‘Amazing Winter Romance’s Jessy Schram on Julia’s Trip Home & Finding Love
Q&A
Julia (Jessy Schram) heads home for an assignment, but she’s going to get much more than bargained for in Hallmark Channel’s Amazing Winter Romance.
“In her mind, she’s just coming home for a quick visit,” Schram tells TV Insider. “She’s not completely leaving the city behind when she first gets there. It’s still with her the whole time.”
Once home, she discovers the gigantic snow maze her childhood best friend, Nate (Marshall Williams), built to attract tourists. “It’s like a tiny community within the maze,” the actress shares, adding the maze had already been built and wasn’t made for the movie. “I think they actually have warming stations and benches and blankets and hot chocolate in the maze.”
But can that maze help her find inspiration and love? Here, Schram previews her latest Hallmark rom-com.
(Courtesy of Johnson Production Group)
Julia heads home looking for inspiration for her articles. What is she hoping to find there?
Jessy Schram: She gets sent to work, but she’s hoping to find something and she just has no idea what it is, to be honest. Going to her hometown is great because she gets to see her family and have some comfort, but one of the things Julia’s struggling with is she doesn’t know what’s missing and she doesn’t know what she wants. In going home, she’s there to complete an assignment. But also she’s just hoping things will start to change.
How does she feel about where she is in her career?
She feels a little bit stagnant. She’s doing well. She’s successful at what she does. It once was something that was exciting but it just doesn’t feel fulfilling. She feels like she’s stuck.
How would you describe her relationship with her family? She gets along well with them, right?
Oh, yeah, definitely. You definitely have the daddy-daughter relationship that’s really strong and super playful. They have a great relationship there. Even with her mom. The relationship is they all care for each other so much. I like that the parents meddle a little bit, but they really just want to see her happy, so they want her to go whichever direction is really going to make her happy the most.
Once home, she reconnects with her childhood best friend, Nate. What was their relationship like when they were younger and what’s holding her back from letting it become romantic now?
When they were younger, that was her bestie. They did everything together, even though he was a boy and she was a girl. They grew up together.
(Courtesy of Johnson Production Group)
What’s holding her back now is she doesn’t even see him as [potentially] anything other than a friend. It’s not even a thought in her mind to look at maybe how cute he is or how nice he is. She appreciates him, but it’s never come to her mind to think of him as something more.
And then there’s the obvious thing of when you maybe start discovering your feelings for someone that’s so close to you, you have no idea if they actually feel the same way back. So there’s the possible rejection. Then also the possibility of it’s too easy. This is someone she already loves as a friend. Could she also love him romantically? And if it doesn’t work out, what will happen to their friendship?
What did you get to do with this role that you hadn’t in a previous Hallmark movie?
I got to ride a snowmobile. That was a first. That was terrifying but super fun at the same time.
Amazing Winter Romance, Movie Premiere, Monday, January 20, 9/8c, Hallmark Channel
