As my devoted readers will know, certain actors capture my attention from the outset, and somehow, I find myself growing more enamored with them as the years progress. In the case of Antonio Cupo, that is a more than apt description. Even when I didn’t know his name, he positively impacted me by his overtly good looks, winsome charm, and commitment to excellence in front of and behind the camera. Thanks to a mutual friend, I had the opportunity to speak with Antonio, and it is my supreme honor to share it with my readers today in celebration of his most recent Hallmark Christmas movie!

Antonio Cupo Credit: ©2020 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

RH: Hey, Antonio, it’s so great to chat with you! I hope you’re doing well.

AC: Thanks, Ruth, great to chat with you too. Yes, I’m doing very well. How are things going with you?

It’s been jam-packed with lots of interviews and working for Paul Greene now, but all is well. I also recently chatted with Kimberley Sustad.

Oh, amazing! I love Kimberly. We have a movie in development right now with her. Congratulations on your job with Paul.

Thank you. It was Paul who connected you and me, and I’m so grateful.

Paul and I hung out quite a bit while he was in Vancouver. And Paul Campbell too. His son is the same age as my son. When we spent a period of time down in LA, our sons became buddies. That’s how we became close. It’s a nice little family.

I’m so glad! And I’m pleased it worked out to chat with you. I’ve wanted to for some time. Scheduling these interviews can be so tricky sometimes.

Well, thanks for asking, Ruth. I’ve been busy on other things the past couple of years on projects outside Hallmark until recently. I had my series and a bunch of other projects. I do hope to be more involved with acting in Hallmark movies. I’ve been producing, but I hope to be in front of the camera a lot more.

Cooking With Love

I see you’ve been doing a lot of producing. I was looking through your credits, and I realized I’d seen more of your projects than I realized. I remember you from Blood & Treasure. I had already made plans to watch the show, and then I saw you were on it, and you were a big reason I made it a point to tune in. That clinched the deal for me.

Oh, I’m so glad. Yeah, it came out last year, but this year, I won a Leo Award for my participation/performance in that show.

Congratulations, Antonio! That’s pretty cool. 

Thank you. I mean, I got killed in the series, which I knew would happen before starting work on it. But I was happy enough to be a part of the first season. The last time I had been honored with a Leo, the show that earned me the award had been canceled for a year. In this case, I’ve been killed for more than a year. And now these accolades just start to flow, so I’m like, “Okay, whatever, as long as people are talking.” That’s all good.

Right, exactly. I was going back through your credits and trying to figure out where I first saw you. I’m sure I saw you in a lot of Hallmark movies without even realizing it. It was probably Paul Greene that brought you to my attention. 

Leo Award for Blood & Treasure

You know, the odd thing with that is that Paul Greene and I were actually in a movie together. That’s the equivalent of seeing Paul Greene and Brendan Penny or Paul Campbell and Paul Greene together in a movie together. We were all taking our turns doing our various leads in these movies. But then there was a film that came to town called Anything For Love, and that was in 2016. The character was interesting. It was the antagonistic character that doesn’t get the girl, so to speak. And this movie was with Paul Greene, and I thought to myself, “I don’t know when I may be able to do a Hallmark movie again where we’re both in the movie.”

Anything For Love

There were so many shooting in town at that point, but you don’t usually get two lead actors together in a movie like this. So when they asked if I wanted to do it, I said, “Absolutely, let’s do it.” So he and I hit it off great, and we became super close. We’re continually talking about other projects we want to be in together. I don’t know if they’re going to necessarily be Hallmark, but we certainly want to work together more. We’ve got a very interesting and fun relationship. He’s always being very much “Paul,” and I’m always being very much “Antonio,” and we get along really, really great.

For Better Or For Worse

Interesting. I think the first Hallmark movie I can remember you from was probably For Better Or For Worse. I remember I had been very resistant to Hallmark because my dad liked Hallmark, and I figured that if my dad liked the network, it couldn’t be any good. Which is kind of ridiculous, I know. But that was one of the first movies where I sat down and watched and thought, “This is pretty good.” I truly enjoyed that movie. 

