Kavan Smith: Enchanting Facts About The Hallmark Hunk

The following article mentions mental health.

Most Hallmark fans likely saw Kavan Smith for the first time in 2010, when he starred alongside Shannen Doherty in the channel's original movie "Growing the Big One." The film, which was about pumpkin farming, would eventually grow into a fruitful partnership that made Smith one of the network's biggest stars ... but at the time, he had no idea it would lead to a long-term relationship with the channel. "I didn't consider myself a Hallmark actor as I'm not that classic Hollywood beauty for a guy," he later told MediaVillage, though we're sure legions of "When Calls The Heart" fans would disagree. He added, "The great thing about Hallmark is the throwback to the old Hollywood studio system. If they like you, and you work hard, you are rewarded with more work."

The Hallmark hunk's time on the network isn't his only foray into television stardom, however. The Hallmark-heavy half of Smith's filmography is actually his second act as an actor; he had a whole separate claim to fame for his first few decades in the industry. Read on for some enchanting facts about Smith's entire career, from his early days on Canadian sci-fi to his time behind the camera as part of Hallmark's writing team.

Kavan Smith didn't always want to be an actor. He's a consummate Renaissance Man, the kind of actor who also would've happily done a bunch of other things with his life. When TheSciFiWorld.net asked him in 2006 what other careers he might've pursued, Smith rattled them off: "Astrophysicist, race car driver, bongo player, cooking show host, K-1 fighter, thief, encyclopedia salesman, alcoholic, bass fisherman, go-go dancer, beat poet, Nobel Prize-winning author of world's most important book." He initially went to university expecting to have a more normal life than the Hallmark stardom that eventually found him. 

"I didn't have a great childhood," Smith later confessed on the "When Calls The Heart" After Show. He said he hadn't tried hard in school, but in order to be accepted to college, he managed to pull his grades up enough. "My father was a businessman," Smith explained. "And I figured, well, I guess you just sort of go toward what your dad does." He hated it. "I did a year there, and it was awful," Smith said, recalling how he then dropped out of college. A year later, he'd made some choices about what he wanted to do with his life, and he re-enrolled to study theater. "I couldn't get enough of it," he said of the endless hours spent acting and studying with friends.

Kavan Smith grew up in Canada, and he was based in Vancouver, British Columbia, at the start of his career. A lot of shows shot there in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and pretty soon, Smith's career got rolling in a genre he never intended to call his own: science fiction.  Early roles led to a bit of typecasting, and Smith was soon putting in appearances on everything from "Battlestar Galactica" and "Eureka" to "Sanctuary" and "The 4400." According to Smith, he hadn't quite known what he was signing up for at the time. Noting that there's a lot of backstory that goes into any sci-fi show, Smith compared sci-fi acting to reading "Dune" — which is one of the best sci-fi books to read on a weekend getaway.

"You have to get your brain around, first of all, technical jargon," he told GateWorld. "You have to know what you're saying. You have to understand what's going on around you," he said. As he found his footing, Smith realized that there was a lot to love about acting in shows that frequently sent him to space. "You do things that you would never do. It's like being 6 years old and sitting on a toilet pretending you're in a space ship with a towel wrapped around yourself," he said. "It's the original 'playing.' It's like being a child again. It can be a lot of fun."

Early in Kavan Smith's career, he got a big break that seemed certain to send him skyrocketing from Canadian television to international super-stardom. He was hired by Brian De Palma — director of Robert De Niro's first ever movie role — for "Mission to Mars," a sci-fi adventure with a star-studded cast. Smith acted alongside Hollywood heavyweights like Gary Sinise, Don Cheadle, and Tim Robbins, a dream for a young actor early in his career. "I was such a De Palma fan," he said on the "When Calls the Heart" After Show, "and they paid incredibly well."

Before that, though, Smith had coincidentally just completed filming on a television movie that had also been called "Mission to Mars." They came out in quick succession, so the other film had to change its name to "Escape from Mars." Smith explained that one had been especially fun to film; he'd even gotten scolded on set. "We were in space suits the whole time," he said, noting that the suits had communication tools built into them that were on at all times. "I had a captive audience," Smith joked. "I had the funniest stuff I've ever had come out of me on that show, and I couldn't stop, and they couldn't stop me. I was just never-ending jokes." Ultimately, director Neill Fearnley had to say something. On the film's last day of shooting, Smith wouldn't let up. "I kept cracking up this one actor," he recalled. "Finally, Neill's like ... 'Get off my set.'"

