Days after actress Kimberley Sustad returned home from a whirlwind trip to Nashville, joining two dozen fellow Hallmark stars to kick off the network’s 16th annual Countdown to Christmas programming lineup in October 2025, there’s one thing from her travels the actress can’t stop thinking about.
“I’d heard Nashville was cool, but I did not know they’re, like, the land of whiskey and chicken fingers,” she marveled. “Those are my two favorite things. You can write that down!”
Sustad’s sarcasm and adorable quirkiness were on full display as she talked to EntertainmentNow about adjusting to life as a Hallmark star, her upcoming rom-com, and, yes, more chicken fingers.
Kimberley Sustad Says She Went to Nashville to See Fans & Eat Chicken
Clearly experiencing withdrawal now that she’s back home in Vancouver, Sustad assured EntertainmentNow she had her priorities straight when she headed to Nashville.
“I want to see the fans, and I want to see hot chicken,” Sustad quipped, acknowledging the countless viewers who lined up for hours at Hallmark stores and the Grand Ole Opry to get a glimpse of their favorite Hallmark stars during their two-day kickoff.
“I didn’t realize the hot chicken would come in the form of chicken fingers,” she said, straight-faced as she continued her diatribe on her favorite meal. “There were chicken fingers everywhere we went. And my culinary palette wants three chicken strips one way, with the hot sauce, and three chicken strips the other way, with buffalo sauce. Every meal, I am not kidding you, I had a local whiskey and chicken fingers. I was insane.”
“And everyone — 25 of the hottest Hallmark stars — were like, ‘I don’t know how you live,'” Sustad smirked, “because they’re all eating, like, greens.”
This kind of off-the-rails yet completely relatable take on life’s simple pleasures is exactly why Sustad is so beloved, having appeared in nearly 30 Hallmark movies since 2012, with her next rom-com, “Merry Christmas Ted Cooper,” among the funniest of them all.
Kimberley Sustad Admits She’s Still Not Totally Comfortable Being a Hallmark ‘Star’
HallmarkSustad’s quick wit, self-depricating humor, and big heart have also made her one of the network’s most successful screenwriters. She and her writing partner — and fellow Hallmark star — Paul Campbell are behind the mega-popular “Three Wise Men” trilogy, with help from another sought-after rom-com screenwriter, Russell Hainline. They have plenty of other “dream” scripts in the works, she said.
But while the mom of two girls is totally comfortable plotting out a storyline or delivering funny and heart-tugging moments on camera, she’s not so comfortable being a star. Whether getting gussied up by a glam squad or still feeling surprised when fans line up to meet her, Sustad told EntertainmentNow she’s still trying to figure out how to show up confidently and authentically at fan and press events.
In fact, until her core Hallmark posse of Campbell, Tyler Hynes, and Andrew Walker practically dragged her to Christmas Con in 2022, Sustad said she was perfectly happy “just staying at my house.”
Once she was at the convention that year, hearing fans’ feedback and their stories about why her movies were meaningful to them was far more enriching for her than she expected. Three years later, she continues to show up — almost always with “the boys” — for events like the Nashville kickoff and the upcoming Hallmark Christmas Experience in Kansas City.
Kimberley Sustad Insists Many of Her Event Looks Have Been ‘Miserable Failures’
GettySustad said she’s even started to get better at self-advocating with the glam squads who help all the stars with hair and makeup at events, telling EntertainmentNow, “I’m not a glam type person. It’s taken me a while, and a lot of failures.”
“The boys are always like, ‘I don’t know why you tell them to put your hair up, because you’re not that fancy, dude,'” she laughed. “I’ll come into their rooms and cry, ‘What have they done to me?'”
Sustad continued, “And then all three were finally like, ‘Just tell them to do nothing and that’ll be great.’ So I’ve learned that, you know, it’s not prom. You can’t show up to these glam sessions and be like, ‘I don’t know, do whatever you think!’ Then you turn out looking like a totally different person. At one point, you couldn’t even move my hair. I couldn’t even take it down if I tried!”
“I don’t know why I didn’t think of that in the beginning, asking for what I wanted,” Sustad added. “I just had no notes. So I’ve learned through massive failures, and I think I’m getting better.”
In ‘Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper,’ Kimberley Sustad & Robert Buckley Bring the Funny & All the Feels
Sustad shines in “Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper,” which co-stars Robert Buckley, who also produced the movie. Equally funny and touching, Sustad said that’s a delicate combo that took some fine-tuning as they filmed to make sure each scene really worked.
“I think people don’t like funny when it’s silly, or when you can tell (the actors are) trying too hard,” Sustad mused. “When you’re writing humor into things, you want the actor in a circumstance that we, too, might find ourselves in and for a second, it feels like it’s life or death. Those little moments make us laugh. But you can’t force that kind of thing. And I think people can feel inauthenticity.”
Buckley came up with the concept for the movie, and Hainline wrote the script. In an Instagram post on October 23, Hainline said he wrote it with Sustad in mind as Hope, the female lead, adding, “I’m so grateful she was available to join this party— she and Rob are an absolute dream team on screen together.”
Sustad said she and Buckley also had fun moments when they improvised their lines, including a scene in which they’re sitting in a sleigh, getting to know each other.
“That was us just riffing,” she said. “Those things (I said), that’s real stuff for Kimberley, not just Hope. And we both want chicken fingers and whiskey all the time.”
Hallmark Channel’s “Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper!” premieres on October 25 at 8 p.m. Eastern time and will be available to stream on Hallmark+ the following day.
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy and wouldn’t miss anything Kimberly Sustad is in. She can make you feel, the happiness, sorry, and laugh until tears run down my face. She is just so genuine and humble. That’s Kimberly! That’s what makes her who she is. Love her!