I first met today’s guest, BC native Benjamin Ayres, in 2010 when he was co-starring with Corner Gas’s Fred Ewanuick on a little Canadian comedy called Dan for Mayor. Ben’s 110 IMDb credits go back even further and show him to be skilled at both comedy and drama with roles in such shot-in-Canada gems as Saving Hope, Less Than Kind, Family Law, Burden of Truth, Suits, and going way back, jPod.
Now he’s saddling up as a no-nonsense rancher in Hope Valley 1874, a prequel to the ever popular When Calls the Heart. Bethany Joy Lenz and Jill Hennessy are also along for the ride. The new series is streaming now on both Hallmark+ and the W Network.
We get into the whole cowboy deal and spend a lot of time talking about the most important thing about being cast in a western – picking the right hat.
We also talk about Ayres’ crafty side hustle — merch. Want a Hope Valley 1874 hat? Go to romance-university.com for all kinds of stylish gear. As they say on the site: “Big city woman moves to small town and finds cozy comfort in an oversized hoodie…”
To listen to this week’s episode simply click on the white arrow in the blue dot, above.
