Robert Buckley and Kimberley Sustad bring the laughs, love and a touch of cynicism to their new Hallmark holiday movie — and fans will enjoy it all.
“I think excessive positivity matched with chronic misfortune is a really funny equation,” Buckley, 44, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, October 23, of the inspiration behind Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper! “That was sort of the through line that I wanted to see. A guy who is just Mr. Bright Side, having things never go his way, and what that looks like.”
Buckley plays chronically optimistic weatherman Ted Cooper in the new rom-com premiering on Saturday, October 25. Ted is known for his hilarious mishaps at Christmastime, which continue to plague him once he’s home with his sister and helping her promote a fundraiser at the local hospital.
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His upbeat demeanor never wavers — even when things like getting poked in the eye by a Christmas tree lands him in the hospital. That personality trait is balanced out by Dr. Hope Newberry (Sustad), who is “a little jaded” when she reunites with Ted after knowing each other in high school.
“I think sometimes people … that wear their heart on their sleeves are just that nice, but they are [also] hard to trust. So it’s almost the opposite,” Sustad, 38, explained of her character’s hesitation to embrace Ted’s bubbly personality. “You go this, ‘This can’t be real, right?’”
She noted, “When somebody sort of meets all the things you [think you want you] go, ‘When’s the other shoe going to drop? How am I going to get hurt in this?’”
While Hope is more aware of the darker sides of life, Ted is sunshine and rainbows, which is something Buckley told Us is refreshing to see in a character.
“It’s infinitely more interesting,” he said of seeing a vulnerable male lead in a movie. “It’s something that we don’t see a lot of, and in my opinion, enough of.”
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Buckley revealed that his mission playing the weatherman was to “sort of just skip the tropes of a guy not understanding his feelings or not feeling comfortable expressing a feeling.”
Unlike many leading men, Ted is the “total opposite.” Buckley joked, “This guy has no filter, you know, [his] heart is right on his sleeve.”
The actor added that “to a large extent” that is how he “operates in life,” so that made it easier to play.
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Although Buckley was excited to highlight Ted’s enthusiasm for life — and his ability to bounce back no matter what the holiday mishap — he teased that Hope’s perspective isn’t a bad one either.
“The fact that she’s asking questions and kind of probing is a good sign,” Buckley said of Hope’s story arc, which shines a light on parts of Ted he hasn’t looked at in years. “Because it’s an indicator that she actually sees some potential in him, and she’s just being smart. She’s like, ‘All right, there might actually be a future here. So I’m going to do my due diligence, and not just hope.’”
Merry Christmas, Ted Cooper! premieres on Hallmark Channel Saturday, October 25, at 8 p.m. ET.
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