‘CHRISTMAS SHE WROTE’ Cast Bios

DANICA MCKELLAR (Kayleigh) – Actress, author, producer and speaker Danica McKellar was first introduced to us as Winnie Cooper on the iconic television classic “The Wonder Years” and since then has built a longstanding career in entertainment and beyond. McKellar stars in and executive produces “MatchMaker Mysteries,” a new mystery franchise for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries (next installment premieres April 2021). Last Christmas, McKellar starred opposite Dolly Parton in her 12th Hallmark film “Christmas at Dollywood.” In addition to acting and producing television, McKellar is a New York Times bestselling author of ten humorous and educational math books including her recent elementary school hits "Do Not Open This Math Book," "The Times Machine" and her original, groundbreaking middle school books including Math Doesn't Suck and Kiss My Math. Her message to girls? Smart is sexy. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, McKellar earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics. She has testified before Congress about the importance of women in math and science and was named “Person of the Week” by ABC World News for tackling math education and simultaneously breaking the stereotype of the “math nerd” with her highly entertaining and illuminating books, all of which can be found at McKellarMath.com. She also hosts a weekly inspirational livestream on her social media accounts called "McKellar Monday Motivation" where she interacts directly with her fans.

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DYLAN NEAL (Tripp) – 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, Neal 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 and in 1992, he moved to Los Angeles where his acting dreams quickly became realized.

Neal is a well-recognized face on television having secured series’ regular roles in a handful of American television programs including “Hyperion Bay,” “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch” and Aaron Spelling’s “Pacific Palisades.” 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.” He also starred alongside Anne Heche in Hallmark Channel’s original movie “Looks Like Christmas.”

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 the films from the anthology series, with Southwell also executive producing and writing. The most recent installment, Gourmet Detective: Roux The Day aired earlier this year and brought in the franchises highest ratings yet across all metrics. In 2018, Neal co-wrote, executive produced and starred in Truly, Madly, Sweetly which tied for the network’s highest rated Fall Harvest original movie premiere ever.” Neal and his wife also executive produced the highly successful “Valentine Ever After” from their original screenplay, which aired in February 2016 and was the network’s most watched February original movie premiere among W25-54 since 2009.

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.

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ANDREW FRANCIS (Stephen) – Andrew Francis is a Canadian actor and voice actor living in Vancouver B.C. He has been performing since the age of six and fell into voice work at the age of nine. Some of his voice credits include “Dinotrux” for Dreamworks, “Ninjago” for Lego, “My Little Pony” for Hasbro and “Max Steel” for Mattel. On screen, he starred in the Hallmark Channel original movie “Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa” and appeared in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original “Morning Show Mysteries: Countdown to Murder” and will return as Connor O’Brien in the Hallmark Channel original primetime series, “Chesapeake Shores,” slated to premiere its fifth season in 2021.

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DAN PAYNE (DAN) – Dan Payne is a familiar face on television and in film. In the spring of 2020, he was a supporting lead in the Hallmark movie “MatchMaker Mysteries: A Fatal Romance” as murder suspect and love interest to Danica McKellar. Popular with his fan base are his roles in the three Disney’s “Descendants” television movies (reprising as Beast) and his turn as misunderstood villain King Shark in The CW’s “The Flash.” Payne’s recent credits include guest starring on Disney Channel’s “Gabby Duran & the Unsittables” and reprising his starring role in the feature Aliens Stole My Body (sequel to his Leo Award winning turn in Aliens Ate My Homework). Other notable recent credits include his Leo Award nominated performance as a recurring guest star in Disney XD’s “Mech X-4,” ABC’s “Once Upon a Time,” starring in the feature thriller Devil in the Dark, guest starring in Freeform’s “Dead of Summer” and “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.” Payne starred in the features Stanger in The House, Lover’s Leap, Cradle of Lies and recurred on Hallmark Channel’s popular series “Good Witch.” He also starred the Hallmark Channel original movie “All Yours” alongside Nicolette Sheridan and opposite Jenny Garth in the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries original “A Time to Dance,” for which he won a Leo Award.

Payne was born in Victoria, BC, Canada and subsequently lived a nomadic lifestyle as his family moved a great deal. At 6’4 and 225 pounds he was a natural to become an athlete but he also had a thirst for higher education. Upon graduating from high school, he earned several university scholarships and chose the University of Calgary for his post-secondary education. There he played volleyball for the U of C Dinosaurs, traveling throughout Canada. Payne’s successful professional volleyball career ended in Holland and he includes having had the privilege of coaching volleyball camps for special needs as a highlight.

A subsequent move to Australia for four years to join his brother Josh led to a stint as a professional photographer and a renewed love of the arts. He started in stand-up comedy, performing in shows he co-wrote and directed with his brother. Moving to London, England, Payne continued to study acting and to perform on stage, eventually returning to Canada once he had honed his craft and his confidence.

Some of his other television accomplishments include his series lead role on the CTV sitcom “Alice, I Think, and his guest starring roles on such successful series as “Supernatural,” “Once Upon A Time in Wonderland,” “Fairly Legal,” “Tower Prep,” “Human Target,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Sanctuary,” “Dead Like Me,” “Whistler,” “The L Word,” “Saved,” “Stargate SG1,” “Stargate: Atlantis,” “” and “The Chris Isaac Show.” Payne also starred in the title role for two seasons on the web series “Divine: The Series.”

His television movie credits include leading roles in Lifetime’s “The Secret Lives of Second Wives” and he was nominated for a Leo Award for his leading role in “Christmas Miracle. He was thrilled to play alongside film legend Faye Dunaway in Hallmark Channel’s “A Family Thanksgiving.” Payne’s big screen credits include starring as the villain in the comedy feature No Clue, John Tucker Must Die, directed by Betty Thomas, the Warner Bros. feature Watchmen, directed by Zach Schneider, the indie film Mulligans (Leo Award Nomination, Best Lead Actor) plus two Muppet movies: A Very Muppet Christmas and The Muppets Wizard of Oz.

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