After starring in more than two dozen Hallmark movies, Benjamin Ayres is an old pro at bringing rom-com scripts to life. But his latest movie, “A Christmas Angel Match,” came with some unique challenges, he told EntertainmentNow ahead of the film’s premiere on October 19, 2025.
“It’s a difficult movie, because we’re playing angels,” Ayres said of his and co-star Meghan Ory’s roles as matchmaking angels sent to Earth to help orchestrate love connections during the holiday season. “The experience of making it was so fun, but a little nerve-racking at first. It’s not a traditional story that we’ve all told, you know? Like, what does it mean to be an angel? We really had to figure out how these characters would act.”
Benjamin Ayres Says ‘Elf’ Inspired Some of His Most Joyful Scenes in ‘A Christmas Angel Match’
Premiering during the first weekend of Hallmark’s beloved Countdown to Christmas programming slate, “A Christmas Angel Match” features Ayres and Ory as angels Monica and Michael. They both work for the Christmas Connection Department and are tasked with “bringing soulmates together during the most magical season of all,” per Hallmark.
The two angels typically work alone, but are ordered to team up on a major assignment despite their comically clashing personalities. According to Hallmark’s logline, “Monica is a by-the-book traditionalist who follows every heavenly rule, while Michael embraces spontaneity and delights in earthly joys like hot chocolate, snowball fights, and holiday dancing.”
Ayres fully leaned into Michael’s joyful, awestruck personality, telling EntertainmentNow that the classic Christmas movie “Elf” served as inspiration in “the type of joy that Will Ferrell brings to walking into Manhattan for the first time.”
“There was a lot to think about though,” he continued, noting all the details they considered, right down to the angel pins on their lapels. “We really had to consider, ‘What is this world we’re in? Are we in Heaven? Are we in the clouds? How do you act when you’ve been an angel for a hundred years and she’s been one for like 380 years?'”
But in the end, Ayres said, “I love how magical it is. I think people are really gonna love it.”
Meghan Ory Says Christmas Movie With Benjamin Ayres Was a ‘Life Changing Experience’
Ory and her creative partner, Christie Will Wolf, wrote and executive-produced “A Christmas Angel Match.” The longtime Hallmark star described it as a “life changing experience” in a social media post on October 18.
The mom of three, who co-starred with her husband John Reardon in 2024’s “Believe in Christmas,” shared with her fans in May that filming “A Christmas Angel Match” in Vancouver meant leaving her family at home in Nova Scotia for the first time.
“After the most intense and insane year of life,” Ory wrote, “I’m heading off to do a movie, away from home for the first time ever. Feeling SO grateful to my amazing partner, in every sense of the word – @johnny_reardon. Holding down the fort. Solo parenting while the kids miss mommy. And again, after everything he’s been through, he is cheering me on. Supporting me. Supporting the family. Full of love.
Thank you so much. Love you.”
Ory and Reardon have navigated many ups and downs over the last year. On Christmas Eve 2024, the couple publicly revealed that Reardon had been fighting tonsil cancer. Shortly after, they launched a YouTube series chronicling the renovation of their 100-year-old home. And in September, Reardon opened up about a major career shift, revealing that the end of his role on the popular series “Hudson & Rex” was not his decision.
The premiere of “A Christmas Angel Match” is sure to be a highlight of the couple’s past year. The movie premieres on October 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
