Crown Media
Lacey Chabert and Will Kemp were the perfect couple on The Hallmark Channel’s new movie Christmas Waltz. Viewers have been raving about the magical movie and how much they loved Chabert’s and Kemp’s roles. Chabert recently opened up about filming the movie and what it was like working with Kemp.
Chabert Said She’s Has A Lot of ‘Trust and Friendship’ with Kemp
In an interview with Hollywood Life, Chabert said she had to learn to dance, which was a real challenge, but Kemp was incredibly helpful.
She said: “My character Avery is full of joy, so finding the heart of the scenes was a lot of fun. With the help of Roman she realizes that the unfortunate circumstance she find herself in doesn’t have to ruin Christmas. It was so much fun to work with Will Kemp again. We had a lot of fun in dance rehearsals and on set. It’s nice when you’ve worked with someone before because there’s trust and friendship.”
She was similarly complimentary of Kemp in an interview with TV Insider.
Chabert said: “I knew from the very first time I read the script that Will Kemp was the best person for the part. He’s such a wonderful actor, and he’s such an incredibly talented, amazing dancer, and this role required both.”
Kemp said that’s pretty picky about what movies he does that involve dancing, but he couldn’t resist when he knew Chabert was in the movie too.
He told TV Insider: “When I was told that Lacey Chabert was going to be doing it, I said, ‘You should have just told me that from the very beginning!’ She had been championing this script. There was no chance that I was not going to do it.”
Chabert told TV Insider that she had to train at home for three weeks, and then they had nine days of intensive training with choreographer Jean Marc Genereux. And Kemp said that he was nervous too, because ballroom dancing is different from what he’s used to.
For Chabert though, training was extra hard. She bruised her ribs at one point and even broke her toe right before training. She told TV Insider: “My toe caught on the wooden leg of the couch, and just snapped in two. I had no choice but to tape it up. The show must go on.”
COVID-19 Protocols Required Some Changes & Creativity
Chabert said there were a lot of protocols in place for COVID-19 while filming both of her Christmas movies that premiered in 2020. She told Hollywood Life: “There were many protocols to follow in order to protect everyone-masks, shields, social distancing, testing etc… I consider it a privilege to be a part of making these movies because I hope that they will bring some holiday cheer and joy to people’s homes.”
Kemp told TV Insider that training with masks was quite the experience.
“The rehearsals were fun, particularly with all the COVID protocols: masks and visors and gloves,” he said.
In fact, their last performance of the movie didn’t have an audience like it might have normally, so they had to perform for the crew.
Chabert said: “Our crew knew how hard we had worked and they were rooting for us. It felt like real life.”
Chabert & Kemp Starred Together Before on Hallmark’s ‘Love, Romance & Chocolate’
Chabert and Kemp starred together before on Love, Romance, & Chocolate. The movie aired for Valentine’s in February 2019 and was filmed on location in Belgium.
When Kemp shared a photo from filming he wrote: “Eating lots of chocolate over here on set in Belgium… The last time we worked together he was the villain so I’m happy we are telling a ‘sweeter’ story this time around.”
Hallmark’s 2020 Countdown to Christmas Schedule
