pratt.” And he just happened to be one of my favorite actors at the time. I said, “Absolutely! I don’t care what it’s for. I’ll do it.” Being on set for a week for Guardians Of the Galaxy 2 was enough for me to determine that I was doing this the rest of my life. Because this was the greatest, most amazing feeling to be around people who are like-minded. I know I was a very small part of a very large machine, but even being a small part of that and seeing the result was so rewarding for me.

About a month later, I was featured in Baywatch. Again, a very small role. Don’t blink; you’ll miss me. But again, I was in it enough to know that this was what I wanted to do with my life. And from that time forward, I put all my time, effort, and energy into building the right chemistry with my team, managers, agents and picking the right roles. Funny enough for actors–and you’ve probably talked to a lot of them–your career is more or less defined by the roles that you don’t take than the ones that you do take. I can definitely attest to the fact that’s a hundred percent true. It is really about the roles that you don’t take. So I was very fortunate to get great roles early on in my career, and I attribute all of that early success to my team and my wife. And really, things have taken off from there.

So tell us about how you got involved with After the Storm.

You know, it’s funny how that one came about. My agent got me an audition with Brain Power for a role for one of their Christmas films. They do a lot of Christmas films. I was on the set of another movie I was shooting in Florida at the time, and I had an audition the next day. I did that audition, and it was probably one of the worst auditions I had ever done. I mean, I had driven thirteen hours in one day. I was exhausted, and I was in the hotel room that didn’t have the right lighting. I also barely knew the lines. I did it, and we didn’t hear anything back. I kind of expected that because it wasn’t a very good audition.

After the Storm

About a month later, Brain Power reached out to my agent directly with an offer. Not an audition, but an offer, saying that I wasn’t right for that Christmas movie, but I was right for this other character, Colin. After looking through the script, I was like, “Yep, that’s a hundred percent a good role for me.” Colin is humble but nice and kind of used to being a womanizer, but now he’s on the straight and narrow. And it’s kind of funny how art imitates life. Ironically, this is the story between me and my wife, exactly how it happened. It was quite an interesting parallel to see the similarities between these two main characters and my wife and me.

I find it so interesting how you got that part, Bo. I hear those same kinds of stories from other actors as well. They have a horrible audition, and then they get the part. But then the auditions they feel good about, nothing comes of those.

It’s so bizarre how often that happens. Like if you feel good about an audition, it’s almost like the kiss of death. And let me tell you that Brain Power Studios is the best. Their production team from the top down is top notch. Beth Stevenson, the executive producer, is almost a motherly figure. She’s the best. We communicate quite often as a matter of fact.

I’ve been watching those movies over the past few years, since they’re the ones that are usually on UP, and I have noticed how the production value has really become more consistent. It used to be with that network it was hit or miss for me. But now I notice how the quality of the films and the acting is continuing to improve. And that’s always exciting to see. One thing these movies has is that they are normally less predictable than some of the Hallmark romances I’ve seen. I mean, all the networks are raising their games. So that’s great to see.

After the Storm

Yeah, I agree that both Hallmark and UP are raising the bar, and because of that competition, that causes everyone to raise the level. For the longest time, the only name in family-friendly entertainment to watch was Hallmark, but it seems that now there are other companies that are coming along which is not only forcing Hallmark to raise their game but it’s forcing UP TV to improve with the creative writing and with the dramatic storyline…even the sets, everything is on a much higher level now. I’ve watched over the last five or ten years these Hallmark movies like at Christmas time over at my mother’s house. I’m very happy with After the Storm,  and I can see it compared side to side with other movies that are out there like very well-established Hallmark movies. At least, that’s what I think. And I’m not being biased, but I think when you see the movie, you’ll see how it holds its own because it’s an original story. It’s not the same story you’ve heard over and over again. It’s a little different from what you might typically see in a romance movie like this.

I could tell from reading the description and the parts that I’ve seen that you are exactly right. I could tell before watching it that it was going to be a higher level movie for UP and that it would be one I would want to promote. I know that sometimes movies like this suffer from not being promoted enough.

After the Storm

I know what you mean. Everything today is about marketing. You can almost tell how successful a movie will be before it comes out based on box office returns. But I will say that UP has done a great job with marketing this film even compared to some other companies I’ve worked with. They’ve been working hard to get the word out, and I, of course, am trying to do my part. I think everyone is. Just because movies are faith-based or because they’re family-oriented doesn’t mean they have to be of low caliber or they have to be hokey. They can be very original, and that’s what we’re excited about with After the Storm. I’ve seen thousands of movies, but this one has original spins in it that I haven’t seen in other movies.

