When I logged into Zoom to interview Ian Harding about his role in the new Hallmark+ series Hollidayzwhich he joined like crazy from a rental house in Toronto. He carries his laptop with him as he searches for a charger, and my vision jumps around in the found footage style, like a scene from a movie The Blair Witch Project. He said he could install podcast equipment upstairs if that would help. When I told him he was fine, he sighed, “Great. I don’t want to go upstairs now because I’m 80 years old. It’s like, oh, did I run a marathon yesterday? No, I did.” The grocery store.
At this moment, I knew that not only would we get along well, but… was a little crush creeping in? Of course, this isn’t a viable crush (he’s happily married to the stunning and talented Sophie Hart – waitam I obsessed with her too? ), but this fascination comes from truly enjoying a person’s energy.
Ian Harding has incredible energy.
If you’ve been following him since his days as Ezra Fitz pretty Little Liarsyou’ll love his latest chapter. HollidayzHallmark’s debut holiday series tells the story of six families from different backgrounds, cultures and generations who come together in the same cul-de-sac during the holidays. Harding stars as Josh Hill, a man driven by his job who returns home and realizes there may be more to life.
Here’s what Harding had to say about the character, the holiday traditions he avoids like the plague, and even the possibility of a reunion with him phase locked loop Lucy Hale co-stars in the romantic comedy.
Horrible Mom: How would you describe your character, Josh?
Ian Harding: He’s a lovable go-getter. I think sometimes you meet someone who lives in a very busy culture and they’re just insufferable, even though he may… have little awareness of other people outside of his efforts. However, he has gone home for the holidays, he loves his parents very much and has some plans for them. [He] There were a few things he wanted to do before making a big career change. When he comes home he has a run-in with the law and hilarity ensues, which maybe you wouldn’t expect when getting court-mandated community service, but yeah.
SM: Ha! I really love how many different holiday personality types this show captures. What’s yours?
IH: My holiday personality can be a hurried one. I think so because, until recently, I had lived in Los Angeles for 15 years. It wouldn’t make sense for my whole family to come to Los Angeles—we wouldn’t necessarily have the space for them—so we would go back to our home in Washington, close to where I grew up. We had our first taste of hosting last year when we had only been home for three months, so we were kind of like, “Oh yeah, we need a tree, don’t we?”
My experience is a love of the holidays and a love of family togetherness…especially now that I have a young son.
SM: Are there any traditions you’re looking forward to starting with him this year?
IH: I think, just so that my parents could have a break, they started this tradition when we were young, making socks and stuff the night before—almost like a teaser for gifts. I love doing this with him. Kind of like, “Oh, here’s a little bit of chocolate and knickknacks,” or something like that.
One tradition I actually want to avoid is also what we do. I don’t know why my father thought it was a good idea – he was a very smart man, a very cultured, skilled man in many ways, and he was responsible for encouraging me to become an actor. but we will watch Christmas carols… That George C. Scott thing in the late ’70s, early ’80s, and it’s dark. It’s really cruel and he’s a horrible person.
One year, I think we were like, “Can we take a look at this?” The Muppet Christmas Carol? He said, ‘Okay, okay. If you don’t like art, of course,” or whatever he said. I think we’ll probably avoid this like the plague and probably stick to Hallmark Christmas movies or something.
SM: In Hollidayz, tIn this adorable scene, Theo tries to describe an ornament to you by naming the little things that make life beautiful. What are these things used for? you?
IH: I was lucky enough to live the Hollywood dream life in my early twenties. Of course, I didn’t win any Oscars, but I went to LA, watched a hit TV show, went to these parties, traveled the world, shot some really cool stuff, met my heroes, and all of that felt Awesome. But there was one thing that was intangible…something missing.
I realized that I could dive deeper into the busy world, or I could follow my gut feeling that perhaps the most tangible and meaningful things in my life lie elsewhere. Finally ended up back where I started. I know how Hallmark sounds, but it’s true – I have to get back to Washington and have my family there. I can still travel the world and make a living playing virtual games, which is awesome.
So, if I could put the most meaningful things in life into an ornament, it would probably be a theater mask. I also think it could be part of an old moccasin my son wore when he first walked…or, my wife and I got married in East Los Angeles and we had pancakes, so there’s a little syrupy stuff. Then, as my family gets older and I can spend more time with my family, maybe buy a mini walker – although that would probably be a huge insult to my mom. Like, “Oh, because I’m old now, you POS.”
This is probably what hangs on my meaning of life ornament.
SM: You will be a big part of many people’s holidays Hollidayz and our little secret With Lindsay Lohan on Netflix. Have you officially entered the rom-com hottie era?
IH: God, I hope so. I think the best thing is I ride this train out until people say, ‘Oh, let’s get him out of here. We’re tired of this guy. Then I disappeared for five years, and when I came back I was haggard and old very quickly. That’s when I played an old oil tycoon and was in all these brutal HBO shows. They were like, ‘I don’t want him in a Christmas movie. He looks terrible.
SM: It’s a long game.
IH: Yeah, it’s a long game. But I think culturally, there’s a renewed interest in romantic comedies. It might be poorly done, or it might be saccharine and crude, but I think people really enjoy the idea of finding meaningful love and connection while also having a good laugh.
read our little secret I read the scene alone for the first time at home and laughed. There is obviously an element of romance. That was the only thing I finished and then immediately started reading again.
SM: Do we also feel a bit like the infamous Santa hat boxer scene? phase locked loop Is it, like, an origin story for your time?
IH: Oh my gosh, you brought it back. I feel like you’re just leading me as a lawyer, ‘Oh, you’re safe here. Just kidding; answer this.
I remember when we were filming, I thought, ‘Is anyone else okay with this teacher and these kids being partially clothed? What? And then, on top of that, I got to do Taylor’s whole thing [Blackburn] and Keegan [Allen] They’re as natural as these living Adonis – especially Keegan, that bastard. I think he was eating a piece of pizza and I was just looking at his rippling six-pack and I had just been dehydrated for three days straight.
So, thankfully, I suppressed that painful memory, but thank you for bringing it up. I think maybe someone high up somewhere said, ‘Oh wait, yeah, let’s put him in a Hallmark movie. Take a look at this. I’m excited to rewatch this.
SM: Now that I’ve introduced you, did I read an interview where you mentioned a Taylor Swift song? Are you a secret Swift? Because the world deserves to know this too.
IH: Oh, yeah, no. Let’s get to the big news here.
SM: This is serious journalism, Ian.
IH: I think the cool thing about her is that she’s been around for a long time and really experimented with her sound. Some albums resonate with me and some don’t, but some are very important. I think so folkloreright, mostly acoustic? I can see her cover. It’s black and white. She is in the woods. I remember hearing “Invisible Rope” and thinking, “I think she wrote this about me and my wife.” I thought, “Have I talked to Taylor about this?” How did she know?
So, yes, some of her songs are on repeat or on my favorites list. Did I join the Eras tour? I don’t. And, because I have a child. He was still a baby at the time. Still a baby. What am I talking about?
SM: It works. And speaking is difficult. Okay, last question. you’re still close to your people phase locked loop Co-starring. Hear me out: How about watching a Hallmark movie with you?
IH: Considering there are so many phase locked loop Alumni, if you will, people who are doing Hallmark, I kind of like the idea. On Tuesday, I spoke to Lucy [Hale] Because…she is so kind. She has been helping me promote these projects.
What’s great is when you do something like pretty Little Liars, You have a connection to each other in the sense that you are both in your twenties and have gone through this life-changing event together, which has happened to all of us. So, she and I were able to pick ourselves up right away. No small talk, no “Is it hot in Washington right now?” It was all back to high gear and Tori and I felt the same way [DeVitto]also. I went to her wedding. Shay [Mitchell] I talked two weeks ago because she had such a great time in Toronto and there was no small talk. It’s really amazing.
So, it feels like everyone is a family – which I know is a weird thing to say considering Lucy and I have been together for seven years – but it’s really great. I hope we can do something again. I thought, “Should I pitch something to Netflix or Hallmark for me and Lucy to do?” I felt like that would be fun.
SM: People are definitely going to react to that.
IH: But what if it starts out as one thing… Like, you think it’s going to be a holiday romantic comedy, and then halfway through, it’s a murder movie. We must find the murderer, but this will only dash people’s hopes.
SM: I still think it works, Ian. I do.
Iha: Yes. it’s for sure i don’t know what.
holiday’The first two episodes will premiere on Hallmark+ on November 14, with new episodes every Thursday. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
