Actor Ryan Paevey (“General Hospital” alum) chatted about his latest Hallmark movie “Two Tickets to Paradise,” signing his multi-movie deal with Hallmark, and he shared the greatest lesson that the acting profession has ever taught him.
American track and field legend Steve Prefontaine once said: “To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift.” Ryan Paevey exemplifies this inspirational quote. He is a versatile actor, whose acting work is transcendent in daytime television, digital streaming platforms, and Hallmark movies.
‘Two Tickets to Paradise’
On being a part of his latest Hallmark film “Two Tickets to Paradise,” Paevey said, “It was amazing. I had met Ashley Williams at a convention a year before, and I was pretty sick. She was really kind to me and she took a personal interest in making sure I was okay, so that was nice of her. Fast-forward a year, I got the script for this project, and a week before we started shooting it, they told me that my partner was going to be Ashley Williams. I thought it was so cool, especially to go to Hawaii but also get to work with Ashley.”
“Our director and producer were both cool, and we very swiftly became a bunch of buddies hanging out in a really beautiful place shooting a fun film. Ashley is hilarious, and I got to surf, which was cool. I had a blast and I hope we get to do another one,” he exclaimed.
Paevey was drawn to his character, Josh, in “Two Tickets to Paradise” for several reasons. “Josh and I are both go-with-the-flow guys, he is an activities guy, which meant that he got to do some fun things such as kayaking, hiking, and surfing. Josh and I are very similar, so that was an easy space for me to inhabit,” he said.
“Two Tickets to Paradise” earned a favorable review from Digital Journal.
RomaDrama
For Paevey, it has been “really cool” to be a part of RomaDrama Live! in West Palm Beach, Florida. “I was with them for their first RomaDrama Live! event in Franklin, Tennessee. We are making sure that the guest experience is really good. There are all kinds of fun activities for the fans. It’s a fun experience because, as a convention, it tries to make sure that it takes care of the people that attend it, and it’s fun for us, the actors. I am pumped to be here,” he said.
Speaking of “RomaDrama,” they had a special “sneak peak” screening of “Two Tickets to Paradise” at The Breakers in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Multi-picture deal with Hallmark
As Digital Journal previously reported, Paevey had inked a multi-picture deal with the Hallmark Channel. “That feels great, especially to have a place to hang my hat,” he said. “There is so much uncertainly with what we do for a living, as actors. You never know, every time you walk off a film set you don’t know if it’s going to be your last one. This network doesn’t leave you hanging, and it is nice that we have a home here and they take care of us.”
“Also, to be on a network that produces feel-good content is really nice,” he added.
On the title of the current chapter of his life, Paevey said, “Figuring Things Out.” “I have a project coming up for Audible so I will get to do some voice work,” he said.
“I am very hungry for knowledge right now. I need to learn,” he added.
‘A Little Daytime Drama’
“It was cool to work with Jen Lilley,” he said about doing the film “A Little Daytime Drama” with her. “I don’t know if people know this but she played Maxie briefly on ‘General Hospital’ shortly before I was there.”
“We were nearly on the same soap opera at the same time, and Nathan and Maxie were ‘the thing’ back then,” he said. “It was great because we both came from soaps so we know how to do the nuts and the bolts of the job. Jen was great and a natural doing that movie. It felt like home because soaps are where we both got started.”
Bjoern Kommerell
Paevey had great words about working with master photographer Bjoern Kommerell. “Bjoern is a trip, it was cool to work with him,” he said. “Bjoern’s style of photography produces beautiful images, and he also helps actors tape auditions. Bjoern takes this cinematic style of photography but instead of taking pictures, they do video, and that enables us to tape our auditions in a fashion that looks better. I really do feel that improved visuals make my audition tapes stand out.”
The most valuable lesson he learned in acting
On the greatest lesson that the acting profession has ever taught him, he said, “I grew up doing manual labor such as handiwork with my father, and I worked in restaurants for a long time. I don’t think anything is wrong with either of those careers, but having to transition from those in acting, has definitely made me undergo an introspective journey that I may not have undergone if I stayed in those careers.”
“In acting, you need to be able to identify your emotions, you need to give yourself permission to feel them, and you need to allow other people to watch you feel them. There is a vulnerability to that and that introspective journey is very valuable. I am very grateful to have undergone such a journey,” he expressed.
If he were to have any superpower, he revealed that it would be “flight.”
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