‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’
CAST BIOS
LORI LOUGHLIN (Abigail Stanton) – Best recognized for her role as Rebecca Donaldson on the long-running hit comedy series “Full House,” Lori Loughlin added another iconic series to her resume: The CW’s “90210.” In it, she played the mother of two teenagers who struggle with their family’s move from the normalcy of Kansas to the fast lane of Beverly Hills. Film projects include the 2009 comedy feature “Old Dogs,” in which Loughlin starred opposite Robin Williams and John Travolta, playing the latter’s love interest. Another recent feature film of Loughlin’s was “Moondance Alexander,” in which she portrayed an eccentric mother whose daughter finds a pony and is determined to win the Bow Valley Classic. Loughlin has starred in the Hallmark Channel Original Movies, “Meet My Mom” and “Garage Sale Mystery.”
Born and raised in Hauppauge, Long Island, Loughlin got her start in show business at a young age. She was cast in the daytime drama “The Edge of Night,” for which she received a Young Artist Award nomination for Best Young Actress in a Daytime Series. In 1985, Loughlin was cast in the feature film “Secret Admirer,” a romantic comedy co-starring C. Thomas Howell and Kelly Preston. Loughlin also starred opposite Treat Williams in “Critical Mass,” in the beach movie spoof “Back to the Beach,” in “Rad,” a film about BMX racing, and in “Amityville 3-D,” the third installment of the “Amityville” horror franchise.
In addition to “Full House,” Loughlin was a regular on “Hudson Street,” a comedy starring Tony Danza. She was also the star and producer of The WB’s family drama “Summerland.” Other television roles have included an after-school special entitled “No Means No,” for which she received an Emmy® nomination for Best Actress. Loughlin also worked with Jim Carrey in the TV movie “Doing Time on Maple Drive” and starred in “In the Line of Duty: Blaze of Glory.” She has made repeat performances in a number of series, including “The Drew Carey Show” and “Spin City,” and guest-starred in such series as “Seinfeld,” “Suddenly Susan,” “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Birds of Prey.”
Loughlin resides in Los Angeles with her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, and their three children.
###
JAMES BROLIN (Judge Jedidiah Black) — James Brolin, the recipient of an Emmy® and two Golden Globe® Awards, is one of television’s best-known and most popular stars. His wide- reaching acting credits range from tightly written TV dramas to big screen comedies. As a director, he has helmed episodes of such TV shows as “Pensacola: Wings of Gold,” “Hotel” and “The Young Riders.” He made his film directorial debut in 1997 with “My Brother’s War,” in which he also starred. The film earned the Best Film award at the 1997 Hollywood Film Festival. While he has worked extensively in all television genres, Brolin is best known for his work in two long-running series: As Dr. Steven Kiley in “Marcus Welby, M.D.,” which earned him a Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy and as Peter McDermott in the immensely popular
(more)
HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’– Cast Bios – Page 2 drama “Hotel.” Brolin also starred in the action-adventure “Extreme” and the Western serial drama “Angel Falls.” Telefilm credits include “Trapped,” the highest rated telefilm of its season, the CBS miniseries “And the Sea Will Tell,” “Widow on the Hill,” “Category 7: The End of the World,” “Wedding Wars,” “Lost City Raiders,” “Blackout” and “Reinventing the Wheelers.” Brolin’s work in “The Reagans” earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations in the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie category. Additionally, he also hosted the ABC primetime wildlife reality series “The World of Discovery.” Television series guest appearances include those on “The West Wing,” “Monk” “Law & Order: SVU,” “Psych” and “The Defenders.” In 2012, Brolin had a guest-starring role on “Community” and made a special appearance on “Castle” as Richard Castle’s father.
Brolin’s feature film career has been as varied as his work in television. He made his motion picture debut in 1962’s “Take Her, She’s Mine” with James Stewart and Sandra Dee. In 1967, he landed a starring role in “The Cape Town Affair” opposite Jacqueline Bissett. Other film credits include director Michael Crichton’s “Westworld,” “Gable and Lombard,” “Capricorn One,” “The Amityville Horror” and Allison Anders’ “Gas, Food Lodging.” Brolin also produced and starred in the critically acclaimed independent film “Cheatin’ Hearts.” He has also appeared in Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” the comedy “Master of Disguise” with Dana Carvey, Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can,” Denzel Washington’s “Antwone Fisher,” “A Guy Thing” with Julia Stiles, Jason Lee and Selma Blair, “Love, Wedding, Marriage” with Mandy Moore and Jane Seymour, “Lust & Alibis,” “The Hunting Party,” “Bad Girl Island,” “The American Standards,” “Last Chance Harvey,” with Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson,” “Bitter/Sweet,” “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” opposite Jeremy Piven, “Angel Camouflaged,” “Burlesque,” “Last Will” and the film short “Royal Reunion.”
Brolin will next be seen in the films “Elsa & Fred” opposite Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer and David O. Russell’s “Nailed” with Jake Gyllenhaal, Jessica Biel and Catherine Keener. Brolin is also prepping to direct the true story of Ruby McCollum, a black woman who was convicted of killing a white man in 1952.