That movie was a lot of fun. Lisa Whelchel was my co-star. They aged me up a bit for that one because I wasn’t the correct age. They painted some gray in my hair and gave me some crow’s feet. It was a lot of fun, and I love that movie. Lisa Whelchel is an amazing friend. I also became really good friends with Alicia Dea Josipovic, who you might know from Degrassi.

I’ve heard of the show, yes.

Where did you say you live?

Blood & Treasure

I live in Yelm, Washington. The Seattle-Tacoma area.

I ask because I am based out of Vancouver, but usually, I travel to the Yakima and the Tri-Cities area. I have some property down there, so I’m very much invested in Washington State and its success.

That’s amazing! I don’t make it over to Eastern Washington much anymore, but I know where you’re talking about. We used to have family over in a little spot called Moses Lake. I’ve also been to Vancouver, BC, several times in the past few years. Not this year, of course. I’m very much invested in the Vancouver film community. 

The Vancouver film community is so rich, but you could go just south of the border in one minute, and there’s no film trucks. There’s not even one film truck to see. I always found that really weird. Vancouver is a huge player in the film scene, but there’s no film community in Northern Washington. It would be easy if the border allowed it to come across and shoot in places like Birch Bay, Washington, and other areas like that. So many beautiful areas along the coast, but there’s just no way for many Canadians to come across the border and work in the U.S.  The industry just doesn’t spread across the border.

I know it doesn’t make sense. But thankfully, there are so many beautiful places in Vancouver and the surrounding areas. I would love to go up and really explore BC. I haven’t been to Whistler. I’d love to go up there. I only go up to Vancouver for specific events and never just to explore and sight-see.

I did go to a film premiere last year. It was for John Cassini and his film Daughter. I was so excited it worked out! Just the energy of the film community was amazing in the audience. It was a wonderful experience. 

That movie was so well-done, and John is so well-known in the community because of his acting school and more. And that movie got a few awards recently. The Vancouver film community is fantastic to be a part of. So many of the people are going out to support others on a regular basis. When their films come out, everyone supports them in these events. Obviously, we can’t go to those now, but I feel like there’s a lot of support within the community up here, and it’s actually one of the reasons I moved back to Vancouver. When I was away, I was working in Italy and then working out of Toronto. Then I went down to LA for several years. But one of the reasons I moved back to Vancouver is the people up here and the talent pool and just the camaraderie that you feel. There’s no place like it. Everyone wants to help out and be involved. It’s super cool.

Young Antonio

I think it’s interesting how people from Vancouver end up finding each other no matter where they go. They move down to LA, and they end up living near each other. So Antonio, how did you get started with your film career? What’s your story?

That’s a good question. Let me back my mind up here for a second. I suppose before my film career, I was mainly involved in theater. It was my sister who put me onto the theater stuff because there were always a lot of girls in theater, but there were never any guys to play the guys’ roles. I remember very distinctly; she was like, “Do you want to be in this school play?” I wasn’t playing sports or doing any other things. She was like, “Just come to one of the rehearsals and see if you like it.” Of course, I went to the rehearsal, and I was instantly involved. It was great. I met people, and then I was like, “Wow, this is a whole community that I haven’t even opened myself up to.” And that’s how it started.

From school theater, and later on, it was that artistic bug–the acting bug–that took over. We were both moving into filming TV. She actually brought my headshot along with hers and really pushed my career along. Then I ended up auditioning and doing that thing. I wanted to take it seriously, so I was able to do these very short six-week classes here and there. I kept doing these back-to-back. I couldn’t do the full acting program in school because that wasn’t an option with the working mentality my family had for me. They supported me, but only if I was doing acting on the side. My parents wanted me to do something else as a full-time job.