Where did you guys film this movie?

In the Toronto area–Newmarket, Ontario. I had never been to Toronto. I was just blown away by it.

And when did you guys film this? How long ago?

It was a three-and-half/four-week shoot last August. So we filmed it during the summertime. And me being from the South, I was imagining it was still gonna be a little chilly. No, it was like ninety-five degrees and a hundred percent humidity. It was hot!!

After the Storm

So what can you tell us about your character and how he relates to the overall story of the movie?

Colin is multi-layered in the sense that on the surface, he has the image of total control, confident swagger…whatever you want to call it. But underneath that bravado, you understand that he’s a very damaged guy who is fighting the demons of his past and trying to overcompensate and overcome not necessarily his own wrongdoing, but the wrongdoing of his father and the imagery that he saw growing up. And in an effort to not carry that over into a relationship with anyone he truly cares about, that mindset sometimes takes things in the opposite direction. And that’s what makes it such a tough relationship between Collin and Lauren. He’s not just a guy looking for a date where everything works out great. It’s just like in real life how lots of people have to overcome things and even let down walls and learn to trust or even want to give things a chance again after failure. Or even because of fear. Lauren’s battle is exterior a lot in the sense that the course of the storm destroyed some precious things to her and how that affects her life. While Colin’s struggle is more internal, I guess would be the best way of putting it. He’s having to repair and rebuild himself as Lauren repairs and rebuilds her house. And together they help rebuild her life as he works through his past.

After the Storm

So we know that this film is going to be family-friendly, but most of my readers watch Hallmark and they don’t always go out of their way to watch UP. So if you had to convince a typical Hallmark viewer to watch After the Storm, what would you say to convince them?

Good question. I would say this movie is not what it seems on the surface. It’s not as typical as many similar movies might be. It exposes a deeper level of understanding that is required for us to be able to understand these characters. It’s not just boy meets girl. Girl doesn’t like boy. But they both fall in love and end up together. That’s not the simple plot of this movie. It’s much more complex.

I think it will also show for the viewers that just because of what it may look like on the outside, people don’t always have it all put together. And I think that’s refreshing to see because you’re taking in a world of social media. And we know that everyone posts their highlight reel of life. But it’s important to see that very real, believable characters can be a demonstration of what people are really going through nowadays. And that’s a real big thing I would take away from this movie. It’s realistic and believable, unlike some family-friendly films I’ve seen. And this one is refreshing. I’ll put it that way. It is not typical. It is very realistic, but subtle.

I think that’s an excellent response, Bo. I was already making plans to watch it, and I am actually right now in the middle of watching it, but I think what you say may be convincing enough for some people to give it a try. So this premiered on UP this past weekend. But if people missed it, where else can we see it?

You can tune in this weekend. They will have an encore showing on June 15th, so check it out. There’s a giveaway going on over on the UP TV website too. It will also be available at Walmart and Amazon and probably elsewhere too starting  July 2nd. So be on the lookout if you’re interested in purchasing this movie for your collection. I believe you can preorder it on Amazon.

So do you ever do any tweeting during these movie premieres or anything like that?

Not usually. I find that for me, it’s better if I stay away for a while and then come back and see what people are saying. I like to let the dust settle a little bit. In this world of social media, people are very passionate about things. In order to keep me sane, it’s better for me to take a moment and then come back to it. Maybe that will change in the future, but for now, this is what works for me.

And everyone has to find what works for them. But if people want to ask you a question or tell you what they thought…

I always welcome that, and I will see it and respond if necessary. I would not say by any stretch of the imagination that I’m a technological genius like some people are. Maybe I’m just not as comfortable with it and not always sure what to do, but I am more than happy for people to reach out. Instagram is where I’m most active, and I have had tons of people asking me before the movie came out here in the U.S. because it first came out in France. So overnight, I added hundreds of French followers. And people started sending me questions in French, so that was great. I always love getting to hear what people think, even if they don’t like it. The negative is not going to affect me that much because I feel really confident about what we did. But I know not everyone is going to like it because you can’t please everyone all the time.

Well, that’s good that you’re willing to interact with your fans at some point. 

