Long before they were Hallmark hunks, regularly making viewers swoon with their Hallmark Channel rom-coms, many of today’s fan-favorite actors have proven they’re only getting even better with age.
We’ve pulled together a fun look back at archived pics of some of Hallmark’s most popular leading men, looking wide-eyed and baby-faced at red carpet appearances and press events.
Hallmark Channel’s Wes Brown Has Barely Aged in 2 Decades
Hallmark/GettyWes Brown has clearly found the Fountain of Youth! The “Haul Out the Holly” star has barely changed over the last 20 years, and we need his skincare regimen, stat.
In the first photo above, taken in March 2006, Brown was attending the Reel Lounge Gala Benefit for the Creative Coalition in Beverly Hills, California. He was just 23 and an up-and-coming actor who’d appeared alongside Rob Lowe and Cloris Leachman in Lifetime’s six-episode miniseries “Beach Girls” in 2005. He would also soon appear in the soon-to-be hit movie “We Are Marshall,” released in December 2006.
Brown’s first Hallmark movie came in 2010, playing Clark Davis in “Love Begins,” as seen in the middle photo above. That was followed by the 2011 sequel “Love’s Everlasting Courage” (both movies can still be seen via Hallmark+).
Hallmark has been a mainstay for Brown, who will be seen in two 2026 Christmas movies, including the sequel to “A Biltmore Christmas,” but he’s also appeared in many other cool projects, including 2026’s indie horror “Rabisu” co-starring fellow Hallmark star Hunter King. Brown has also kept his music career alive and kicking, from his 2023 Christmas album and a 2025 duet with Gina Claire Mason, his co-star in Hallmark’s “A Newport Christmas.”
Tyler Hynes Has Gone Through Quite the Glow-Up
GettyTyler Hynes has been acting since he was a kid, but he didn’t find his way to Hallmark until 2018, in the rom-coms “Falling For You” with Taylor Cole and “It’s Christmas, Eve” opposite country star LeAnn Rimes.
Hynes’ transformation from clean-shaven and baby-faced at a Hallmark event that summer to his tanned, rugged, and bearded bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold look in 2026 has taken Hallmarkies by storm. He has a devoted fandom affectionately known as the Hynies (with a documentary about them due in 2027), his own Hallmark ornament to be released this holiday season, and another new Christmas movie already wrapped.
The “I’ll Be Seeing You” star is totally cool with aging gracefully and views every scar and wrinkle as part of a person’s life story. In April 2026, Hynes told EntertainmentNow ahead of his 40th birthday that “Jonathan Bennett and other folks laugh at me because my goal is to grow up as — frankly, I want to look like a leather-bound bag when I’m older. I want to be that leathery guy on the beach who’s eating too much pasta, just doesn’t care anymore. This is my goal.”
Andrew Walker Has Been in Dozens of Hallmark Channel Movies
When Tyler Hynes joined Hallmark Channel in 2018, he was following in the footsteps of Andrew Walker, who’s married to Hynes’ first cousin, Cassandra Troy. Walker was already an established Hallmark hunk by that time, having starred in his first Hallmark Channel movie in 2012, “A Bride For Christmas,” opposite Arielle Kebbel.
Walker has since starred in nearly 30 Hallmark movies, from the “Curious Caterer” franchise to teaming up with Hynes and their buddy Paul Campbell for the “Three Wisest Men” trilogy.
But before Walker leaped into the land of rom-coms, he was pounding the pavement in Hollywood (where he moved after growing up in Canada), landing recurring roles on numerous series in the early 2000s, including “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” the WB’s “Maybe It’s Me,” and the Lifetime cop drama “Against The Wall.”
In the throwback photo above, Walker, who’s now a dad of two boys, was attending the Los Angeles premiere of “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” in August 2001 when he was just 22. Walker is currently filming a new Christmas movie after premiering his pet project, Hallmark’s “Kentucky Roses,” in early May.
Robert Buckley Has Gone From ‘One Tree Hill’ to Hallmark Hunk
Hallmark/GettyRobert Buckley is quickly becoming a beloved Hallmark star, as movies like 2025’s “Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper” have beautifully showcased the “One Tree Hill” alum’s comedic and romantic sides. He first joined the network in 2020’s “Love in Store” opposite Alexandra Breckinridge.
Buckley is no stranger to the spotlight, having starred in multiple hit shows, including 40 episodes of 2007’s “American Heiress,” Brooke Shield’s 2008 comedy-drama “Lipstick Jungle,” and playing Clay Evans in “One Tree Hill” from 2009 to 2012.
In the throwback pic above, Buckley was photographed at NBC’s “Lipstick Jungle” premiere in New York on January 31, 2007. His recent Hallmark hits have included “An Unexpected Valentine” with Lacey Chabert, 2024’s “Blind Date Book Club” with Erin Krakow, and playing Evan Kinkaid on “Chesapeake Shores.”
B.J. Britt is Still Flashing Those Pearly Whites!
Hallmark/GettyNo matter what year it is, you can bet B.J. Britt is somewhere flashing that megawatt smile! Even a dozen years ago, attending Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” Hollywood premiere in 2013, Britt was positively beaming on the red carpet — the same way he still does at Hallmark Channel events and in movies like “The Groomsmen” trilogy with Hynes and Jonathan Bennett.
Britt is known for being a ray of sunshine among fans and friends, but also a sensitive soul who’s not afraid to let his feelings show. In 2024, Bennett told GLAAD, “He is so sensitive, so sweet, so endearing.” He added that during one scene in “The Groomsmen,” that the crew “had to stop production because B.J. tapped into such an emotional part of his person that he opened the floodgates and it was a beautiful thing to see and he just had to let it all out.”
Jonathan Bennett’s Looking as ‘Fetch’ As Ever
Hallmark/GettyJonathan Bennett seems to be turning back time even better than Cher these days, from returning to daytime TV on “General Hospital” in May 2026 — 25 years after he got his start on “All My Children” — to looking as “fetch” as ever.
In the first photo above, the “Mean Girls” alum was just 21, attending an “All My Children” cabaret performance in New York to benefit the Robin Hood Fund on January 29, 2002, per Getty.
By early 2004, Bennett was on the verge of seeing his career explode with his role as Aaron Samuels in “Mean Girls,” when he and future Hallmark co-star Rachel Boston — one of his besties since meeting as teens on an audition — attended the Rock the Vote Awards in Hollywood.
In 2010, he had a supporting role in “Elevator Girl,” which was his and “Mean Girls” pal Lacey Chabert’s first Hallmark movie. He didn’t begin his reign as Hallmark royalty, though, until 2017 — returning for a role in “Love at First Glance,” and then starring in “Christmas Made To Order” opposite Alexa PenaVega in 2018.
Bennett has appeared in more than a dozen Hallmark movies, including developing and producing “The Groomsmen” trilogy, and he also created and hosted the network’s reality competition “Finding Mr. Christmas.” Fans are still hoping a third season will air in 2026.
More Then & Now Pics of Your Favorite Hallmark Hunks
Here are a few more fun then-and-now comparisons of fan-favorite Hallmark hunks who are still sizzling onscreen, from “Hannan Swensen Mysteries” star Victor Webster to Niall Matter, who will star in this year’s “A Biltmore Christmas” sequel.
Hallmark/Getty
Getty
Getty
Hallmark/Getty
