Hallmark’s Emilie Ullerup Was ‘Nervous’ to Reunite With Kristoffer Polaha in ‘Missing the Boat’ [Interview]
A cruise trip goes sideways in a major way in Hallmark Channel’s new movie Missing the Boat.
Chesapeake Shores alum Emilie Ullerup plays Kelly, an undercover reviewer sent to evaluate a cruise ship business ahead of a major merger. On board, she meets Parker (Kristoffer Polaha), who is in charge of mergers and acquisitions for the cruise company. After a flirty meet-cute, they spend the day together on an excursion in Sicily. But a mishap with a couple of donkeys leads to them missing the boat. That sends the pair on a madcap adventure as they attempt to reconnect with the ship.
“We’re kind of discovering things about each other as we also race against time through Italy,” Ullerup told Showbiz Cheat Sheet of her latest project with Hallmark.
Emilie Ullerup says working with Kristoffer Polaha was ‘a dream’
Missing the Boat marks Ullerup’s onscreen reunion with Polaha, her co-star in 2016’s Hearts of Christmas. It was also her first Hallmark movie.
“I felt like Bambi stepping into that going like, ‘Can I do this? Can I lead a movie?’”, she recalled. “And I could partly because I had Kris beside me because he’s so easy to work with. It was just immediate friends.”
Fast-forward a decade, and Ullerup and Polaha are sharing the screen again.
“And I didn’t know he was doing [Missing the Boat] until I was packing my bags to go,” she said. “And I was a little nervous because 10 years is a long time and who knows if we still have chemistry, if we’re still the same people that we were then. And I saw him and it was like no time had passed. It was partly what made this such a dream experience for me … Honestly, he’s one of my favorite people to work with.”
Not only did her latest Hallmark movie give Ullerup a chance to work together again with an old friend, but it was also an opportunity to take in some of Europe’s most stunning locations. Missing the Boat filmed on location in Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria, with the hectic schedule in some ways mirroring the plot of the movie itself.
“Sometimes we were packing up every night to go to a new location and you were just kind of like, did I remember my toothpaste? Have I got everything? Am I going to miss the next plane? It was kind of life imitating art that way,” she said.
‘Missing the Boat’ star has a tip: ‘Don’t work with donkeys’
One of the most memorable moments in Missing the Boat involves Kelly and Parker riding a pair of uncooperative donkeys to a scenic waterfall. The scene was just as comic – if not more so – in real life.
“Don’t work with donkeys,” Ullerup quipped. “Just say no. if you ever get offered to work with a donkey, don’t do it … We were just kind of left to our own devices riding these donkeys on a cliff, not really knowing [what would happen]. And half of the time it wouldn’t walk and then the other half of the time it was afraid of the drone behind us so it would take off down the hill with me on its back. It was a comedy within a comedy that day. In the moment, I didn’t find it funny and I knew later I would laugh.”
Over the course of the movie, both Kelly and Parker learn to relax and embrace the unexpected adventures that life throws at them. Ullerup says that she hopes Missing the Boat inspires viewers to seek up new experiences in their own lives.
“Travel,” she says. “Travel, travel, see as much as you can, experience as much as you can, meet as many people as you can, eat all the foods, take the break, live your life. Don’t just work.”
Of course, not everyone is able to jet off for an Italian escape. For them, Hallmark’s destination-focused movies, filmed everywhere from Machu Picchu to the Maldives, are another way to see the world.
“For a lot of people, it’s not realistic to be able to travel to these far away destinations,” Uller said. “I love that we’re getting to offer little slices of it in people’s living rooms.”
Missing the Boat premieres Saturday, January 31 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Hallmark Channel and streams next day on Hallmark+.
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