One of the things that genuinely inspires me about the entertainment world within the past few years is that the landscape is becoming increasingly diverse. While some networks and companies have forced the diversity card, Hallmark continues to dazzle by adding diversity of the cast and crew without sacrificing the narrative or the heart. It is my honor to introduce Adil Zaidi to my readers today, and I am grateful to Hallmark for featuring him in several recent films on their network. While his name may be unfamiliar, my readers will probably recognize him in addition to learning a few intriguing details along the way.

RH: Please tell us a little about your background and how you become an actor.

AZ: I’m from Switzerland…which takes people by surprise. Mom had lived there since childhood; Mom and Dad are both Indian by origin. I was born in a city named Uzwil, but grew up in a little French one named Nyon, just north of Geneva. I think my earliest recollection of wanting to act was at seven years old after watching Jurassic Park and Star Wars (in French) and telling my mom I wanted to go to America and be in some dinosaur movie. My family moved to Toronto when I was ten, and eventually, when I turned twenty, I decided I had run from it for long enough, so I took a shot. I studied and trained in Toronto till I moved myself out to Vancouver in 2013, which might have been the best decision of my life. Vancouver really does have an amazing, tight-knit film industry with tons of amazing work to be made. I’m also incredibly grateful for the friends I’ve made here, they’ve truly become family to me.

What was your first professional job in the business, and what are your memories of it?

The first thing I ever managed to land was a quick one-liner on a Toronto-based cop procedural called Cracked.  The whole experience was amazing for a couple of reasons, but mainly because it was my first time on a network television set. I played Carlo Rota’s son, who appeared on a season of 24, which I had obsessively binge-watched not too long prior. I also made a couple friends in Stefanie von Pfetten, who took me under her wing for the day and Luisa D’Oliveira, who stayed a friend till today. Needless to say, I walked away from my first network film experience feeling pretty motivated.

One of the first big shows you booked was Lucifer. What was it like filming that show? Why do you think the show has continued to remain so popular with the fans?

Lucifer was actually one of my first jobs out here in Vancouver, which made it in itself an exciting moment for me. I had a short day shooting with Tom Ellis, who, as you can imagine, is a wonderfully charming and lovely human being. The show’s got great story arcs, witty dialogue and immense amounts of charm via aforementioned Ellis and Lauren German, so it doesn’t surprise me that it’s done as well as it has. After all, Netflix did choose to revive it and they know what they’re doing! Also, my nametag in the scene said “Levi”, a funny, silly shout out to my roommate’s name at the time.

Though maybe not a big film, I probably saw you first in Season’s Greetings. What did you enjoy about your role and that filming experience?

Season’s Greetings was a special one for me and here’s why: director Allan Harmon. When I first moved to Vancouver, I didn’t have many friends here, let alone family, which made the first couple of Easters, Thanksgivings and Christmases pretty tough to get through. I met Allan through his son, Richard, who very quickly became a very close friend. I’m grateful to have spent the last few holiday seasons with the family, and anytime you get to work with someone that close to you, it’s a blessing.

You also were on an episode of Supernatural. What was it like being on that set?

I got the call sheet for this one the night before we shot and saw that the scene we were shooting was with one of my close friends, Alex Barima. The shoot was amazing because you always joke and dream of the days you’ll get to work with your close friends, and then one day it actually happens and you can’t help but be grateful for moments like that!

The Good Doctor

You’ve been on a couple of episodes of The Good Doctor. What are your memories of filming that show? Why do you think the show has resonated with the fans so much?

You know, when I booked this job I had no real idea how big this show would get. The show tackles current topics on mental health as well as a plethora of medical cases littered with moral dilemmas, all while giving you the work politics expected from a David Shore show. What’s not to love? The memories from this show will stick with me forever because it was the first time I got to work multiple episodes on a TV show in my life, which meant it was the first time I got to really know a crew and cast personally. They never made you feel out of place, always made you feel like you belonged, and I’m thankful to have made some friends along the way. To top it off, one of the episodes was directed by Nestor Carbonell from the Nolan Batman trilogy, so there was that.

Hallmark viewers first saw you this past Christmas in Mingle All the Way and Christmas Bells Are Ringing. What did you know about Hallmark before making these films? Anything special stand out to you from either of these film shoots?

