‘A LESSON IN ROMANCE’
CAST BIOS
KRISTY SWANSON (Megan) - Kristy Swanson is a talented actress best known for her starring role in the Twentieth Century Fox film “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The film remains a cult classic and was spun off into the popular WB television series, “Buffy.” Swanson is also well known for her performances in a number of iconic feature films including “Mannequin 2: On The Move,” “Dude Where’s My Car” and "Big Daddy.”
Swanson was born in Mission Viejo, California and began her professional career at the age of nine working in television commercials. By the time she was 13, she had more than 30 commercials to her credit and had landed her first television series, "Dreamfinders," for the Disney Channel. She soon convinced her parents to move to Hollywood so she could pursue her dream of acting and landed small roles in two of John Hughes's films: “Ferris Bueller's Day Off” and “Pretty in Pink.”
Since, Swanson has added a long list of guest-starring television appearances to her credit. She has appeared in episodes of “Just Shoot Me!,” “CSI: Miami,” “Growing Pains,” “Knots Landing,” “Early Edition,” “Psych” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” In 2006, Swanson appeared in the reality television show “Skating with Celebrities,” pairing with former Olympian Lloyd Eisler to take home the crown as they defeated five other teams of celebrities and skating pros. Her television movie credits include “Forbidden Secrets,” “Red Water,” “The Black Hole” and “Swamp Shark.” Most recently, Swanson starred in “A Christmas Wish,” Hallmark Channel’s highest rated original movie for the 2011 holiday season and the Hallmark Channel Original Movie “Operation Cupcake” starring opposite Dean Cain.
Swanson has also starred in a long list of films that include “Flowers in the Attic,” with Academy Award®-winning actress Louis Fletcher, “Hot Shots” with Charlie Sheen, “The Program” with James Caan, “The Phantom” opposite Billy Zane and “Eight Heads in a Duffle Bag,” starring Joe Pesci and David Spade. Tackling her most controversial role, Swanson portrayed a college student discovering her sexuality in John Singleton's film, “Higher Learning.”
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SCOTT GRIMES (Mike) — Scott Grimes is familiar to television audiences as Dr. Archie Morris, the stringent chief resident on the hit drama “ER.” Once a recurring character, Grimes joined the cast in the 12th season as a series regular. He is also well known for his role as Sgt. Donald Malarkey in the critically acclaimed “Band of Brothers,” the World War II miniseries. Additionally, Grimes was regular on “Party of Five” for the run of the series. His voice is recognizable to animation fans from his series regular gig as Steve Smith on FOX’s “American Dad.”
Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, Grimes launched his entertainment career in 1980 as a child in the Tony® Award-winning Broadway musical Nine. He performed with Bob Hope, The Carpenters and Merv Griffin, to name a few and his music has been heard on the Golden Globe® Award-winning show “Party of Five.”
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HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘A LESSON IN ROMANCE’ – Cast Bios – Page 2
Before he became an actor, Grimes considered a career as a professional hockey player and he continues to play in celebrity charity events.
His recently completed film, “Who’s Your Monkey?” won the audience award at the CineVegas Film Festival. He also starred in the feature films “Crimson Tide,” “Mystery, Alaska” and 2010’s “Robin Hood.”
Away from the set, Grimes regularly plays charity gigs with the Band From TV, which also features Hugh Laurie, James Denton and Adrian Pasdar.
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ALLIE GONINO (Zoe) - Allie Gonino is a true triple threat: singer, dancer and actress. Most recently, she starred as Laurel Mercer on ABC Family’s “The Lying Game” and also appeared in the recurring role as Michelle on ABC Family’s “10 Things I Hate About You.” She has guest starred on Nickelodeon’s “Unfabulous,” Disney’s “The Suite Life on Deck” and FOX’s “Lie to Me.”
Gonino was a member of the American girl group The Stunners, which was the opening act for Justin Bieber’s “My World Tour.” The group also contributed to Nickelodeon’s “iCarly” soundtrack. Gonino has continued to further her music career since the band parted ways in 2011; she currently writes music and performs in the folk/rock band The Good Mad.
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PAUL BUTCHER (Sean) — Paul Butcher’s star power continues to rise. Though he is only 19, Butcher has been on the scene for over 10 years, beginning his career in 2002 with guest starring roles on HBO’s “Six Feet Under” and UPN’s “The Parkers.” Butcher’s break out role came in 2005, when he was cast in the role of Dustin Brooks, brother of Zoey Brooks, on Nickelodeon’s “Zoey 101.” Butcher would go on to play that lead role for the four season tenure of the program.
Butcher has also made several guest starring appearances on hit television programs, including CBS’s “Criminal Minds,” “Without a Trace” and “King of Queens;” and FOX’s “Bones.” Butcher has also lent his voice to the hit FOX animated television shows “King of the Hill” and “American Dad” and the Walt Disney animated feature film “Meet the Robinsons.”
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