Multifaceted entertainer Haylie Duff chatted about her new film “Sweet on You.” She furnished her advice for young and aspiring entertainers, and she spoke about being an actress in the digital age.
‘Sweet on You’ movie on UPtv
“Sweet on You” was inspired by a real-life story of Duff’s grandfather, and it even features her daughter, Ryan, in her acting debut. It will premiere on February 26 on UPtv.
“It was loosely based on an experience that my dad had in real life, in inheriting some land as a young man and stepping into the responsibility of that and what to do with it,” Duff said.
“There are sweet homages to my family in this movie, and my daughter Ryan makes a cameo playing the flashback of me in the opening scene. Marla plays my mom in the flashback, which is really fun,” Duff added.
This new film was written and directed by Marla Sokoloff, and it stars Rob Mayes and Haylie Duff as the lead actors. “It was wonderful, we had such a great screening last night,” she said. “Working with Rob was awesome, we had such a great time making this movie together.”
“Marla and I have been friends for a very long time. We met as teenagers, and this movie turned out so great,” she said. “Another special moment was being able to bring my culinary producer, Angela, as a producer in this film as well. All of the food that we made in ‘Sweet on You’ are actual recipes that she developed, and they were all edible. The chocolate marmalade mousse pie that Rob and I make is an actual recipe that really exists..”
In “Sweet on You,” Haylie Duff plays Kate Davies, a woman who has always lived a sweet, simple life in the idyllic town of Cedar Creek. She owns the town’s famous pie shoppe, Pearls Pie Place, that she runs with her best friend, Bree (Chelsea Alden).
Kate recently lost her mother and has been trying to pick up the pieces of her life, when she meets city goer Drew Ellis (Rob Mayes), who is in town to claim land that he inherited and has plans to turn the land into soulless tract homes.
“This cast has turned into a wonderful little family. We are very lucky,” Duff said.
On the title of the current chapter of her life, she said with a sweet laugh, “How to juggle it all and get your kids to school on time.”
Advice for hopefuls
For young and aspiring actors, she said, “Believe in yourself, put yourself out there, take chances and risks, and say ‘yes’. Also, try to learn every aspect in this business, that’s really important when it comes to acting, that way, you can understand everybody else’s job too.”
The digital age
On being an actress in the digital age, she said, “It’s wild and so different. Now, you don’t go in for auditions anymore. It’s so crazy. There is good and bad to it. The good side of it is the accessibility for people. It gives filmmakers the opportunity to sell their projects to a lot of different places, which is really exciting too.”
“Now with all of the streaming platforms there are a lot more opportunities for projects and places to go so that’s a good thing for everybody,” she added.
‘The Bachelor Next Door’
She recalled doing “The Bachelor Next Door” on Lifetime back in 2017, which afforded her the chance to work with Michael Welch and Tyler Johnson. “Michael Welch was incredible. Working with Tyler Johnson was wonderful too, he is very talented too,” she said.
“I love working with Lifetime too, I just finished directing a new movie for Lifetime,” she added.
Success
Duff defined the word success as a “happy and healthy family.” “Feeling creatively fulfilled and inspired,” she said.
She concluded about “Sweet on You,” “This movie shows how important great friends are, and how friends step in as family. If you don’t have family, your friends can be your family. It is never too late to fall in love, and there also needs to be room for forgiveness and understanding for people. Also, eat more cake.”
To learn more about Haylie Duff, follow her on Instagram.
