Zane Stephens and Jaclyn Hales stars in the new Great American movie “A Belgian Christmas Chocolate” which is set to premiere on GAC on July 8 at 8p/7c. We at Survived The Shows had the pleasure of chatting with star Jaclyn Hales about her experience in the making of A Belgian Christmas Chocolate and what fans can expect from the movie.
Can you tell us a little bit about your character and how he fits into the story of “A Belgian Chocolate Christmas”?
Jaclyn Hales: Kate, the character that I play, she’s like all of us. She has a dream and she wanted her entire life to be a culinary genius, like her best friend becomes. And instead, she decides to become a photographer, a food photographer. And it catches up with her. She realizes, you know what, I need to follow this dream. And so she finds herself in Belgium, learning and finishing out the taking this elaborate class. But she’s of course, under the fake name of her best friend who couldn’t go. And so there’s this whole. You’re going to get found out plot and all that stuff and then there’s a cute guy teaching the class and all that stuff. So it’s a really fun good time of with Christmas and dreams coming true and romance and lots of fun, fun family, great stuff.
What initially drew you to the role and made you want to be a part of this movie?
Jaclyn Hales: Well, I think when I read the script, I felt like I could relate to her, someone trying to accomplish her dreams. That was very relatable. Also, I was going to shoot in Belgium. That’s a huge perk. Yes. Anytime you get to travel, I’m all for it and just being on set is just so great. So the opportunity, when the opportunity presented itself and and it was a cute movie, I was like, yes.
How did you prepare for your character and get into her mindset for the role?
Hales: So I really I didn’t have much time. I only had like a week before we started shooting when I found out that I had the role and it was a long long script and we shot a lot in one day, the whole thing we only shot in like 13 days. So it was quick and it was fast and it was a lot. So preparing I mean I had to I had to kind of shut out a lot of my friends for a while. I had to just kind of like. Just buckle down and read, read, read that script over and over and over again until we got there. And then I think that that’s what helps the character settle is just reading it again and again and again and again, and eventually as those lines become memorized, the character kind of sticks as well.
What was it like working with the rest of the cast, and did you have any particularly memorable moments on set?
Hales: Sure. Well, I mostly worked with Zayn. He’s the place, the opposite. And he was great, wonderful to work with, really nice and accommodating. And luckily we had a really great time. Just connecting as people as well, which makes it a lot easier to connect on screen. And I would say probably my favorite part of shooting was when we got to go in Belgium. Get a real chocolate class, chocolate making class and then and we really are being taught how to make chocolate in this class. So that was really cool and we got to make our own chocolate and then I got to bring that home and bring it to friends and family.
Can you describe your character’s journey throughout the movie and how she transforms over the course of the story?
Hales: So she starts out kind of lost in what she wants in life and by the end, I would say she gets really clear. She’s like, you know what? I know exactly what I want and I’m strong enough and brave enough to choose it and it comes with the help of her friends. And of course Zayn in the movie has a huge influence on her and she kind of gets it all, you know by the end. She figures it out and so it’s a learning journey of what it is that you want and not being afraid to get it and I feel like she goes through that whole arc, yeah.
Can you tell us about any challenges you faced while filming “A Belgian Chocolate Christmas” and how you overcame them?
Hales: One of the biggest challenges I’d say was when we were shooting outside in Belgium. We, you know, there’s people and there’s noise outside and so we’d have to hold. Shooting and can’t the camera and sound. We’d have to like stop a lot because people would be there they’d be taking pictures or trying to get an autograph or whatever and that was pretty challenging. But let’s see. I’m trying to think probably though for me specifically and saying because he had just about as many lines as I did the memorization because we we only shot in 13 days. I had to memorize like 14 pages a day. So it was a lot, a lot of memorizing, but it was really, really great to exercise my brain that way and to kind of keep it sharp.
What message do you hope viewers take away from “A Belgian Chocolate Christmas” after watching it?
Hales: I hope that what people take away from the movie is a lot of hope for themselves to kind of go for what they want in life and that they if nothing else, like let’s say you’re someone that has already accomplished all their dreams. This is just a feel good, fun, romantic Christmas movie that I think comes with so much uplifting feelings and happy feelings that in today’s world we can all use. You know, I think there’s a lot of sad things out there. This is some nice happy things and and it’s pretty much uplifting the whole time and who doesn’t like that?
What was your favorite scene to film in the movie, and why?
Hales: Besides the chocolate class that we got to shoot, I think the very last scene that we shot of the whole movie, it’s not the last scene in the movie, but it’s the last scene. And it was a more serious scene between Zayn and I where it was freezing and it was cold and it was like after this shot we were going to be wrapped and done right. We had a lot of sound issues but we the whole crew and everyone got like really serious and we pulled together and we made it happen and the shot was just it’s beautiful and Zayn and I just had this really wonderful.
Kind of serious scene together and as an actor it was my favorite because there wasn’t any gimmicks or anything that was there like chocolate to distract. It was just us talking and having a real connection and so that was probably my favorite one to perform because it was like I could really lose myself in the scene and. And kind of become someone else for a while. So I can’t really tell you the scene exactly because it gives it away a little bit, but it’s a serious scene and it’s at the end.
Finally, what can viewers expect from your character and the overall story of “A Belgian Chocolate Christmas”, and why should they tune in to watch it?
Hales: They can expect a lot of laughs and feel good. Feelings, Christmas, joy, family, all of those wonderful things. The reason you should tune in is because there is enough sadness in the world that let’s give ourselves a break. And just tune into something fun for once, you know, and it’s a good time and we had such a good time making it and I think that will translate.
What can you tease about your next projects?
Hales: Well, actually I don’t even have to tease because it just came out like a couple days ago. I created, I wrote and directed this podcast called The Bystanders and it’s a scripted podcast. So it’s like an old time radio show where actors we have Kathleen Turner, Jane Lynch, Margaret Cho. We have a really wonderful actors in it and we all essentially the 6th episode arc call of Show. It’s a dark comedy and you listen to it on headphones or in your car and and it’s super funny. It’s super. It’s a great, great time. I highly recommend it. It’s called The Bystanders and you can listen to it.either@thebystanderspodcast.com or on Apple Podcasts.
The interview with Sarah Pribis has been edited and condensed for lenght and clarity. Watch the full video interview at the top of the article!
A Belgian Christmas Chocolate with Jaclyn Hales premieres July 8 on Great American Family.
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Desirèe
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