Slowly, I started getting work and started popping up on TV. Then my parents started recognizing my acting as a career when their friends started telling them, “Hey, I think I saw your son on television.” “I think I saw him in a movie last week.” And my dad finally said to me, “Were you in a movie that came out last week?” I said, “Yeah.” And he was like, “Oh, well, I’m proud of you.” And I was like, “Oh, thank you.” And then the floodgates opened, and that was it.

I continued along that path. Being up here in Canada and having access to a lot of the great American shows that came up, I was showing up in quite a few of them. I would say it was advantageous for me to stick around as long as possible and really carve my teeth in this kind of environment. Early on in my career, when there were many TV series shooting up here, I could be in some cool television shows and movies.

Then the market up here kind of changed and went from shows like Beggars and Choosers and Dark Angel and episodic TV shows. They moved into being more sci-fi shows. That became a whole thing in Vancouver. Andromeda and others like that. They also started the Movie of the Week model. There was a lot happening up here from all over North America. Producers were coming up continually, and we were blessed with a really, really healthy market up here for shooting those kinds of projects.

So I went over to Italy and did a TV series over there, which is really strange because I didn’t even speak Italian at that point. My background is Latino and Italian. I had this experience to do a TV series in Italy potentially, and I was like, “Okay, I guess this is my path. Let’s see what happens.” I ended up staying there and learned the language and really embraced that opportunity.

Bomb Girls

I came back after seven or eight years and did shows like Bomb Girls and other TV shows. And TV movies started picking up around that time. That’s when Hallmark started making fifty to a hundred movies a year. And they became number one. They have to hire Canadian talent when they’re coming up here to film. It was a great opportunity to be a part of the amazing and incredibly gracious Hallmark family, and that’s how I came up.

And then recently, I’ve been doing more series work with the one you’ve mentioned, which is Blood & Treasure. And a few movies with Lifetime. And those are really amazing too. To Have and To Hold–I was also nominated for that one for another Leo.

I liked that one well. I thought it was a really good one. It was nice to see a non-thriller on Lifetime. You don’t always see that. I mean, I’m not complaining about the thrillers because there are some great ones out there. When you turn on a Lifetime thriller, you know what you’re going to get, just like if you turn on a Hallmark movie, you know what you’re going to get. And if you’re in the mood for something a little bit darker…they usually don’t go over to the horror genre. It’s the kind of thriller I can usually handle. I try my best to watch the films and shows that my friends are in, though my schedule does not always permit it. 

Sleeping With Danger

Oh, that’s so cool. Did you watch Sleeping With Danger? It was on Lifetime recently.

No, I haven’t yet. I think it’s on my DVR. I’m way behind on Lifetime.

I would advise you about that one. It’s very aggressive, so make sure that your stomach is ready. It’s not a horror by any stretch, but I play a character that is not very likable.

Okay, I understand. One of my friends, Marcus Rosner, though he’s done some leads for Hallmark, he always seems to play the bad guy in the Lifetime movies, and he does them so well! He has terrified me with his performances, but he’s so good! He actually did a movie with Paul Greene–A Christmas Detour. He played the one that got away. Candace Cameron Bure‘s character was engaged to him. But he was a rich snob. And on Lifetime, he easily plays the worst murderer you ever saw! You want his character to die. So thanks for the warning on your movie, Antonio. I appreciate knowing that and passing that on to my readers. 

Love Under the Olive Tree

I know it was this year that we finally saw one of the Hallmark movies you executive produced, Love Under the Olive Tree. You made it last year if I remember right.

Yes, that one was supposed to air last fall, and then it got pulled last minute along with another one. We were super lucky to have ours come out finally this year. It was devastating last year. We had really crunched the timeline to be able to put it out in a very short amount of time, and then it got pushed. That takes a little bit of the wind out of your sails. You want to see it on television because you know that there’s such a great product sitting there.