Absolutely. You know, at the end of the day, people are the reason why we are making movies and the reason we get paid to do this for a living. It all comes back to the fans ultimately. But with all the comments I got from the French people regarding After the Storm, I did not receive one negative. We’ll see if that holds true for the U.S. But I told my wife that was a pretty good sign.

That’s good to hear, Bo. And really, most of my experiences with social media have been very positive, so that all sounds good. So After the Storm is out. Do you have anything else coming up that you can mention?

There are three things I’ve signed on for, but none of them that I can mention yet.

I’m so glad that there are more things coming up for you, Bo. We’ll watch out for when you can mention them. But I notice that there is something else on your resume that people can watch if they’re interested.

Nappily Ever After

Yes, on Netflix there is a movie called Nappily Ever After. It came out September last year. I play the role of Chris, and if you watch the movie, you’ll see what that character is like. It’s not quite as family-friendly as After the Storm.

I kind of figured that. Well, at least it can tide people over if they want to look it up. At least till your next movie or show is out.

Exactly. I’m actually trying to decide if it’s more exciting to have stuff coming up or to have just wrapped stuff. But I feel very excited about what’s coming up. There’s potentially another collaboration with Brain Power in the mix, so stay tuned!

I understand that you are happily married. It sounds like you have a wonderful wife.

Yes, I do. Her name is Olivia.

And you guys have dogs as well?

Yes, those are our babies. We have two little Yorkies, Stormy and Flurry. They travel everywhere with us. In fact, if we’re out of the country, they’re there with us.

So your wife travels with you as well?

Yes, my wife always goes with me. I tell people that she’s the automobile, and I’m just the shiny emblem that people see. She’s the automobile that does all the work and is the engine behind what we do. It’s always been “we” because she’s a huge part of what I do.

That is so cool. That doesn’t typically happen from what I’ve heard from actors. 

Yeah, we’re a little bit different in that regard I think. When you’re on set for a long time, it can be discombobulating and disorienting to be acting, and playing make-believe all day. And for me, that is my vacation. At the end of the day, it’s seeing my wife and my dogs. Regardless of what time it is, she is there. There have been times where I have shot for three weeks at night where I go from 6 PM to 6 AM, and she has always been there for me when I got back from shooting. Being able to come back to her after I’m done shooting just reorients me and refreshes me. So the next day, I’m able to be a little bit fresher, and I don’t get worn down. That’s key for me, particularly with these long shoots or weird shoot hours. It’s just nice to have a True North. That’s how I think of her. I’m glad we’re able to make it work. She’ll be on set some days, but most of the time, she’s out exploring the city or taking the dogs to the park. She also does a ton of work behind-the-scenes. Whether it’s meals or transport or whatever, she’s Johnny-on-the-spot. She’s like my own personal assistant.

I’m so happy for you, Bo. This movie seems like a great story and it’s hopefully being well-received. And then with everything else coming up, I thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me.

Ruth, it is a pleasure. I hope everyone checks out After the Storm and feel free to tell me what you think about it! I look forward to hearing what the fans think!

Bo and his wife

I must say that with this being my first ever interaction with Bo, I was impressed by how his maturity, appreciation, and humility manifested themselves quite authentically over the course of our conversation. Moreover, while I was able to sense the passion for acting that he definitely possesses, I marveled at his fortitude, postivity, and vibrancy, not to mention his punctuality. Most young actors tend to have an especially bad reputation for being consistently tardy. Learning that his wife (and his dogs) travel with him everywhere suddenly caused me to comprehend the reason behind his obvious inner peace. You know the old adage that states that behind every successful man, there is a strong woman. No doubt, Bo’s wife is that strong woman who is one of the main reasons that he is able to do what he does with such confidence, joy, and efficiency. After chatting with Bo, it was perfectly clear to me that this young man is on the right road and headed in the right direction, and I am quite hopeful that he will not be veering to either side any time soon.

I hope that everyone in the U.S. checks out After the Storm either on UP TV this weekend (June 15th) or via Walmart or Amazon once it is available on July 2nd. Canadians will be able to watch After the Storm later this month on Super Channel Heart & Home (premiering on June 22nd and replaying several times after that). Additionally, I hope that all my readers visit Bo’s links below and consider following him on social media if so inclined. I tend to think that Bo’s career is about to take a significant upswing in terms of roles and offers, and I can hardly wait to cheer him on in all his future endeavors. 

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