Central Albertans co-star in new Christmas romance film

Clarke’s dog, Ralph, she points out, also co-stars in the role of Comet.

Despite growing up very close to one another, Clarke and Blair had never met before arriving on set in Ontario to shoot the film.

“My family would go to Sylvan Lake every single weekend during the summer,” says Blair of Clarke’s hometown. “It was so funny when we were chatting in the transport van; it was like, ‘Where are you from?’ and she said ‘Oh, just this little town in Alberta.’ I said ‘Well I might know it,’ and she said, ‘Sylvan Lake.’ I said ‘Get out of here.’

“It was cool to connect on that front and realize we knew quite a few of the same people. That was a bit of a trip,” adds Blair. “It’s one thing if you are from a similar area or town, but it’s also great when that person is so awesome, and she brought it every single day; she’s such a good person.”

Winny Clarke and Jacob Blair, both from central Alberta, co-star in Christmas By Chance. (Good Soldier Films/David Leyes)

Without giving the entire plot of Christmas By Chance away, Clarke says the feature follows Chance Hazelton, a struggling business owner, who meets Blair’s character, William Richards, a wealthy entrepreneur, who is trying to stage the perfect proposal for his girlfriend.

The rest, you’ll have to watch to find out.

Otherwise, the pair agrees it was certainly a different experience filming during the COVID-19-era. Shooting began on March 14, and was postponed just two days later.

“We resumed and finished the shoot in August. There were many precautions taken to ensure everyone was safe on set. Masks were worn at all times, besides when the camera was rolling, and only the actors could remove their masks,” Clarke recalls. “Space was maintained between all crew and cast. Everyone went above and beyond in creating and maintaining a safe space.”

“Filmmaking is magical, even in the midst of chaos,” she adds.

Blair, a former Red Deer College commerce student and graduate of Studio 58 at Vancouver’s Langara College, knew he could trust the environment would be safe because he’d worked with Good Soldier Films a number of times previously.

“These movies are always fun; I’ll never turn one down. People love them, and there’s this outpouring from dedicated fans to this genre,” Blair says. “I’ll get messages from friends I went to high school with asking me ‘Are you in a Christmas movie this year?’ I love to tell them yes.”

For 36-year-old Blair, whose most memorable projects include a regular role on The Pinkertons (22 eps, 2014-15), and working with Liam Neeson on The Grey (2011), his next project is another Christmas movie called Love in the Alps, which is set for release next year, he shares.

Clarke is also in another romantic comedy coming soon called My Boss’s Wedding, and has previously acted in a wide array of genres from the TV series Swerve (2017-19) to horror film The Door (2014).

Check out the trailer below (click the full screen icon to make bigger):

by Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

Central Albertans co-star in new Christmas romance film

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