Death Al Dente: a Gourmet Detective Mystery’
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‘DEATH AL DENTE: A GOURMET DETECTIVE MYSTERY’ Cast Bios DYLAN NEAL (Henry) – Dylan Neal was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. Shortly thereafter, his family moved to Oakville, just west of Toronto, where he spent the remainder of his childhood. As a young student, he attended the prep school Appleby College, where he was introduced to the game of squash. Neal quickly fell in love with the sport and was soon playing for Canada at an international level. Towards the end of his teenage years, after many years of traveling across North America on the amateur squash circuit, Neal decided a professional squash career was not for him. By this time, he was attending Blakelock High School, where he was enrolled in the drama program. At the urging of his drama teacher, Neal signed with a Toronto talent agent and began auditioning professionally. It didn’t take long for him to realize this was the direction his career would take. In 1992, he moved to Los Angeles where his career quickly took off. Neal is a well-recognized face on television having had series regular roles in eight American television series including Aaron Spelling’s “Pacific Palisades,” “Hyperion Bay” and “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch.” He has had major recurring roles including Dr. Anthony Ivo in the CW's breakout TV series “Arrow,” and his five-year stint on “Dawson’s Creek” as Pacey’s brother, Doug Witter. He has had the good fortune to work opposite some of the biggest names in Hollywood including a leading role opposite Val Kilmer in the Paramount Pictures thriller The Traveler and a supporting role in all three installments of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie franchise for Universal Pictures. Neal spent three seasons in the role of Jack Griffiths in Hallmark Channel’s hit original primetime series, “Debbie Macomber’s Cedar Cove.” In addition to his acting endeavors, Neal and his wife, Becky Southwell, write and produce their own projects through Southwell Neal Entertainment. They are the creative force behind the “Gourmet Detective” original films for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries based on the novels by Peter King. Neal serves as executive producer, co-writer and star of all three films from the anthology series, with Southwell also executive producing and writing. The first two installments premiered May and August of 2015, respectively. The pair also executive produced the highly successful “Valentine Ever After” from their original screenplay, which aired in February of 2016 and was the network’s most watched February original movie premiere among W25-54 since 2009. (more) HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES – ‘DEATH AL DENTE: A GOURMET DETECTIVE MYSTERY’ – CAST BIOS/Page 2 When not on set, Neal enjoys spending as much time as he can with his family and friends. On occasion, he can also be spotted in his workshop, where Neal, an avid wood worker, has for years recreated 18th and 19th century period furniture. # # # BROOKE BURNS (Maggie) – Brooke Burns has worked as an actress, host and TV personality in the entertainment industry since she was 18 years old. Most recently, she was nominated for an Emmy Award® for her work as the host of the hit series “The Chase,” GSN’s speed trivia game show that has attracted nearly 20 million viewers since its premiere in August 2013. A trained ballerina from age two, she showed great promise as a professional ballet dancer by the time she was a teenager. Burns, a Dallas native, and her family moved to Romania when she was 12 and she had the opportunity to dance with the Romanian Opera Ballet. Her dance career abruptly ended at age 15 when she badly damaged her knee in a skiing accident. The following year, supporting her love of travel, she moved to Europe modeling in Paris, Milan and Munich. But her effervescent personality is what caught the attention of television and film producers alike. Shortly after her move to Los Angeles to pursue acting, Burns landed her first television role on “Ally McBeal.” In her first feature, the Farrelly brothers are said to have seen a disarming and beguiling sense of humor in Burns. They created a tailor-written role for her in the 2001 film Shallow Hal, remarking in her audition that she was the “prettiest dorky girl” they'd ever met. Burns has also appeared on “Baywatch,” “Just Shoot Me,” “CSI: Miami,” “Drop Dead Diva,” “Pepper Dennis” and “Melrose Place,” among others. After the arrival of her first child, Burns segued into the world of television hosting with instant success. She hosted NBC's “Dog Eat Dog,” for which she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award, and hosted ABC's “You Deserve It” with The Bachelor's Chris Harrison. She also hosted TruTV’s “Motor City Masters,” a competition show for automotive designers. In addition to her television career, after breaking her neck in 2005 with a miraculous 100% recovery, Burns donates