Love Under the Olive Tree

I can imagine. From a viewer’s perspective, when they pull a movie, you think, “Okay, why did they pull it? Is there something wrong with it?” So when it finally aired, I went into the movie with somewhat low expectations. But I absolutely loved it! I had interviewed Tori Anderson when she did her first Christmas movie for Hallmark, and I loved her in the movie, but I didn’t feel it was the best role for her. It was also her first Hallmark movie, and I know when someone does their first Hallmark movie, it can take some time to find your rhythm. Well, in Love Under the Olive Tree, oh my goodness! This girl has arrived! She needs to do more Hallmark! I loved her and hope to see more of her!

Love Under the Olive Tree

I’m glad to hear that, Ruth. I thought this was a perfect movie for both of them. It was so easy. I will say that she was one of the nicest people that we’ve ever worked with. The cast we had for that was just stunning to work with, and it was so great just being on the other side, working on the creative side and the script and making sure that everyone was taken care of. And, of course, it was a different kind of undertaking–an enormous undertaking. But a part of the business that I really enjoy. It was great to be working as part of the crew for that film.

Garage Sale Mysteries

You know, you mentioned how generous the Hallmark audiences are, and it’s very accurate. Whenever your name comes up in Hallmark circles, and now amongst Paul Greene fans, it is clear that you are well-loved. I’ve honestly never read anything negative about you. I always hear, “Oh, Antonio Cupo! We’re excited to see him!” They always want to see you in films. I really don’t know if most of the fans realize how many films you have executive produced for Hallmark. I remember when you were in one of the Garage Sale Mysteries films, and we were all worried that you were going to be the murderer!

Oh, yeah! I remember that movie!

We kept saying, “Oh, he can’t be the murderer!” But I kept saying, “I don’t know. With Hallmark, you never know.” I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when we realized you weren’t the killer. 

Antonio Cupo Credit: ©2020 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Nino Munoz

You know, I love the fact that being in this creative position and having choices and being able to do different roles…some of the roles I play are dark characters who have a troubled past or they’re psychologically charged, or they have very complex motivations. But I continually look forward to scripts where I play the romantic lead because I feel like people don’t always see me as the comedic release, but that’s the part I love! I love being the romantic lead and being the good guy because it’s what’s nearest to my heart and other people’s hearts. Even though they know you’re an actor and you’re gonna do different things, they really want you to be the good guy. So  I enjoy doing all aspects, but certainly for the resonance that we get afterwards and the people at home when they say, “I loved you in that movie.” That’s why I feel like we get the biggest push where people are at home and falling in love, so to speak.

I know you mentioned the Lifetime movie, which of course, we will warn people they may not want to watch it. Or they may want to approach it with caution at least. I know this has been a crazy time in the film industry with COVID shutting things down, but things have opened back up again somewhat in the business, which is good. In fact, we just saw you in a new Hallmark Christmas movie!

Autumn Reeser, Antonio Cupo Credit: ©2020 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

Yes!

Please tell us a little about this new Christmas movie and how your character fits into the overall story.

The movie is called A Glenbrooke Christmas. I play the character of Kyle, who is living in a small town in Colorado and working as a firefighter. It was so great to get to play opposite Autumn Reeser again. We did our first Hallmark Christmas movie together several years ago called Love At the Thanksgiving Parade. I absolutely love these Hallmark Christmas movies, and this one has all the elements included to be a modern classic. I hope everyone can tune in!

Well, of course, I tuned in, and I loved it! Is there anything else coming up that you can mention?

Love At the Thanksgiving Parade

Well, there are movies in development with Hallmark right now. When movies are in development, in this phase of the production, a lot of things can change. So you don’t want to speak too soon and promise people what you may not be able to deliver. The season could change, or the film could all of a sudden go from a Christmas movie to a summer romance. They can shift casting ideas. We work very closely with our network executives to make sure that all those decisions are being carefully made and they’re being protected. I will say a movie will be coming out that is in high demand from the fans. And I do hope to be acting more with the network.

Maybe if the fans want to see you in more movies, they might want to ask Hallmark for that to happen. 

