One of the biggest stars in the constellation of Hallmark holiday movies will be appearing in central Iowa this week.
Actor and director Tyler Hynes has nearly 80 film and TV credits on his resume, including more than two dozen Hallmark movies.
When someone approaches the 40-year-old Toronto native seeking an autograph or a photo, Hynes tells Radio Iowa he can usually tell which of his roles is responsible for his being recognized.
“‘Letterkenny’ is a show that’s shot in Canada that a lot of people in America really like. It’s kind of a funny, irreverent comedy show that my buddy makes, and some people really love that show,” Hynes says, “or it’s the Hallmark movies, or it’s, you know, ‘My mom really enjoys your movies,’ these kinds of things. So luckily, I get the gamut of all kinds of fun reactions.”
Radio Iowa photo
Hynes has been acting since age eight and has earned a long list of accolades, but it’s the Hallmark movies that pushed his fame to a new level. This fall, Hynes’ head and shoulders were crafted into a Hallmark Christmas ornament which is now on sale. He says it’s a pretty keepsake and he plans to hang it on his own tree.
“I use the word ‘pretty’ a little too loosely. It’s hideous because it’s my face,” he says, laughing. “Other than that, it’s really going to look lovely on my tree. It’s funny because I look at it and I don’t even really realize it’s me. I can see the thoughts and the work and the craftsmanship of the people who worked on it, and that’s what I think about when I look at it. So, I think it is going to have to go on the tree. It’ll have to go at the very, very bottom.”
Hynes will appear Friday at the Des Moines Holiday Boutique at the EMC Expo Center, where area merchants showcase a wide range of gift ideas, foods, wines and more. Many of his Hallmark holiday movies are beloved by legions of women — and by plenty of men, too — as he says the films offer a comforting respite from the harsh realities of life.
“I don’t think there’s many places for people to be able to find a really safe experience that they know nothing in there is going to take them anywhere that they don’t want to go,” Hynes says. “I think that that’s a really lovely offering. I meet a lot of families, multi-generational viewers, where the grandmother will watch it with the grandson and it’s sort of a family event.”
His long list of cheery holiday films includes: “Three Wise Men and a Baby,” “Never Been Chris’d” and new this past April, “I’ll Be Seeing You.” The films are a salve for millions of souls, and he says he considers himself exceptionally fortunate to be a part of the Hallmark movie legacy.
“People take it into their homes, usually before bed to help them sort of ease them to sleep, or it’s Christmas, time to celebrate a holiday or it’s fall or it’s Valentine’s Day,” he says. “It seems like it just finds its way into all these precious moments that people have, as well as be there through some people’s most trying times as well, which I think is really beautiful.”
Hallmark is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, where a sort of Hallmark comicon is held over four weekends every year from late November through December. If you miss Hynes in Des Moines, he’ll be appearing at the Hallmark Christmas Experience for two of its four weekends.