her time to LRO, a program that gives back to people who have spinal cord injuries. In her free time Burns enjoys reading, hiking, stand-up paddling and road trips. She is married to filmmaker Gavin O’Connor and currently resides in a suburb of Los Angeles. # # # (more) HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES – ‘DEATH AL DENTE: A GOURMET DETECTIVE MYSTERY’ – CAST BIOS/Page 3 MATTHEW KEVIN ANDERSON (Munro) – Matthew Kevin Anderson returns as Munro in the third installment of the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Original “Gourmet Detective” movie franchise. Most recently, he was a series regular on “Impastor” on TV Land and will be appearing in numerous upcoming projects including “The Arrangement” on E! and “Travelers” on Netflix. Some of his past TV series credits include “Motive,” “The Killing,” and “Supernatural,” among a long list of others. Anderson has also appeared in a number of feature films, including Big Eyes and Tomorrowland, starring George Clooney. # # # MARC SENIOR (Bailey) – Marc Senior returns as Bailey in this, the third installment in the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Original “Gourmet Detective” movie franchise. Senior co-starred in the Canadian TV series “24 Hour Rental” and has appeared in a number of U.S. series, including “iZombie,” “The Whispers,” “Emily Owens, MD,” “Arrow” and “Alcatraz.” # # # SAMANTHA FERRIS (Captain Forsyth) – Samantha Ferris returns as Captain Forsyth in this, the third Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Original “Gourmet Detective” movie. Television audiences know her from her broad body of work in the medium that includes her co-starring role as Lt. Alexa Brenner in the series “The Evidence,” as well as recurring roles in numerous series, including “Mistresses,” “R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour,” “Supernatural,” “V,” “The 4400” and “Beggars and Choosers.” She has guest-starred in episodes of the series “Viper,” “The New Addams Family,” “Stargate SG-1,” “The L Word,” “The Collector,” “DaVinci’s Inquest,” “So Weird” and “Hollywood Off-Ramp.” She has appeared in a number of feature films, including Along Came A Spider, The Tall Man, The Killing Machine, Grace and Shattered. She has starred in a number of TV movies as well, including “Newlywed and Dead,” “The Ranch,” “Exposed,” “Let It Snow,” “Sole Custody,” “Smart Cookies” and “Enemy Within,” among others. # # # (more) HALLMARK MOVIES & MYSTERIES – ‘DEATH AL DENTE: A GOURMET DETECTIVE MYSTERY’ – CAST BIOS/Page 4 CHRISTINE WILLES (Doris) – Christine Willes has been a very busy actress for nearly 30 years. She is known to international audiences for her recurring roles as Delores Herbig in the Emmy Award®-nominated series “Dead Like Me” and Gladys, the DMV Demon in the CW comedy “Reaper,” for which she received a Leo Award nomination. Her long list of recurring roles includes the series “The X-Files,” “Mistresses,” “The Returned,” “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,” “The 100,” “Smallville,” “Mercy Point” and “Emily Owens, M.D.” Willes has appeared in a number of feature films including her most recent credit, Fifty Shades of Grey, as well as If I Stay, The Wicker Man, Sucker Punch, Red Riding Hood, Bang Bang You’re Dead and I’ll Be Home For Christmas. “Death Al Dente: A Gourmet Detective Mystery” marks her third appearance as Doris in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original “Gourmet Detective” movie franchise. She has been seen in numerous television movies including “The 12 Disasters of Christmas,” “Summer Love,” “I Do, I Do, I Do,” “Possessing Piper Rose,” “Sorority Wars” and “Snowglobe,” to name a few. Willes serves on the Executive Board of UBCP/ACTRA and is a fiery champion of women in the performing arts. She has two children and calls Canada’s West Coast her home. # # # ALI SKOVBYE (Abigail) – Alissa ‘Ali’ Skovbye was born in Vancouver, Canada. She comes from a Scandinavian background and most of her extended family resides in Sweden and Denmark. Although she did not initially take to acting like her older sister Tiera, Skovbye became curious about it around the age of four. Shortly after, she booked her first commercial for Cadillac and at the age of five landed a supporting role in the feature film Personal Effects. In 2010, she was cast in her first TV project, an episode of the long-running series “Smallville.” Skovbye has gone on to guest star in episodes of “Fringe,” ”Supernatural,” “R.L Stine’s The Haunting Hour” and ”Motive.” Additionally, she had recurring roles on “Once Upon a Time” and the Steven Speilberg-produced series “Falling Skies.” This marks Skovbye’s third performance as Abigail in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Original “Gourmet Detective” movie franchise. She also has a recurring role in Hallmark Channel’s original primetime series “When Calls the Heart,” has starred opposite Amber Riley in “My One Christmas Wish” and co-starred with Anne Heche in “One Christmas Eve,” for which she received a Young Artist Award nomination.