Plenty of actors, it seems, enjoy spending their free time behind a kitchen counter when they're not on set. After all, Freddy Prinze Jr. is a '90s acting icon who now works as a chef, and he's not alone; Kavan Smith, too, would love to cook for a living if he wasn't doing well as an actor. In an interview with My Devotional Thoughts, Smith recalled being raised by a Thai nanny who imbued him with a love of cooking. They knew two Thai sisters, in fact, and their family helped them come to Canada to work. "The one who came to work for us used to be a teacher at the Cordon Bleu Cooking School in Paris. I developed an interest in cooking from her from a very young age," he said, "And then I just kept it going my whole life."

Smith takes his cooking very seriously, though he told the outlet he doesn't really have go-to dishes; instead, he loves to experiment. "I like the challenge of trying to master new things. So, whether it's Beef Wellington or making my own candies and things like that, I'm always up for the challenge," he said. That's his approach to his family's holiday celebrations, too. "I have a whole gaggle of things that I try and make for Christmas. Every year, I try and add a few new things and see if they become customs in our household," he said, explaining how he'll make a treat or dish several times before moving on to something new.

Fairly early in Kavan Smith's career, he realized he was becoming associated with the science fiction genre. "I am not what you would call a sci-fi guy," he told My Devotional Thoughts years later, explaining that those early roles mostly depended on what shows filmed in Vancouver. "I'm a 'Star Wars' fan, but then I fade out very quickly after that." Many "Stargate" fans might be surprised to hear that, because Smith's role as Major Lorne spanned two shows in the iconic sci-fi franchise. 

In addition to appearing on the flagship "Stargate: SG-1" series — a show that kicked off the stunning transformation of Morena Baccarin — Smith's one-off character made the leap several years later to the "Stargate: Atlantis" spinoff, becoming a recurring character in the show's second season. After the show's producers decided to carry over the character, Smith was given a bit of leeway in shaping Lorne. "I decided that I would try and instill a lot of humor with the character. So, whenever I get the chance. Not ha-ha humor. Some sarcastic asides and little things like that," he told GateWorld. 

In addition to his time spent working on television, in the movies, and in the kitchen, Kavan Smith has another hobby he likes to share with his fans. Smith once revealed a teenage interest in muscle cars, which culminated in the purchase of a 1967 Mustang. His father helped him buy the car, but they didn't realize what, exactly, they were in for. "We bought it because it was such a beautiful car –- an aquamarine blue color," he said in a 2013 interview with The Globe and Mail. "We didn't know much about it. It was rusting out from underneath us. By the time we found out, it was too late."

In the decades since that purchase at the end of the '80s, Smith has mostly restrained himself; unlike, say, Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell's wildly lavish life, which involves collecting expensive sports cars. Instead, Smith poured a lot of money into fixing and maintaining that old '67 Mustang. "I've had all of the body work done. I had new metal brakes put in and I got rid of almost all of the rust. I've done some repainting," he mused, guessing that he's put something like $20,000 into the car. Unlike many car aficionados, Smith doesn't actually drive his prized possession very much, partially because of his interest in environmental preservation. "I think that it does reflect a want of a sense of style," he said. "I also think by keeping it in the driveway and not driving I hope it shows I have the courage of my convictions, and I want to be more responsible and less flashy."

When Hallmark's "When Calls the Heart" came calling, Kavan Smith wasn't sure he was up for it. The long-running soap features life on the frontier, and Smith wasn't sure this was the right career move. "I remember turning it down first 'cause I was up for something else," he told My Devotional Thoughts. "Shortly after that, they mentioned that the first episode I would be doing would be directed by Neill Fearnley, someone I had worked with a bunch of times." Fearnley was the director of "Escape from Mars," the sci-fi movie where Smith joked around with his co-stars; the two had maintained a great relationship, so Fearnley convinced him to do the show.

"I didn't know anything about it. I had no idea what the show was about. I had never heard of the books, and I was a little apprehensive," Smith said. Fearnley described the character, Lee Coulter, as a sort of Gatsby-esque figure who would bring something exciting to the town of Hope Valley, and Smith liked the idea. He also liked the idea of working with Pascale Hutton, with Hutton and Smith's on-screen chemistry carrying him through this next phase of his career.

When Kavan Smith became a beloved part of the Hallmark Channel family thanks to his role on "When Calls the Heart," other doors opened up for him at the network. "Comedy has always been my favorite genre, and yes, I have aspirations to write [and] direct in the future," he told TheSciFiWorld.net back in 2006. At Hallmark, those aspirations were realized. Smith wrote the screenplay for "Love on the Menu," a rom-com about a chef, after a Hallmark exec asked him about his dream project while on set of a different movie. He wasn't sure whether she was serious, so he emailed her to ask. "I wrote it as a series — actors always want more — but she said, 'Turn it into a movie and I think we have something,'" he told MediaVillage.

