Andrew Walker talks about starring in ‘Kentucky Roses’ on Hallmark, working with Odette Annable

Andrew Walker in ‘Kentucky Roses.’ Photo Courtesy of Hallmark Media.

Canadian actor Andrew Walker chatted about starring in the new Hallmark film “Kentucky Roses.”

This movie will premiere on May 2nd on Hallmark, which will coincide with this year’s Kentucky Derby.

The synopsis is: A greenhouse worker Sadie Moore (Odette Annable) and Ash Taylor (Andrew Walker), the son of Churchill Downs’ CEO, form an unlikely pair, coming together to save the Kentucky Derby rose blanket and uncovering a generational love story along the way.

Working with Odette Annable as his leading Hallmark lady

On working with Odette as his leading lady in this rom-com, Walker said, “I was the lucky one… Hallmark has been trying to get Odette in so many of their movies, and it just so happened that it fell on the ‘Kentucky Roses’ film.”

“Most Hallmark movies are love stories where the two characters shouldn’t meet and their relationships shouldn’t happen in real life, such as they moved from a big city into a small town, or they come from two different parts of the world. In this film, they really shouldn’t have happened because we touch on class structure and class differences,” he elaborated.

“Speaking of class differences, this movie is reminiscent of ‘Titanic’ in that way because it’s all unraveling around the discovery of a 100-year-old family heirloom that has gone missing,” he noted.

Playing his character Ash Taylor

On playing Ash Taylor, Walker remarked, “My character is trying not to make the same mistakes that his great uncle has made, especially for not having the courage to make his move and fall in love with the woman that I am actually falling in love with.”

“If that weren’t enough, there is a great father and son story in there. Ash never wanted to work for his dad, and it took for his mother to step in and be the mediator and give him a bit of a guilt trip to say, ‘Okay, I will do this as a favor for my dad’… and look what has happened,” he explained.

“Without giving too much away, my character may or may not be having love at first sight,” he foreshadowed.

Stage of his life

On the title of the current chapter of his life, Walker said with a sweet laugh, “Organized Chaos.”

Lessons learned from this screenplay

On the lessons learned from the “Kentucky Roses” screenplay, Walker shared, “It taught me that I never want to work with an actress that is a lesser caliber than Odette. She set the bar high!”

“In this movie, my character Ash finds love when he least expects it, and I think he is stepping out of his comfort zone,” he observed.

“I think we need to open and available to these things happening in our lives, and this is a lesson that we can all learn from,” he explained.

Message for the fans

For the fans and supporters, Walker expressed, “First and foremost, their support has been incredible!”

“The movie hasn’t even aired yet, and I think we’re going to take our fans on an exclusive behind-the-look tour of Churchill Downs, which is one of the most beautiful buildings I’ve ever seen. It really is stunning,” he elaborated.

“We’ve shot in so many areas of that building, and we kept on saying that this is a grown-up version of a Hallmark movie with the backdrop of the iconic Churchill Downs,” he acknowledged.

“I don’t think there is anything else that the fans would want to see in a Hallmark movie than this. As my co-star Odette would agree, Churchill really is its own character in the film,” he added.

To learn more about Canadian actor Andrew Walker, follow him on Instagram.