When Hallmark Mystery‘s fifth “Curious Caterer” movie premieres on October 11, 2024, Andrew Walker says he and co-star Nikki DeLoach will finally give fans “what they have wanted for so long — for our relationship to progress to the next level.”
“We’re fast-tracking this relationship,” Walker told Heavy of the chemistry between caterer-turned-amateur-sleuther Goldy Berry and Walker’s Detective Tom Schultz.
Walker and DeLoach have been close friends for nearly a decade, since meeting on the set of their first movie together, 2016’s “A Dream of Christmas.” When asked whether it’s strange having to establish an onscreen romance with an off-screen bestie, Walker told Heavy that it’s far more “awkward” for him to get into the mindset of his introverted character, admitting it can be a “tough” role for him to play.
Andrew Walker Says His ‘Curious Caterer’ Character is ‘Complete Opposite’ of Him
In April, “Curious Caterer: Foiled Plans” featured the first kiss between the crime-solving duo of Goldy and Tom. In the new “Curious Caterer: Forbidden Fruit,” they go on their first official date to see one of her favorite bands, The Faithfuls, in concert — only to witness the lead singer die onstage. Mysteriously, he’s the second lead singer of the band to die suddenly.
Together, Tom and Goldy set out to solve that mystery — and as their chemistry intensifies, Walker told Heavy, he’s relieved that his character starts to “come out of his shell a little bit more.”
“To be honest, (playing) Tom Schultz is tough for me, because I’m an extrovert — an introverted extrovert,” Walker said. “I need my time to recharge my battery, but I love being around people. I’m kind of the life of the party … I’m ready for anything.”
“But Tom is the complete opposite,” Walker continued. “You know, he’s always been adverse to going into public crowds, into being at parties. And of course, with Goldy being a party planner and a caterer for parties, she’s always around people, and she’s also the people person. She’s the yin to his yang.”
“So that’s awkward for me, playing against my natural instinct of who I am as a person, as Andrew,” Walker said. “So to lean into the the building of the relationship with Nikki, that’s the least of my worries. That’s very easy and free flowing.”
Andrew Walker Explains Why It’s ‘Thrilling’ to Work on Character Development With Nikki DeLoach
HallmarkNikki DeLoach and Andrew Walker in “Curious Caterer: Forbidden Fruit”
Walker told Heavy that figuring out all of the little moments of “sensual tension” and hints of romance is fun with DeLoach because they’re so comfortable with each other.
“Nikki and I had a great time just exploring those moments,” he said, “and we even threw a few more in where we didn’t think there was going to be a moment. So I think fans are going to be really excited to see that tension be let out of the balloon a little bit now.”
Walker said that while they went into shooting “Forbidden Fruit” with some of their characters’ chemistry “premeditated” and written into the script, the in-the-moment decisions were fun to craft together.
“There are (times) where we are physically in the scene, and if I go around her shoulder and kind of like, you know, I have a moment to be in her space a little bit, we explore that,” he explained. “That’s one thing that I love about working with Nikki is she’s always down to go with it. She’s always open and available.”
“And I think that’s the thing that’s that makes it so thrilling to work with her,” Walker beamed about his friend, “is that she’s always available and open to progressing that love story. It’s always better to be asked to pull it back than for them to go, ‘Hey guys, can you, like, look like you like each other?’”
Walker said that DeLoach’s take-charge nature also helps him feel more comfortable playing Tom, given that he knows his introverted character doesn’t have to lead the scenes.
“With Nikki, we’re so comfortable with each other that I fall into this ‘Tom’ character, I’m so in the mindset of Tom, that she’s my crutch in a way,” Walker told Heavy. “It helps me fall into
the Tom character even more, and grounds me even more, in that it’s okay that I’m not the
driving force in a scene. Because Nikki is such a driving force and the Goldy character is
such a driving force.”
“Curious Caterer: Forbidden Fruit” premieres on October 11 at 9 p.m. Eastern time on Hallmark Mystery. An encore presentation will air on October 13 at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
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