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

I was aware that Hallmark had a giant fan base, but prior to this year, my experiences with auditioning for Hallmark were very limited. It’s hard to talk about this topic without mentioning the attention to diversity that the entire industry has been dealing with over the last few years. There’s obviously still a ways to go, but progress is progress; it would be silly to not acknowledge that. Getting the chance to read for roles today that I wouldn’t have gotten to read for even a year or two ago has opened me up to a lot of new experiences. The Hallmark family I’ve gotten lucky enough to work with has been amazing, caring, nurturing and supportive and it quickly became obvious why people enjoy the network as much as they do. Mingle All the Way was another run with Allan Harmon, which I’ll never complain about. Christmas Bells are Ringing gave me a chance to work with Pat Williams and was some of the most fun I had with a role to the day. The funny thing is the role was initially written for a 40-50-year-old lady, but the network and production decided to take a very obvious hard shift. I also met some wonderful friends in Teagan Vincze and Hamza Faoud who you’ll catch doing amazing work in the movie!

We also saw you briefly in Mystery 101. This was your first Hallmark mystery film. What did you enjoy about shooting that movie?

Kristoffer Polaha and Jill Wagner. My time on Mystery 101 was super brief, but these two wonders are just as lovely as you’d imagine. Here’s a short story about that day which will tell you a bit about Kris. We were running short on time, we were losing daylight, we were about to go into overtime. The crew was rushing and we needed to get the shots as quickly as possible. They were going to cut most of the scene entirely, leaving a couple of us without any coverage. Kris instantly reworked his blocking on the scene so as to incorporate everyone else while also letting the crew get all the shots they needed. He wanted to make sure all of us didn’t make the trip out and spend the day with nothing to show for it. Moments like that remind you how much the smallest actions can impact people, it’s a collaborative medium we work in and sometimes it’s easy to forget that.

We just saw you in A Brush With Love. Any behind-the-scenes stories stand out about making this movie?

A Brush With Love was exciting for me because it was a chance to work again with the great team that produced Mingle All the Way. A chance to get back with this gang with a much bigger role made me realize how much fun and how tight the Hallmark universe can be. We shot this movie in Abbotsford and the quaint charm of this little city instantly caught my attention. The locals we ran into were so lovely and inviting. The funny thing about this project is that when I went in to read for it, I had lost my voice completely! I must have sounded like Batman in there, but the producers had seen me work before and we had a good relationship. They believed in me and luckily for me, things worked out!

Any other upcoming works you can mention? 

Around the same time I shot A Brush With Love, I also worked on another feature named Made For You With Love which is currently in post-production. It’s directed by an old friend of mine from Toronto named Lucie Guest, and stars Edy Ganem, Brendon Zub, Clayton Chitty, and my dear friend, Matreya Scarrwener. Awesome people and a fun little romantic comedy I’m sure people are going to enjoy! I also show up for a scene in the series finale of iZombie, the SERIES finale! To be on set for that one was crazy, the people around me had worked together for years on years, and to take all that in was a pretty amazing experience and I’m grateful to have been able to share even just one day with them.

What is your favorite season of the year and why?

The NHL hockey season, my personal soap opera. 🙂

All jokes aside, I’m one of those that loves both the summer for the sunshine, the ocean water and the gardening and the winter because, well, snowboarding and Christmas!

I cannot tell you how thrilled I am to see Adil continue to experience success in mainstream film and TV, but of course, my heart is always with the Hallmark Network. This network is consistently loyal to their supporting cast as well as their leads, and the fact that Adil keeps coming back demonstrates that they are pleased with his talent and persona. Additionally, he is an excellent fit as Hallmark and other networks seek to expand their view of the world on screen. Adil is the epitome of what can happen when one not only continues to pursue his/her dreams, but also remains committed to honing one’s abilities and being a positive force on every project in which one is cast. The fact that he spent a good share of time promoting his co-stars in the works of which he spoke is indicative of the humility and graciousness that Adil exudes to all who know and work with him, and I am honored to feature him today.

I hope that everyone will check out Adil’s current works on the Hallmark Network while awaiting his next film, Made For You With Love, which recently premiered in Canada on the W Network. I can only hope that this film will make its way to our screens in the U.S. very soon. I would also invite my readers to investigate Adil’s links below and consider following him where applicable. (I know I’ll be watching the series finale of iZombie and keeping an eagle eye out for his character!) I definitely have added Adil to my list of exemplary Hallmark actors, and I greatly anticipate his next work, no matter what network may choose to carry it. It is my sincere hope that many of you will join me in this endeavor as we support him on his whirlwind journey within this industry. 

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