I think that would be a great idea. This one happened pretty quickly, and I couldn’t be more pleased. I would love to act in more Hallmark movies for sure in the future. I also would love to report on more stuff than this, but for the moment, that is all I can say. I’ve got these couple of projects in development with Hallmark and a couple of more ideas. Once we’re able to talk about it, I will say more.

One thing I have been doing is talking with Paul Greene about potentially doing another movie where he and I are both acting in it. I think maybe he and I and Erica Christensen. We would love to try to do another movie together. Perhaps it would be a spin-off of our last movie, Anything For Love. It was an idea we’ve been throwing around. We’re relishing it for the moment and seeing if there is a story there. I think we have something, although we haven’t talked to Hallmark about it yet. No plans are set, but we would love to do something again. That would be really fun for all of us to be involved.

That would be great! I know how special the movie Anything For Love is to Paul. It’s still a top-rated, memorable movie. A perennial fan favorite. 

Well, if the fans want it, I would suggest they tell Hallmark. Hallmark does listen to its fans. Very often, if the fans keep asking, Hallmark just might do it.

Autumn Reeser, Antonio Cupo Credit: ©2020 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Nino Munoz

Thank you so much for the wonderful chat, Antonio! Very excited about A Glenbrooke Christmas, and it didn’t disappoint! To wrap things up, how did you keep yourself occupied during the pandemic crisis?

Well, I don’t know if you know this about me, but I have two young children. I have a three-and-a-half-year-old, and I have a one-and-a-half-year-old.

Oh, my goodness!

They kept us busy. Actually, it was a really great time because I was able to spend a lot more time with them. Since people were locked up in the same house, it was a time for us to reflect and for people to come together and understand what’s truly important in life. If you’ve gotten to know a little bit of understanding the way life works, I think it was a really good reminder that our focus can be easily shifted or swayed.

siblings

But when the world or the universe reminds us what’s truly important, maybe this is the only takeaway we’ll get from this whole thing. It was an eye-opener that you will never get back the time you spend with the people you love. So it’s to be truly enjoyed.

That’s a good word, Antonio, and I thank you for that. I agree with you. I know it’s a difficult time for many, but there was a lot of time with family members. I am blessed to have a daughter who’s seventeen, and we live with my parents out in the country. So that was indeed a blessing. 

That’s amazing, Ruth. Thank you for your interest. And I really hope that everyone enjoys our movie and has a very merry Christmas!

I cannot detail how thrilling it was to be able to connect with Antonio finally. While he can be a ridiculously hilarious person, he takes his work soberly when the situation demands it. He is the most unbelievable conglomeration of joy, talent, charm, and humor, all rolled into the best buddy anyone could ever want. Although he and Paul Greene are diametrical opposites in numerous ways, as we observed this past summer when they spent a most enjoyable Instagram live together, they seamlessly complement each other. They would be dynamite in a series and/or a film together.  I can unequivocally state that one would be hard-pressed to find a more conscientious industry professional who treats everyone with immense respect and consideration.

If you could not watch Antonio’s new Hallmark movie (A Glenbrooke Christmas), I would invite you to catch its encore showings on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (December 15th is the first of several). If you are in Canada, you will be able to watch this movie on the W Network on December 20th. Additionally, if you are inclined, I would invite you to check out all of Antonio’s links below for the most salutary and most entertaining behind-the-scenes posts and more! The content Antonio shares will probably NOT be shared anywhere else, so why don’t you take a moment and follow him? As we anticipate 2021 and beyond, I am exhilarated to witness all of Antonio’s dreams and projects coming about. Still, I’m most eager for the prospect of him and Paul Greene (and Paul Campbell maybe too) working together on something extraordinary. Until that momentous time (and beyond, of course), I plan to support everything of Antonio’s I possibly can while giggling at his social media antics and immersing myself in the positivity and generosity that comprise one of the most gracious guys in the biz!

Antonio Cupo Credit: ©2020 Crown Media United States LLC/Photographer: Farah Nosh

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