There aren’t many actresses brave enough to fly to another country to take on a role four months after giving birth to their first child. Not only did Mae Whitman do it, but she did it with her child in tow, alone.
While it could have been an awful, traumatic experience, it wasn’t. Instead, Whitman’s experience making her first Hallmark series turned out to be a life-changing moment for the new mom.
Mae Whitman Praises Supportive ‘Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas’ Crew
When Whitman knew she was going to Ireland to film “Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas” months after giving birth to her first child, she admitted she was “So terrified. It’s really a testament to the people of Ireland and the people of this project that I came from a place of such vulnerable, stripped-down rawness, and I feel like I emerged so whole and so held and supported and loved and seen and taken care of. I felt stronger than ever,” the “Parenthood” star told Scary Mommy.
In an emotional Instagram post, Whitman also praised the people, revealing that making the Hallmark series became the “most amazing filming experiences of my entire career.”
HallmarkHowever, while she valued everyone’s professionalism, it was having a cast and crew who truly cared for one another that made the job a “dream come true.”
“There was not a single person who wanted anything other than the absolute best for you,” she said. “On top of that, the crew was so talented at their jobs. They worked efficiently enough that we had room and space and time in our day for play and silliness. We would play pranks on each other, and we had themed Fridays where we’d all dress up and have dance parties.”
HallmarkNot Your Classic Holiday Romance: What Makes This Hallmark Show Different
While many Hallmark stars, such as Lacey Chabert, have an overwhelming love of Christmas, Whitman admitted that she doesn’t fall in that category. Although she’s “Not a big Christmas person,” Whitman thinks the series and Kate’s story are relatable.
Hallmark“It’s not your classic like, ‘Oh, I’m lonely at the holidays, and things would just be so complete if somebody would come rescue me,'” Whitman said.
“But to me, it’s so much more interesting to have this moment of being like, ‘Kate is fine,'” she continued. “She’s not unhappy in her life. But I think really she’s at that point, one of those points that’s happened to all of us, where it’s a chance to reevaluate and a chance to grow.”
“I was proud of her as a character,” she added. “I was proud of this story and the storytelling, which really ends up becoming much more about her facing her defense mechanisms and the protections she built up as a child, and letting herself release the things that aren’t actually serving her anymore.”
New episodes of “Twelve Dates ‘Til Christmas” air every Friday at 8 pm ET/7 pm CT on the Hallmark Channel. They stream the next day on Hallmark+.
