On December 14, Hallmark airs the premiere of “Oy to the World!” starring Brooke D’Orsay and Jake Epstein. Ahead of the film’s debut, both O’Dorsay and Epstein gushed over one another in separate interviews.
Jake Epstein Loved the Vibe He Had With His Co-Star
D’Orsay plays church youth choir director Nikki Roberts, and Epstein plays Jake Cohen, a substitute youth choir director from a nearby temple.
The two groups find themselves needing to share space for the holidays, and it turns out that Cohen and Roberts were rival singers during their high school days.
The former rivals need to set their differences aside to create a joint musicial program for their choirs. Naturally, along the way, they fall for one another.
During the December 13 episode of the “Heart in Motion” podcast, Epstein talked about the fun and unique dynamic between his character and O’Dorsay’s.
Epstein noted that he had not met O’Dorsay prior to filming, which he shared was not unusual. The two met just a day or two before filming began, having lunch together with a producer. After lunch, Epstein shared, they walked together for a bit and decided to run a scene together.
“Immediately I knew this was going to be really fun and that Brooke was so open to improve and changing lines and going with it,” Epstein recalled. They quickly discovered they collaborated well and had similar visions for the film.
He noted, “Honestly, that was kind of the vibe from day one. It really just felt like we were there to try to make each other look good and have a bunch of fun on camera in front of people.”
Epstein added, “Brooke is a real gem of a person, a great great actor, I’m a big fan.”
Brooke O’Dorsay Hit It off Immediately With Her Co-Star
O’Dorsay was similarly complimentary of her co-star in a separate interview. She chatted with Celeb Secrets and said, “Jake and I got along swimmingly from the second we met each other.”
She added, “For the first half of the movie [our characters are] really at odds, but we were just good buds the minute we met.”
Epstein loved how much improv he and D’Orsay got to incorporate into the movie. In addition, D’Orsay noted, there is a good amount of singing, too.
“My co-star is a Broadway singer… he carries it very well,” O’Dorsay said of Epstein.
As Playbill noted, Epstein performed in “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” in 2014, as well as “Spider-Man Turn off the Dark” in 2011.
On the other hand, O’Dorsay noted, she does not consider herself a stellar singer. “It was a new challenge,” she admitted.
O’Dorsay revealed, “I’m inspired now to get better at it and maybe not have to have as much help in the booth next time around.”
Hallmark fans have noted on the network’s latest preview post on Instagram that they are excited to watch this one. “Oy to the World!” will also be available on Hallmark+ beginning on December 15.
I love these two actors a lot!!