30 films and countless Christmas trees: Alison Sweeney reflects on being one of Hallmark’s MVPs

By Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times

LOS ANGELES — Seeing Alison Sweeney on a screen without a grove of festively-decorated Christmas trees or the glow of twinkly lights is disorienting — like finding out the truth about Santa. As one of the Hallmark Channel’s most in-demand holiday heroines, she’s become a familiar presence to viewers. But now, in the glow of blue light, speaking over Zoom from her production trailer in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she’s filming her next movie, she’s framed by dark cabinets void of merriment.

“I know,” she says, acknowledging the lack of cozy cheer. “I’m used to walking around and just seeing trees and wreaths and Christmas lights everywhere.”

Before becoming MVP of the network’s Christmas movie industrial complex, Sweeney was best known for her time on “Days of Our Lives” as Samantha “Sami” Brady, the manipulative troublemaker daughter to Deidre Hall’s Marlena Evans. In the Hallmark chapter of her career, Sweeney’s been able to lean into lightness and portray different personas that viewers like to like.

“I loved playing Sami,” she says. “It’s a huge part of me and my character and who I am. However, playing part of that ongoing story for all of those years, it kind of never ends; you’re out of the frying pan, into the fire, back and forth, the whole time. Playing a story where you read the whole script and you know how it ends, it’s really satisfying.”

Her latest, “This Time Each Year,” which premiered Thursday, marks her 30th film for Hallmark, many of which have been holiday-themed. Sweeney plays Lauren, who is nearly a year into her separation from her husband, Kevin (Niall Matter). He is determined to win his family back, but in the meantime, they are focused on co-parenting their young son, Charlie, as Christmas nears. The film, which Sweeney also executive produced, is one of 47 holiday movies Hallmark will release this season.

Sweeney spoke to The Times about how her new film brings some edge to the holiday space, discovering how seriously Hallmark thinks about Christmas, and what she’ll remember about her late “Days of Our Lives” co-star Drake Hogestyn. This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Q: I know you’ve done non-holiday movies for Hallmark, but what drew you to the holiday universe?

A: I had not realized how valuable these Christmas movies are to people in their own holiday traditions. People love these Christmas movies and set their calendar to like, “OK, now we can celebrate Christmas because Hallmark is playing Christmas movies.” I didn’t know what I was getting into when I did the first one. It was sort of stressful because they have really high expectations for Christmas. You’re sort of like, “Oh, let’s make a Christmas movie; that sounds fun.” Then you find out they’re not kidding around. This is serious business. Every shot has to have some hint of Christmas in it.

Q: What do you remember about your first time on the set of your first holiday movie?

A: We were doing a shot where I am walking down a hallway, and it’s a hotel at the holidays [in “Christmas at Holly Lodge”], but there weren’t enough Christmas trees. I guess a Hallmark executive had contacted [producers] to say there’s not enough Christmas decorations in that hallway. I guess they didn’t have enough Christmas trees, so they were all lined up on one side of the wall for that shot, and then they all moved to the other side of the wall for the other shot. I had thought it was Christmas-y enough when I first walked in. But oh no, that’s not Christmas. It needs to be more Christmas. And they busted out more Christmas.

Q: You hail from the world of soap operas, so you’re familiar with the way the genre is sometimes devalued by Hollywood or some viewers. And the holiday movie circuit confronts similar opinions. But we’re seeing more of them made than ever before because there is an audience for them. Are they still undervalued or are the tides shifting?

A: There was a time when it was classified a certain way, but obviously the fans did not feel that way. Now, here we are. The fans have spoken that it’s important to them and Hollywood had to follow and listen. It does ebb and flow, right? Some of my favorite movies are Christmas movies. “Miracle on 34th Street,” “A Christmas Carol” — those are movies that were just the epic, some of the most important movies of all time. Then I think they fell into a pattern or a formula or a habit and got shuffled to the side. The success we’ve had in this genre, not just that they’re about Christmas, but people really love that tradition of “oh, I decorate the tree, we have eggnog, we watch Christmas movies together.” Those are synonymous.

Q: How about for you as a performer, experiencing the stigma?

A: My mother is a violinist and when I was little, she performed with the Hollywood orchestra. She played in all the soundtracks for big movies. Some musicians looked down their nose at the musicians who played for Hollywood. But no one works harder than those musicians. I remember that my mom would always say to me, “What you do is beautiful. Being artistic is what you make of it. Just because it’s not Mozart or Shakespeare, it can still be so meaningful. What people take of it, you’re a part of that story.” Ever since I was little, I really admired that mentality of art for the masses and making music or performing in a way that people want to see. It doesn’t have to be so elevated that people don’t get it.

Q: With the market for holiday movies increasing dramatically in recent years, how competitive is the space for you as an actor? Do you feel like there’s enough to go around?