###
JACK WAGNER (Bill Avery) – Acclaimed actor Jack Wagner majored in theater at the University of Missouri and graduated from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama. His theatrical background of singing, dancing and acting would prove to be a true cornerstone in a diversified career.
In 1983, Wagner landed the starring role on the hit daytime series, “General Hospital,” playing the rocker Frisco Jones. After recording several songs for the show, Wagner signed a recording deal on Quincy Jones label, Qwest, and within 6 months, his first single, “All I Need,” was number two on the pop charts and number one on adult contemporary charts. In addition, he hosted Time Life’s Collection “Early 80’s” nationwide. In 1987, Wagner returned to his theatrical roots touring nationally as Tony in West Side Story and in 1988 as Danny Zuko in Grease.
(more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’– Cast Bios – Page 3
In 1993, Wagner moved to nighttime television, joining the hit series “Melrose Place” where he spent five seasons both acting as Dr. Peter Burns and directing.
Then, in 2000, he took the role of a lifetime on Broadway, starring in the title role of Jekyll and Hyde. Wagner has starred in over 15 made-for-TV movies and appeared in over 40 theatrical productions around the country. In 2003, Wagner joined the cast of “The Bold and the Beautiful,” the most successful dramatic serial in the world, viewed in 130 countries.
Wagner is also a scratch golfer and has won six club championships at his home course in Los Angeles, the Bel Air Country Club. In 1990, Wagner won the ProAm with John Cook at Pebble Beach’s ATT Tournament. He also hosted the ESPN golf show, “Off Course with Jack Wagner,” where he interviewed celebrities Alex Rodriquez, Heather Locklear, John Elway and James Woods, to name a few. Wagner is the 2006 and 2011 Champion of the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament at Lake Tahoe, NV, which is broadcasted annually on NBC. In 2009, he was named #1 Celebrity Golfer by Golf Digest.
Wagner is the National Celebrity Ambassador of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, a beneficiary from the annual charity golf tournament, The Jack Wagner Celebrity Golf Classic. Wagner has spent many tireless hours working for this charity, as his father died in 1990 as a result of blood cancer and his brother was diagnosed in 1999 with leukemia.
Most recently, Wagner has starred in Hallmark Movie Channel’s “My Gal Sunday,” “Castle,” “Hot in Cleveland,” “Celebrity Apprentice” and “See Dad Run” and was a contestant on Season 14 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
###
ERIN KRAKOW (Elizabeth Thatcher) — Best known for her recurring role on Lifetime Television’s “Army Wives,” Erin Krakow has graced both the stage and screen during her acting career. A classically trained actor, Krakow studied at Juilliard, earning starring roles in a number of the esteemed school’s productions, including Viola/Sebastian in Twelfth Night, Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Yelena in Black Russian.
Beyond her work at Juilliard, Krakow has appeared in many prominent stage roles, including Cecily in The Importance of Being Earnest, Diana in George the Fourth and Shelby in the stage adaptation of Steel Magnolias.
Krakow has transitioned from stage to screen, earning recurring and guest-starring roles for top television series. On Lifetime’s, “Army Wives,” Krakow played the recurring role of Tanya Gabriel. She also earned the recurring role of Molly on CBS’s hit daytime soap “Guiding Light.” Krakow guest-starred alongside Nathan Fillion in ABC’s Emmy® nominated series “Castle.” ###
(more) HALLMARK CHANNEL/‘WHEN CALLS THE HEART’– Cast Bios – Page 4
DANIEL LISSING (Jack Thornton) — One of Australia’s rising stars, Daniel Lissing has played Lt. James King, a series regular on ABC's “Last Resort,” directed by Martin Campbell (“Casino Royale”) and produced by Shawn Ryan (“The Shield,” “The Unit”). This highly sought after role gave Lissing the opportunity to star opposite Hollywood heavyweights Andre Braugher (“Glory”), Robert Patrick (“Terminator”) and Scott Speedman (“Felicity”). “Last Resort” was Lissing’s first role in the United States.
Lissing has worked extensively in Australia. In Australia Lissing was a series regular on the ABC TV series “Crownies” and he played the lead role of Ryan in the feature film “The Cure” by Director David Gould, which shot in New Zealand. Additional credits include the feature film “John Doe” by Director Kel Dolen and numerous television series which include “Cops LAC” (Nine), “Out of the Blue” (Southern Star/BBC/TEN), “Packed to the Rafters” (Seven) and “Home And Away”(Seven).
Lissing is also a popular singer/songwriter and performs to packed houses all over Sydney. Worth noting is that Lissing has performed for the Australian troops serving overseas in East Timor (Pacific Islands) and was formally recognized for his peacekeeping efforts by the Australian Defense Force.
Lissing was chosen by Inside Film Magazine as one of "Australia's Rising Talents" in their June/July 2012 issue and Australia's TV Week Magazine included Lissing in their recent "Australia's Sexiest Blokes on Television" issue.
###
--HALLMARK CHANNEL--