British actor Will Kemp chatted about his new Hallmark film “The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango,” where he stars opposite Lacey Chabert.
‘The Dancing Detective: A Deadly Tango’
Stefan Scaini directed the movie from a script by Aubrey Day. “I was working on this project with screenwriter Aubrey Day for many many years,” Kemp said. “I co-created it, I executive produced it, and I acted in it. I was so involved in this from the beginning so I was incredibly attached and very passionate about it. Aubrey tailored this role for me.”
This new original movie will premiere on Friday, June 2 on Hallmark Movies and
Mysteries. It was shot entirely on location in Malta, and it reunites Chabert and Kemp who previously starred together in the Hallmark Channel movies “The Christmas Waltz” and “Love Romance & Chocolate.”
“The movie premieres tomorrow and we filmed it in Malta, and that was fun. Malta was a beautiful place, and a phenomenal backdrop,” Kemp said. “This film truly was a labor of love so to come this far has been pretty amazing.”
“Reuniting with Lacey Chabert was wonderful. I always have a great time with Lacey, and we got straight back into it. The reunion was incredible. We did all of these dances, and there is a really lovely surprise, that I think the audience will appreciate, without spoiling it,” Kemp elaborated.
“There will be a little nod to the 1940s with a little Fred Astaire in there. I can’t wait for the audience’s reaction,” he hinted.
The synopsis is: Constance Bailey (Lacey Chabert) is a no-nonsense detective, who insists on doing things her way, which usually means doing everything alone. She gets results, but her inability to keep a partner is holding her back in her career.
When global ballroom company Aston International’s CEO is murdered at a luxurious resort in Malta on the eve of a company event, strings are pulled with Interpol to send Detective Bailey to investigate.
With the event – a high-stakes ballroom competition between the company’s senior executives – moving forward as planned, she is sent undercover as Aston’s newest hire. The only problem is that she can’t dance.
“I want the audience to fall in love with these characters, and I hope they want more, so they can enjoy solving crime one step at a time,” Kemp added.
To convincingly compete, she reluctantly teams up with charismatic and free-spirited British dancer and actor Sebastian Moore ( Will Kemp) who poses as her husband. “I loved playing Sebastian,” he admitted. “I love this guy, he is free-spirited, intelligent, and carefree. For Sebastian, this is one big adventure, and one big fun opportunity to teach a real detective how to dance, and to be convincing undercover.”
Moore’s crime-solving instincts are as good as his footwork, even if the only thing he knows about detective work came from watching too much TV. He soon helps her to relax on the floor and in her work. But with a killer still on the loose and a growing list of suspects, if Detective Bailey to solve this puzzling case, she’s going to have to learn to trust her partner.
Kemp shared that he is a classically trained dancer from the Royal Ballet in London.
Kemp recalled doing the holiday Hallmark film “Jolly Good Christmas” with Reshma Shetty last fall. “That was a bit different, I had a good time on that,” he said. “I hope to do more Christmas movies with Hallmark.”
His favorite motto to live by is: “work hard and play hard.”
Kemp concluded about “The Dancing Detective,” “I think this movie will be a real treat. It’s a fresh twist on the murder mystery, it’s a fun adventure, and I think the fans will love the relationship between the two characters.”
To learn more about actor and dancer Will Kemp, follow him on Instagram.