A: No matter how many movies you do, or how much you’re working, you do have that moment of “Oh, she got a really good one. That role is so great.” There was one my friend Nikki [DeLoach] did where she rode horses in the movie. I love horses in real life. I did say to Hallmark, “When do I get to do a horse movie?” Nikki made that happen for herself. So I was like, “OK, I’ll get to work on that and develop my own story. I’ve got to work on that.”

Q: The fun of these movies is that you know what you’re getting. How has that informed how you want to stretch those expectations as an actor and producer ? “This Time Each Year” feels like a good example of bringing a different kind of depth to the holiday story; the central couple is going through challenges — they’re separated, and alcoholism is touched on.

A: What I admire and appreciate about what Hallmark is angling for, and what I would want as a fan, is to know it’s going to be OK. In terms of “formula,” the brand is that safe feeling that they’re not going to totally go off the rails. I know I can sit down and watch this whole thing and I’m going to be happy and satisfied at the end. For me, developing these stories, I love those moments. I love playing a character that’s falling in love. I love playing a character with the angst. Growing up on “Days of Our Lives,” I always loved scenes that I could really imagine the audience watching in my head. I always was aware of the fans and how they’re going to love this scene so much because I know how it feels to be that fan who put a tape in my VCR and recorded an episode and watched a scene again and again. I want to provide that for people.

Q: Do you think we’ll ever get to a point where the happy ending for these films doesn’t need to be about romance?

A: What Hallmark has expressed interest in is widening the net, so to speak, of “what are other stories we can incorporate.” For example — and please, Julia Roberts, I love you dearly — but “My Best Friend’s Wedding” disappointed me. That was not satisfying. “La La Land” — I was mad. I watched that movie and I stopped it 10 minutes early because I want to pretend that’s how it ended. There are definitely ways to incorporate those stories and including other messages, and broadening the storylines, but at the heart of it, you do always have to have [romance]. I also try to tell stories where it’s a family or a mom and her daughter and their connection or best friends. With this movie, for example, I wanted them to know that this is a different story. The couple is already married. They’ve been married 10 years and, so, you’re going to see a little bit of a different story — they’re not falling in love for the first time; they’re falling in love again.

Q: You’re not the network president, but as an actor, what is your response to the criticism that the very stories the network tells make some statement about the culture wars ? By and large, the stories tend to feature a heroine fleeing the city to take refuge in conservative, if not expressly partisan, predominantly white small towns. How much are you thinking about how it fits with the kind of stories you want to tell?

A: I can only speak for the projects I’m a part of or the things that appeal to me. I do think, in some ways, it’s so much simpler. That fish out of water story is just classic. It’s not like some big statement. It’s just uniquely human to feel that feeling, no matter where you’re from, that when you go somewhere totally different, you’re like, “I’m not used to this. This is strange and new and different.”

Q: When you have your producer hat on, are you’re thinking about the stories or the projects or the casting and how you can be more representative of the demographics?

A: Absolutely. I’m not trying to be preachy. I want to reflect what is happening in the world and what people are going through. If I can find a way to incorporate that in the story and be inclusive, and be telling those stories that people feel “that’s happening in my life,” that’s what I want. Of course, you have to wrap it up in a big bow at the end. For example, I think telling the story of a couple that separated — I know it sounds not edgy, but for us, it’s edgy.

Q: You’ve produced many of the projects that you’ve done for Hallmark. You also write and direct. Do you feel like directing or writing a Christmas film is the next step?

A: Oh my gosh, yeah. I would love to. Christmas movie feels like a whole new level of challenge, but I wouldn’t be afraid of that. I think that could be really fun to tackle, but again, I do hold Christmas up on a pedestal. That would be a whole extra layer of expectation that would be scary to do.

Q: Not to do a hard pivot here, but the soap world was devastated by the recent loss of your longtime “Days of Our Lives” co-star and friend Drake Hogestyn. The outpouring from fans on social media was quite touching. What’s a favorite memory you have of Drake?

A: There was something so healing about reading all the fan reactions — sorry, this is emotional for me. It really helped me work through it because I knew that everyone felt the way I did. I can just imagine, with his last days, he made those people in the hospital feel the exact same way. He was beautiful.

I have a million great stories that I can tell you, but one that stands out for me is — I don’t know why this one, I can’t stop thinking about it — but one time we were in a scene where I [as Sami] was supposed to throw this vase that was like a breakaway vase. They call it candy glass or whatever, and it just sugar water. It’s meant to break and shatter on the wall. Well, I am a little aggressive, and I accidentally shattered it in my hand before I got a chance to throw it against the wall. He’s there and the shards are pretty sharp even though it’s sugar water. Because of the set of circumstances in the scene, I was barefoot, and he literally stopped the scene, told everyone to stop, and held me so that he could help pick the glass out of my feet. He was so kind and caring and such a dad. Helped me make sure it was all OK and safe. There’s a million stories like that. But that’s one that stands out for me. I hope we continue to talk about him. He deserves it forever.

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