Holidays
20 Hallmark Hunks in Their First ‘Countdown to Christmas’ Movies: Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker & More
As Hallmark stans, Countdown to Christmas is an annual event we look forward to every year. Many of your favorite (and handsome) faces will take center stage in brand-new holiday movies.
Stars like Tyler Hynes, Andrew Walker, Jonathan Bennett, Wes Brown, and more have made multiple movies for the network over the years. But where did their Countdown to Christmas journeys begin?
Scroll down to see a collection of Hallmark studs in their first Hallmark Christmas movies.
Tyler Hynes, It's Christmas, Eve
Tyler Hynes made his Countdown to Christmas debut in the 2018 movie It’s Christmas, Eve. He played Liam, a music teacher who falls for LeAnn Rimes.
Kristoffer Polaha, Hearts of Christmas
Kristoffer Polaha‘s first Hallmark Christmas movie was the delightful Hearts of Christmas in 2016. The actor played Matt, a new hospital CFO who falls for a nurse during the holidays.
Brennan Elliott, A Christmas Melody
Brennan Elliott starred alongside Lacey Chabert in this holiday musical film, which Christmas Queen Mariah Carey directed and also starred in.
Andrew Walker, A Bride for Christmas
Andrew Walker dazzled in his first Countdown to Christmas movie, A Bride for Christmas, which debuted in 2012. The Hallmark stud played a single charmer whose world collides with a three-time bride-to-be (Arielle Kebbel).
B.J. Britt, The Holiday Stocking
The Groomsmen star made his grand entrance into the world of Countdown to Christmas in the 2022 movie The Holiday Stocking. The movie follows an angel with 12 days to reunite his sisters using a family Christmas tradition.
Niall Matter, Finding Father Christmas
Niall Matter‘s first Hallmark Christmas movie was the 2016 film Finding Father Christmas. His character helps Miranda (Erin Krakow) track down her father three days before Christmas.
Benjamin Ayres, A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
Benjamin Ayres made us swoon in 2019’s A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas, his first Hallmark holiday movie. He played a single dad and owner of a local Blue Ridge inn who romances Rachael Leigh Cook‘s character
Wes Brown, Christmas Cookies
The Hallmark icon first joined the Countdown to Christmas fun in Christmas Cookies, which premiered in 2016. The film follows Hannah (Jill Wagner) and Jake, who starts out at odds over a Christmas cookie company, but they soon win over each other’s hearts.
Robert Buckley, The Christmas House
Robert Buckley is a fairly new addition to the Countdown to Christmas crowd. He made his Hallmark holiday debut in the 2020 film The Christmas House with Jonathan Bennett and the late Treat Williams.
Ian Harding, Ghosts of Christmas Always
The Pretty Little Liars alum’s first-ever Hallmark movie was the 2022 holiday film Ghosts of Christmas Always. The holiday romance follows Katherine (Kim Matula), a Ghost of Christmas Present, who must help one soul, Peter, rediscover his Christmas spirit.
Dan Jeannotte, The Royal Nanny
Dan Jeannotte teamed up with Rachel Skarsten in the clever 2022 Hallmark film The Royal Nanny. Skarsten played an MI5 agent who goes undercover as a royal nanny for Prince Colin (Jeannotte).
Will Kemp, Christmas Waltz
Will Kemp hit the ballroom with the Queen of Hallmark herself in the 2020 Christmas movie. The actor played a dance instructor who helps a woman (Chabert) face her fears in life and fulfill her dream of learning to dance.
James Denton, A Kiss Before Christmas
Desperate Housewives fans got the reunion of their dreams when James Denton and Teri Hatcher reunited in the 2021 holiday movie, his first Countdown to Christmas movie for the network.
Victor Webster, Magic Stocking
Victor Webster‘s first-ever Hallmark movie was Puppy Love in 2012, but he joined the Countdown to Christmas crew with Magic Stocking in 2015.
Daniel Lissing, A December Bride
Daniel Lissing was in the middle of his tenure as Jack Thornton on When Calls the Heart when he made his first Hallmark Christmas movie in 2016. (He’s reuniting with Krakow in the upcoming Hallmark movie Santa Tell Me!)
Luke Macfarlane, Christmas Land
The hunky Hallmark star embraced all things holiday in the 2015 movie Christmas Land with Nikki DeLoach. Luke Macfarlane has made a Hallmark Christmas movie almost every year since.
Kevin McGarry, A Song for Christmas
The When Calls the Heart stud’s first Hallmark Christmas movie was the 2017 film A Song for Christmas with Becca Tobin. The actor got to show off his musical chops!
Benjamin Hollingsworth, A Godwink Christmas: Meant for Love
In 2019, the Virgin River star made his first Hallmark Christmas movie, the same year the Netflix show premiered. The movie follows Alice (Cindy Busby) and Jack (Benjamin Hollingsworth), who meet over the course of a wedding weekend during the holidays.
Paul Campbell, Window Wonderland
The Three Wise Men and a Baby star made his first Hallmark Christmas movie in 2013 with Chyler Leigh. They played two Manhattan department store employees who vie for the same job during the busy Christmas season.
Chris McNally, Holiday Crashers
The When Calls the Heart star appeared in several Hallmark Christmas movies before 2024’s Holiday Crashers, but he only had minor roles. Holiday Crashers marked his first leading role in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
