Hallmark Stars Bethany Joy Lenz Is Dying To Work With Again

Actor Bethany Joy Lenz has been open about why she loves the Hallmark network, with a major reason being the uplifting energy on set. "Hallmark's a great family to be a part of," Lenz told Woman's Day in 2020. "They really welcome you in and make sure you're taken care of." Because of Lenz's positive experiences with the Hallmark Channel, it's no surprise that she has returned to the network time and time again to star in their movies. She's racked up an impressive list of former co-stars, and there are some that Lenz hopes to collaborate with once more.

While speaking to Bustle in June 2024 about her Hallmark summer flick "Savoring Paris," Lenz name-dropped a few actors she wants to reunite with for future projects. Lenz told the outlet, "I just want to work with Andrew Walker again. I could do the Meg Ryan-Tom Hanks thing with Andrew Walker, [since] he and I have such great fun together. And Kris Polaha is awesome."

Walker was the leading man in Lenz's film "Bottled With Love," and Polaha was the leading man in her 2023 Countdown to Christmas flick "A Biltmore Christmas." Walker has more of a professional history with Lenz than Polaha does.

The Hallmark Channel's Andrew Walker and Bethany Joy Lenz sat down with "Home & Family" in 2019 to discuss their film "Bottled With Love." It was shared that the plot was similar to "You've Got Mail," which stars the veteran actors Lenz said she wanted to model her professional relationship with Walker after, Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Hanks and Ryan have starred in multiple movies, and Walker and Lenz have collaborated more than once too. For example, they were both in an episode of the TV series "Maybe It's Me" and they co-starred in the movie "Snowed-Inn Christmas." On "Home & Family," Lenz said, "On this project, it was so great to get together again. And you know, it was just like, just family." Walker replied, "Yeah, like old times." They also spoke highly of each other.

After Lenz's comments to Bustle in 2024, the compliments continued to fly. Walker said in an email to Heavy, "I would drop anything to be back at it with Joy. I've always said, Joy is my creative muse. She challenges me, inspires me creatively, and always has my back. There's few actresses who I authentically feel like I'm at my best. Joy is one of them!"

Kristoffer Polaha also complimented Lenz's acting abilities when they did an interview about "A Biltmore Christmas" for iHollywoodTV. "You've got a Lucille Ball-type character, Joy here carries the movie, and she does a wonderful job," Polaha said. To Heavy, he hinted that he'd want to work with Lenz again when he provided some "A Biltmore Christmas" sequel ideas. Polaha added, "Yeah, I think there's a lot of fun stories to tell there."