‘A NOVEL ROMANCE’

CAST BIOS

AMY ACKER (Sophie Atkinson) — A native of Dallas, Texas, Amy Acker studied acting at Southern Methodist University, where she received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. In 1998, she appeared in the first of several episodes of the PBS children’s series, “Wishbone,” which shot in Dallas, beginning a successful career which includes both film and television work, as well as stage work.

In 2001, she began a longstanding professional relationship with writer Joss Whedon, who cast her as Fred Burkle in The CW’s “Angel,” in which she appeared for all five seasons, even morphing into the role of an ancient demon, Illyria, who inhabited Fred’s body in the final season. Acker appeared in the last season of J.J. Abrams’ hugely popular ABC series, “Alias,” as well as performing guest roles for such shows as “The Unit,” “Supernatural,” “Private Practice” and “Grimm.” She rejoined Whedon in 2009 for his Fox sci fi series, “Dollhouse,” before creating the role of the cunning “Root” in CBS’s “Person of Interest,” a role which became a regular fixture in the show’s third season.

Acker has also starred in a number of theatrical films, appearing in 2002 in Steven Spielberg’s Leonardo DiCaprio starrer, “Catch Me If You Can.” In 2012, she once again teamed with Whedon and with Lionsgate, first for his thriller, “Cabin in the Woods” and then for his version of Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” reprising her role of Beatrice from her earlier theater days at the American Players Theatre.

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DYLAN BRUCE (Liam Bradley) — Originating from Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, Dylan Bruce graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in Drama and Economics, where he trained with Jon Jory, former Artistic Director of Actor's Theatre of Louisville. Bruce has been working non-stop these last several years as a series regular on BBC America's monster hit, “Orphan Black.” Simultaneously he completed eight episodes of “Arrow” for the CW, as well as a lead role opposite Heather Graham in “Flowers in the Attic” and “Petals on the Wind” for Lifetime Television.

Bruce recently shot his first episode of Robert Rodriguez's “Matador,” in the role of “Gabriel.” He stars in the upcoming Hallmark film, “Mow.” Other credits include, “Love’s Christmas Journey,” the miniseries “24: Conspiracy,” a spin-off of the popular FOX drama, as well as numerous guest starring appearances, including “The Sopranos,” “CSI: NY,” “Las Vgas,” and “NCIS,” as well as the lead role of Dr. Chris Hughes on the Emmy Award winning daytime drama “As The World Turns.”

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CHARLES S. DUTTON (Michael Harris) — A graduate of The Yale School of Drama, Charles S. Dutton has a career spanning theater, television and film, and is one of the few actors to

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HALLMARK CHANNEL/ ‘PORTRAIT OF LOVE’ – Cast Bios – Page 2 earn Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the same role. He created the lead roles in three of August Wilson’s early plays: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and The Piano Lesson. He received multiple award nominations, including the Tony for Best Actor for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and The Piano Lesson. He was also nominated for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for The Hallmark Hall of Fame presentation of “The Piano Lesson.”

Dutton was recently seen opposite Kevin Bacon in the FOX show “The Following” as FBI Director Franklin. His current film “Must Be the Music” in which he stars in, directed and produced, explores the hip-hop music scene and business of Philadelphia. He was also recently seen opposite Common, Dennis Haysbert and Danny Glover in the Sundance film “Luv” as Cofield, friend and old crime partner of Vincent (Common) and in the action film “Bad Add” as Panther.

Dutton starred in and executive produced the Fox comedy/drama “Roc,” produced by HBO, for which he received several NAACP Image Award nominations. He has numerous television credits, including the miniseries “The Murder of Mary Phagan,” “The 60s,” “Deadlock” and “Aftershock.” His episodic appearances include “House,” “The Sopranos,” HBO’s “Oz,” “Criminal Minds” and “American Horror Story,” among others. He won Emmys for his guest starring roles in “Without a Trace” and “The Practice.” He was seen in a recurring role on A&E’s “Longmire,” as well as a heavily recurring role in the first season of ABC’s “Zero Hour.”

He is a veteran of numerous feature films such as “Aliens 3,” “Menace II Society,” “Rudy,” “A Low Down Dirty Shame,” “Cry, Beloved Country,” “Nick of Time,” “A Time to Kill,” “Get on the Bus,” “Cookie’s Fortune” (for which he received and Independent Spirit Award nomination), “Gothika,” “Secret Window” and the 2008 John Sayles feature “Honeydripper.” In just the past year, Roc starred in two features, Universal’s “The Express,” Lakeshore’s “Fame” and Screen Gems feature “Legion” with Paul Bettany and Denis Quaid. He also stars in the recent Sundance selection “LUV.”

He made his directorial debut in 1997 with the HBO movie “First Time Felon.” He also directed the award winning HBO miniseries “The Corner,” for which he received a 2001 Best Director Emmy. His feature film directorial debut was the 2004 Paramount film “Against the Ropes.” In 2006 he directed multiple episodes of the Showtime series “Sleeper Cell,” for which he received a DGA Award nomination. Recently, he directed the Lifetime movie “Racing For Time” and the pilot “Under” for A&E.

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