An American In Austen's Eliza Bennett Teases Fiery Chemistry In New Hallmark Flick — Exclusive
Hallmark's 2024 Loveuary event's theme focuses on classic author Jane Austen's famous novels. While "Sense and Sensibility" was a direct adaptation, the others have pushed the boundaries of creativity by setting up unique stories and situations that have to do with her books in some capacity. "Paging Mr. Darcy" centers around Austen scholar Eloise Cavendish (Mallory Jansen), who has romance issues, attending the Jane Austen League of America Conference where a man dressed as Mr. Darcy from the book "Pride and Prejudice" changes her viewpoint on life. In "Love & Jane," Austen's spirit appears to Alison Sweeney's Lilly to give her some romance tips.
Now comes "An American in Austen" in which Eliza Bennett stars as Harriet, a woman whose vision of romance has been shaped by Austen's novels — particularly the larger-than-life Mr. Darcy — causing difficulties with her real-world boyfriend, Ethan (Bert Seymour). Seeing a shooting star, she wishes simply for "Mr. Darcy," and ends up transported into the reality of "Pride and Prejudice." She finds that her presence is altering the story, Darcy's not quite what she expected, and she must work hard to set things right.
Bennett had great chemistry with everyone in the cast, particularly with Nicholas Bishop who plays Mr. Darcy. She sat down with us to discuss the film, and when it was mentioned, she remarked, "I'm glad that you noticed the chemistry between all of the cast, as we really, truly got on like a house on fire."
The love story bookends the film An American in Austen
In our interview with Eliza Bennett about her new film "An American in Austen," she marveled at the chemistry between the actors. "We laughed from the beginning of the shoot to the end," she said. Bennett praised costar Nicholas Bishop as being "a very smart, very funny man," adding that in doing scenes with him, "My cheeks hurt, my stomach hurt. We would laugh so much and, you know, he plays such a sort of a new take on Darcy." She noted that over the years the character has been idolized as almost an "incredible, perfect man."
But reality sets in for Harriet as Darcy's not quite as perfect as people believe. "We start actually to sort of see his flaws and this sort of mismatch and him not getting the point all the time, and him and Harriet sort of liking each other," explains Eliza Bennett which spells disaster for the story as Darcy's supposed to end up with the Elizabeth Bennet (the similarity to Bennett's real name doesn't escape us).
Bennett explained that she had grown up watching adaptations of Jane Austen's novel, and was subsequently drawn to this project, which is a refreshing take on the author's works. "I think Hallmark movies obviously tend to have the love story really at the heart of the film," she explained. "I think what this movie does differently is [that] the love story really is the bookend of this story."
Bennett improvised comedic moments in the film
The love story that Eliza Bennett referred to in "An American in Austen" revolves around Harriet and Ethan. When Ethan sets up a wonderful moment to propose to her, he's playing a guitar and serenading her. But when he pops the question, she gives him a resounding "Maybe." Bennett explained that Bert Seymour was "mainly petrified of the fact that he had to play guitar and sing."
"I think he does a very adorable job in it," she said. "I think Ethan is a phenomenal boyfriend, and so lovely, and I think the audience will fall in love with him." Bennett felt Harriet's ambivalent response was because Mr. Darcy had given her certain expectations that Ethan couldn't possibly meet. "I think that 'maybe' moment is so much more about sort of her own internal issues that she's going through than it is about their relationship or whether he's the right person for her," she said.
Being a fish-out-of-water tale, there was a lot of humor that Bennett often improvised. She worked with director Clare Niederpruem and producer Veronica Brown to balance comedy with the book's serious tones. "We tried to actually put a lot of physical gags in it because, you know, she's always standing in the wrong place that she's not meant to be standing, and doors open on her, she trips on carriages, and a lot of that stuff was really fun to do."