Robert Buckley stars alongside When Calls the Heart’s Erin Krakow in the new Hallmark Channel original movie Blind Date Book Club, airing April 6. Buckley has already starred in several Hallmark films and notably played Evan Kincaid in Chesapeake Shores. Could Buckley expand his Hallmark footprint and end up in the WCTH universe?
If Buckley has it his way, then yes. While filming Blind Date Book Club, Buckley tells TV Insider, he pitched Krakow ideas for When Calls the Heart characters “because I’m shameless, and this is what I do. It became a bit where I just went, ‘Okay, obviously, I need to join When Calls the Heart, so what’s the role? Am I an inventor?’”
He adds, “It sort of became this game every now and then I would just, apropos of nothing, start pitching her a character that I could play on the show. We never quite landed on one that worked, but it’s probably because I was pitching things like a bad boy inventor.”
Buckley and Krakow didn’t settle on a specific idea, but the iZombie alum still has hope. “I think we can all agree When Calls [the Heart] has about another 10 to 12 seasons in the tank, so there’s time,” he says.
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In Blind Date Book Club, Buckley plays an author named Graham whose latest novel isn’t a huge hit. Graham has found himself “at a point where he just wants to branch out and do something new.” After hearing about a blind date book club, he travels to the store and meets Meg, played by Krakow.
“He flies out there and tells a little white lie because he writes his new novel under a pseudonym, and he introduces himself as such,” Buckley teases. “So the relationship begins with the typical little meet cute, and then instead of a misunderstanding, it’s a little white lie, but it doesn’t last very long and from there the relationship grows.”
From the jump, Buckley says Graham is drawn to Meg because she has “zero filter. She’s honest, she’s thoughtful, and she’s blunt. She reads his new book, and she doesn’t care for it. She’s not a huge fan of it, but the feedback that she gives him, the insight that she gives him is very articulate and thoughtful and helpful. It’s very refreshing to him.”
Buckley notes that Graham ultimately appreciates that Meg is “not charmed by him.” He continues, “I think when you’re someone who’s been told yes a lot and had a lot of success, suddenly being put in your place and taken down a peg is exciting and interesting, albeit humbling and occasionally awkward and painful.”
Working alongside Hallmark veteran Krakow was “easy” for Buckley. “She is very much like myself and doesn’t take herself seriously, and it’s very silly,” the One Tree Hill alum says. “We immediately hit it off, and we had several mutual friends in common, so she’s one of those people where it felt like, oh, we already know each other. There was an immediate ease to it. She’s very talented and very professional.”
If you take a look at Buckley’s Instagram, you’ll notice one of his most recent posts is a photo of him on the set of what looks like a Christmas movie (i.e. the ornaments in the background). The actor confirms that he is doing another holiday movie for Hallmark.
“I love Christmas, fun fact about me. I’m sure you couldn’t have guessed it considering my work history,” he says with a laugh. “I love Christmas movies because I sort of get a bonus Christmas every year. This one not only was a bonus Christmas, but we just had so much fun making it. I hope it turns out as good as I think it could be because I’m just so excited about it.”
Blind Date Book Club, Movie Premiere, Sunday, April 7, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel