Scott Michael Foster has his work cut out for him in Hallmark’s Paris Is Always a Good Idea as he competes with three other guys for Lacey Chabert‘s heart.
“Listen, when you’ve got three tall, strapping, good-looking dudes all vying for the attention of your leading lady, you have got to bring your A game,” Foster, 41, joked during an exclusive interview with Us.
Foster enjoyed the challenge, adding, “They’re all wonderful actors. Everybody was really, really talented, and we all had such a great time. So I think it’s such a good cast, and you couldn’t ask for more than having good players to play along with you.”
Based on Jenn McKinlay’s novel, Paris Is Always a Good Idea follows nonprofit executive Chelsea (Chabert), who goes to Paris with rival Knightly (Foster) to secure a donation. Through a message from her late mother — and support from her family — Chelsea decides to revisit three past loves across Ireland, Paris and Spain.
“Usually you have an hour and a half to get to know these characters and learn about them and find out what the story’s about. We got six episodes to do that,” Foster told Us about the limited series. “So we got to really sit in some of these uncomfortable moments and some of these great moments for more times.”
He continued: “You can let the story breathe a little bit, and I think it creates a better connection for the audience. I’m excited to see how people react to this form of storytelling on Hallmark because we’re used to doing movies, but here we got more time to spend with these characters.”
Paris Is Always a Good Idea allowed Foster a special privilege — to finally work with Chabert, 43, a.k.a the queen of Hallmark.
“I hadn’t worked with Lacey before, and I know she’s quite affectionately known as the queen of Hallmark for a good reason,” he explained. “She gets it. She comes super prepared and she knows her stuff. She’s a sweetheart. So I couldn’t have asked for a better partner in this journey.”
Foster said he was “very fortunate” to share the screen with Chabert. Luckily, this wasn’t Foster’s first time stepping up to bring a Hallmark leading man to life — which made it easier as the show teased who Chelsea would end up with.
“I was not worried,” he admitted to Us. “They gave me this and said, ‘What do you think?’ I was like, ‘I love the story. I think it’s great where it ends up. No spoilers here.’ But I think the way that they wrote this and the way they wrapped it up is just right.”
Looking ahead, Foster wants to keep working on Hallmark projects. He also opened up about his interest in working behind the camera.
“I proposed to my fiancée [Carson Fagerbakke] about a year and a half ago at Christmastime, and I did it in front of her whole family, and we did it at the house she grew up in — in front of the Christmas tree. Someone told me I had to make that into a Hallmark movie,” he told Us. “Maybe we’ll have to write that down.”
He continued: “Right now I’ve got a short film that is kind of like a thriller that I’m going to direct. Then I’ve got a horror movie that I wrote and I’m trying to get made. So I like to have my hands in all the baskets because I just love to work.”
New episodes of Paris Is Always a Good Idea air Thursdays on Hallmark+.
