Andrew Walker, Tyler Hynes, And Paul Campbell Talk Three Wise Men And A Baby - Exclusive Interview
When it comes to Hallmark Christmas movie staples, the plot typically centers around the budding romance of a couple. Yet sometimes, we get a family-focused comedy like "Three Wise Men and a Baby." Andrew Walker (playing Luke), Tyler Hynes (playing Taylor), and Paul Campbell (playing Stephan) star in the movie.
All of the leading men are Hallmark movie pros, having done plenty of Christmas films throughout their careers, with more than a few overlaps. Campbell is also known for his roles in "Battlestar Galactica," "The Big Year," "88 Minutes," and most recently, "Turner & Hooch." Meanwhile, Hynes appeared in projects like "Neverending Story" and "Letterkenny," while Walker is known for his roles as Cole in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" and Michael in "Steel Toes."
Looper spoke to these three wise-cracking men during an exclusive interview, where they discussed the fun dynamic of the film, compared it with other wholesome projects like "Turner & Hooch" and "Neverending Story," and even pitched a "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" Christmas movie with Melissa Joan Hart.
A slate of wholesome projects
Paul and Tyler, you've both done wholesome projects like "Turner & Hooch" and "Neverending Story." How do Christmas movies like "Three Wise Men and a Baby" compare, and why do you love holiday movies?
Tyler Hynes: Did you know I was in "Neverending Story"?
Paul Campbell: No!
Hynes: Shock to both of you?
Andrew Walker: Yeah.
Hynes: Yeah. Remember the guy who rides the horse and the horse dies?
Walker: Yes.
Hynes: That was me. Not on the one that you like or you like, but the other one.
Campbell: A newer one.
Walker: Oh, newer.
Hynes: There was a TV show, yeah.
Campbell: Oh my god. Très exciting.
Hynes: Yeah.
Walker: Unreal.
Hynes: Sorry, we derailed that.
Campbell: We're all familiar with wholesome content. "Turner & Hooch" is a story about family struggle and there are dogs, so I guess I see some similarities, but aside from that, this is its own thing unto itself. I personally gravitate towards these types of movies, towards shows like "Turner & Hooch." I have a 6-year-old son. I want to be able to show him what his dad does for work and not feel [bad] about it. I love the types of movies that we make. I love what Hallmark does. I love the feeling that it brings people and the feeling that it brings me making them. That's why I do what I do.
Hynes: I watch serial killer documentaries.
Campbell: You are what you eat.
Hynes: You are. You know what I do when I finish these movies? There's a song that I play every time I wrap a movie on the way home, and the lyrics [go] something like this—
Campbell: [Jokingly singing "Baby Shark"]
Hynes: Close. The lyrics are, "I'm going back to evil now."
Campbell: Oh, interesting.
Hynes: Says it on repeat. And I love this genre of movie. I love romantic movies like "Notting Hill." These are some of my favorite movies of all time. But I've definitely exorcised —
Walker: "[A] Bride for Christmas" on that list too?
Hynes: "[A] Bride for Christmas"?
Walker: Yeah. That's a great movie. You should see that.
Hynes: Is that his movie?
Walker: That's one of my movies.
Campbell: Honestly.
Hynes: Sorry.
Walker: It's all right. I digress.
Campbell: Apologies in advance.
The chilling Christmas adventures of Sabrina
Andrew, you played Cole in "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," and Melissa Joan Hart is also a big —
Walker: Did you know that?
Campbell: No.
Hynes: I did know that.
I'm teaching everyone things today.
Walker, Hynes, and Campbell: Yeah.
And Melissa Joan Hart is also a big Christmas movie staple. Would you ever want to do a Hallmark Christmas movie with her? And what would you want the plot to be?
Walker: Why not? Of course.
Hynes: So you did "Sabrina," and she does Hallmark movies?
Walker: She does. She's done some, she's done a few Hallmark movies.
Hynes: And you haven't done one with her?
Walker: She does [fake coughs Lifetime] movies too, but ...
Hynes: Keep it down.
Campbell: I want to hear what plot. I want to hear the plot.
Walker: The plot?
Campbell: Yeah, that was the question.
Pitch it!
Campbell: If you would do a movie, what would the plot be?
Walker: Maybe we got to bring the cat back.
Ooh! Salem!
Walker: Why don't we just do a "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" Christmas movie?
In Salem.
Walker: And the aunts. We got to bring the aunts back too.
Hynes: Caroline Rhea. I've worked with her. I want to work with her again. She's incredible. She's the best.
Campbell: Wow.
Hynes: Yeah. Paul's writing it.
Campbell: I'm writing it in my head.
Walker: "Magical Christmas." "It's a Magical Christmas."
Campbell: It's not great, but I'm writing it in my head.
Walker: Yeah, yeah. So?
Hynes: It's the worst one I've done.
Campbell: Can you think of anything that rhymes with "chai latte"?
Hynes: Sorry. Apologies.
A family comedy
This seems like a pretty fun film. What do you think fans who don't typically watch Christmas movies will love about this?
Campbell: Andrew shirtless.
Hynes: Andrew shirtless. I second that opinion.
Walker: Well, I don't know. I don't know if that —
Hynes: You say, "Andrew shirtless," too. Say it too. Say, "Andrew shirtless."
Walker: I can't.
Campbell: You know what they're going to like.
Hynes: Unanimous decision. Andrew shirtless.
Campbell: This is where we differ from a traditional rom-com. It's a love story with three brothers rediscovering each other, and there's a beautiful harmony that we find at the end. We really do travel very far in terms of the way they relate to each other, from where the movie starts to where we wrap it up.
Walker: There's [a] big contrast with the brothers' relationship too. There was one scene that I flew off the handle more than I ever have in any Hallmark movie. [With] this movie, the beauty of the script that Paul and Kimberley wrote is that it's so funny but it's got tons of heart.
We were given the ability to go in all different [directions] with this, as a family dynamic who are still working through trauma from a young age, and it's all come to a head. You're finding us in this moment in time that's initiated by the baby coming into our life.
Campbell: It's a rom-com about a family falling back into love. And we have an adorable baby. So if you're a fan of babies, you're going to like this movie.
"Three Wise Men and a Baby" premieres on November 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. CT on the Hallmark Channel.
This interview has been edited for clarity.