When Hallmark Channel announced its fall lineup of new movies, fans were thrilled to see that “When Calls The Heart” star Chris McNally and his longtime love, Julie Gonzalo, both had new rom-coms on the schedule. McNally’s movie, “Love Finds You,” premiered in late August, while Gonzalo’s flick, “A Knight to Remember,” is coming up in October.
But here’s a fun plot twist no one saw coming: Hallmark Media has confirmed that McNally has a cameo in “A Knight to Remember,” marking the first time he and Gonzalo have appeared onscreen together in three years. And it sounds like their four-year-old daughter may make an appearance, too!
Julie Gonzalo Started Filming Right After Her Maternity Leave
HallmarkMcNally and Gonzalo, who met on the set of Hallmark’s “The Sweetest Heart” in 2017, announced on June 24 that they’d welcomed their second daughter in the spring, though they didn’t share her birthdate or name. By the time the couple announced their newborn’s arrival in June, McNally had already finished filming “Love Finds You” with Aimee Teegarden in British Columbia.
During an appearance on the Heart to Hearties podcast on August 19, he said, “I think maybe she was three months old and, yeah, I skipped out of dad duties for three weeks, but then we traded. I stayed home and Julie went and did one for three weeks. We got to trade off, which was nice.”
But he and the girls clearly didn’t stay home the whole time. Premiering on October 3, “A Knight to Remember” stars James Trevena, Gonzalo and McNally.
McNally plays Emily, a museum conservator. According to the synopsis, when she has to clean a statue of an English knight that arrives in Chicago for an art exhibit, she gets an impulse to kiss the statue, and he suddenly comes to life as a man named Griffin. It’s not clear yet what character McNally plays.
Author of Book That Inspired Julie Gonzalo’s New Movie Spilled Details on Her Family’s Set Visit
The upcoming movie is based on the 2024 novel “Her Knight at the Museum” by Bryn Donovan, who got to visit the Vancouver set this summer as they filmed, and she provided some juicy updates for fans.
In a blog post on August 3, Donovan shared that she thought “both lead actors were perfect for the characters, and I told them so. All along, I’d been thinking that Griffin would be a difficult role to cast, but the actor who played Griffin had horseback riding and sword fighting experience, and he looked and sounded pretty much exactly how I imagined him.”
The author continued, “Because it was so hot, I actually saw a lot of the leads: they would sometimes come into the video village tent between takes to stand over the portable cooling units in there. The actor playing Emily had just had a baby four months prior; her husband, her adorable little daughter, and her remarkably easygoing baby were on the set. Her husband is an actor, and a Hallmark regular; he’s also in a scene in the movie.”
On September 4, Donovan shared an Instagram photo of herself with Trevena (above) and some details from the set, including that Gonzalo and McNally’s four-year-old appeared as an extra in the movie.
“A Knight to Remember” premieres on October 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Hallmark Channel, and will be available to stream on Hallmark+ the next day. McNally’s latest movie, “Love Finds You,” is also available to watch on Hallmark+.
Meanwhile, the couple’s most recent movie together, 2023’s “3 Bed, 2 Bath, 1 Ghost” can also be streamed, but it will air on Hallmark Channel on September 15 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
It’s sad and shocking to me that there are so many errors in these feeds that no one catches. It states that McNally play Emily, a museum curator! 😵💫