McKenzie Westmore is best known for her role as Sheridan Crane in the short-lived soap, Passions. She made a major career shift by joining Hallmark. Westmore spoke about her new film, Love in the Clouds, which premiered on Hallmark on Saturday, May 10. This new romantic comedy will have you feeling on cloud nine.
From Harmony To Albuquerque
Passions was a soap set in the cozy New England town of Harmony. This mysterious place had magical appeal. Of course, the soap wasn’t Westmore’s only role. She switched up her career often. The actress brought her Westmore Beauty line to QVC. Then, she made a brief return to the world of fantasy with a hosting stint on the beloved reality competition Face Off on Syfy.
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Westmore made a slow transition from Harmony to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where her new Hallmark film, Love in the Clouds, is set. In her new role, Westmore plays Brooklyn, a reporter who goes to the Balloon Fiesta. There, she meets balloon pilot Jared (Paul Greene). Brooklyn feels uncomfortable at the event, but she’ll let her guard down as sparks fly between them.
In an interview with Swooon, Westmore revealed why she wanted to join Hallmark. It was something that she wanted “for a decade.” She was already on television for decades. For Westmore, it was “a natural crossover in my mind.” She immediately connected to the script, including her character.
“I love that Brooklyn is a very strong woman, as all Hallmark women are,” Westmore explained. “But what I really appreciated is more how she maintains that strength. Even though she’s very fearful, she doesn’t give up on the chance of trying to fight through it. She pushed through her fear, which is very close to me.”
Big Dreams
Westmore hopes this first film will lead to a long and happy relationship with Hallmark. “I would do a Christmas movie in a heartbeat,” she exclaimed. If she could pick her leading man, it would be Days of our Lives star Galen Gering, who played Luis Lopez-Fitzgerald on Passions. Soap fans would like to see this mini Passions reunion on Hallmark.
Westmore would love to see some sort of closure, even if they don’t play their original characters on the feel-good network. “Because Passions didn’t end well for the fans, I would love to see Luis and Sheridan come back in some sort of way, so we have a little Shuis connection. Obviously, it’s different characters, but I would love to give back to the fans and have a Sheridan-Luis reunion,” Westmore concluded.
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There’s another crossover that’s happening. Paul Greene plays Westmore’s love interest in the film. He appeared on previous seasons of When Calls the Heart. Westmore called his casting a “dream come true,” especially since he wasn’t supposed to get the role. “He just made every day so easy, every scene so fun, and we just clicked,” Westmore gushed.
Love in the Clouds is available to watch now on Hallmark+.