Although Smith had starred opposite Pascale Hutton in several movies outside of the "When Calls the Heart" franchise, Hallmark star Autumn Reeser was cast as his love interest in "Love on the Menu." He said, "She is smart, fun, vivacious and I like all of that in a partner. She's also a strong actor and a lot of what you'll see is us just having fun while the cameras rolled.She was just terrific and I would work with her again any day."

In 2026, "When Calls the Heart" aired the show's 13th season, in which Lee Coulter encounters something he hasn't had to deal with before: anxiety. Lee has always seemed like everybody's rock in Hope Valley, but after Kavan Smith experienced a panic attack in his own life, he suggested his character go through something similar. "I have had similar things to anxiety," he told TheHearties.com. "Panic attacks ... it's a wild experience. I have teenage boys, so that'll give you anxiety. It feels like what I imagine a heart attack would feel like."

As a result, he suggested Lee suffer a heart attack on "When Calls the Heart," but the show's writers suggested an anxiety attack instead. "I just thought it was great," he explained to The Official Hearties Show & Podcast, noting that he especially appreciated the ultimate takeaway from his character's storyline. "The most important lesson of all," he said, "is just: You gotta let the things go that don't matter." If you watched Lee's storyline on "When Calls the Heart" and found yourself relating to his stress, here are some therapist-approved ways to cope with anxiety.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

In 2021, Kavan Smith and Pascale Hutton took their fan-favorite coupling to Hawaii, where they shot "You Had Me At Aloha," a Hallmark rom-com. "A friend of ours ended up directing a movie in Fiji, and Pascale and I got a bit jealous and decided to try to come up with a pitch that involved a destination," Smith explained to PC Principle. The film features Smith as an impulsive character and Hutton as the more buttoned-up one in the couple, which is a reversal of their dynamic on "When Calls the Heart." 

Smith told PC Principle that they kept trying to find new personalities and stories to explore together because they enjoy each other's company so much. "Mostly what it boils down to is a real love of making each other laugh. We'll do almost anything to get the other person to crack," he said. "I think that joy is what people see on screen." It's a good thing there was so much joy in Hawaii while they filmed the movie; after all, Smith witnessed a scary accident on the set of "You Had Me At Aloha." 

Over the course of his decade on "When Calls the Heart," Kavan Smith has shared the screen with a number of co-stars. In recent years, Lee and Rosemary Coulter's family got even bigger; in addition to their young daughter Marigold "Goldie" Coulter, the couple become foster parents in Season 13. Gwendolyn (Alex MacIsaac) is a young girl who survives the tragic fire that devastated Hope Valley the season before, and by helping her readjust, Lee and Rosemary learn to survive themselves. "They have to foster this young girl who has her own trauma," Smith told Parade, "and so I think instead of wallowing in the loss, they really rally."

Smith got along great with MacIsaac on set. "We were messing around and doing some practical jokes on some of the directors, and it was like having a little accomplice. Alex is a great kid," Smith said. Hutton joked, "Oh gosh, we are going to have two Kavans on the set for a while." It makes sense, after all; Smith also gets along great with Ellie Sweiss, who plays the much-younger Goldie. "Her mom would bring her to the set and give her a bucket of candy. But she wouldn't eat it; she would hand it out to all of the cast and crew in between scenes," Smith beamed to Parade. "She is the sweetest 3-year-old girl."

Most Hallmark fans likely associate Kavan Smith with Pascale Hutton, his wife on "When Calls the Heart." They've starred together in a number of movies, too, like the "The Perfect Bride" series and the "Nelly Knows" mysteries, and they seem to be great friends in real life. Smith has, however, worked with a number of other Hallmark leading ladies, and he's had nothing but great things to say about them, too. 

He told My Devotional Thoughts that he'd also worked with original "When Calls the Heart" cast member Lori Loughlin on a movie in the "Garage Sale Mysteries" series, and he knew they'd get along when he joined the cast of the television show she led. "She's such a cool lady," Smith said. "She's so much fun to hang out with." He also showered compliments on Hallmark regular Alison Sweeney, who played his love interest in a film called "The Irresistible Blueberry Farm." Smith gushed, "I really ended up liking Alison Sweeney a lot. We laughed so hard we almost had to change our underwear every day."