Interview: Wyatt Nash Talks About “Karen Kingsbury’s The Bridge”

Hallmark Channel brings Karen Kingsbury’s beloved book, The Bridge to life just in time for the holidays. The beautiful story is set in a charming bookstore that serves as much more than a place to buy the latest best-seller. Its proprietors Donna and Charlie (Faith Ford and Ted McGinley) created the store as a place where its patrons can find a sense of community and count themselves members of an extended family.

“It really focuses a lot on community and people all supporting each other through the tough times in life that we sometimes find ourselves in,” says actor Wyatt Nash, who plays one of the shop patrons, and is a special part of The Bridge’s community. He adds that the story “Is really just about supporting and loving each other.” Nash and Katie Findlay play two young college students who spend their study hours dreaming about their future and sharing a special bond with everyone they meet.

Nash and I chatted about the role and the unbelievable connection he found to his character.

Channel Guide: Wyatt, tell us a little about your character, Ryan.
Wyatt Nash: Ryan grew up in Franklin, TN, and is a big friend of The Bridge bookstore, and as he goes into college his freshman year he’s sort of trying to decide which path to take, whether he wants to play it safe, or if he wants to pursue his true passion, music. In his freshman year, one of the first days, he meets a girl named Molly Allen, and kind of turns his life upside down a little bit. Together they both just sort of try to find their way and help each other decide which path they truly want to go on, and The Bridge is sort of a center stage for their relationship.

CG: This is the second time you’ve brought a famous literary character to life (Nash played Christopher Dollanganger in the 2014 TV film, Petals on the Wind, a sequel to Flowers in the Attic.) Tell us about giving a face to someone who comes from a beloved book…
WN: I read the book in about two days, before I even read the script, and I definitely empathized with Ryan’s plight, and his life, and the character of who he is. I felt a strong connection to him, and a lot of similarities to myself, so I was just really excited to bring a lot of myself to the character.

CG: You mention that you felt connected to Ryan, how so?
WN: Well, he’s from Franklin, Tennessee, and I’m from about ten minutes north of Franklin, so I grew up in the same area, which was pretty ironic to me. My jaw dropped when I started reading the book and I read that. He’s really torn between, like I said, playing it safe — pursuing a different type of type of degree — and supporting those around him, or to pursue music, which is his true passion.

I found my self in a very similar situation in college; I had to decide whether I wanted to continue down the pathway to medical school, or if I wanted to become an actor. Ultimately, I’m an actor, but it’s not an easy decision to figure out what direction you want to go sometimes. You don’t want to let people down in your life, but you also want to be true to yourself. I definitely strongly felt that tension.

CG: You mentioned Nashville. Karen Kingsbury lives in Nashville too. Is that a world that you two could talk about? Did having a location as a touchstone for the character, and knowing that that’s where Karen’s heart is, make it easier to know your character?
WN: Oh, definitely. There were several times in the script where Ryan would be talking about something from his past, be it a festival or a history of the area, and I remember, as a kid, going to these festivals and going on field trips, learning about the history of Franklin and of Nashville. It was definitely a touchstone.

I was able to talk with Karen a lot. She was on set for a couple of weeks, and I spoke with her beforehand, as well. She continued to encourage me to keep going down the path that I was on, because to her, she said, it was just kind of spot-on, and to keep doing what I’m doing. She was really great.

CG: Tell me about working with Kate, who plays Molly. How were you able to build that friendship that’s so paramount to the roles?
WN: That was kind of nerve wracking, because I hadn’t met her. I met her right before we filmed the first scene, which, ironically, was the first time that we met on camera … I was really nervous, because I didn’t know how she was, or anything like that, but as soon as we starting taking to each other — and just kind of joking and laughing and being absolutely ridiculous — I wasn’t worried about that anymore. She’s a wonderful actress and I learned a lot from her, but she’s a great person, too, and we got along really, really well.

CG: Did you have that same kind of fun chemistry with Ted and Faith?
WN: Yes, for sure. Ted McGinley makes me laugh like no other person I’ve met. He is always joking around and always playing games, and is just so much fun to be around on-set. He just brings a great energy, as well as Faith. They’re just both so professional and so seasoned, and know exactly what they’re doing, and so they were so much fun to be around on-set, for sure.

CG: Having read the books, did you think that Ted and Faith were the perfect casting choice for the roles?
WN: Yeah, I think they were perfect. I think Ted fully embodies Charlie and Faith is definitely Donna, in my mind. They did a great job with what they brought to both the characters, and I’m really looking forward to seeing the final cut. It’s so much fun to watch on-screen, and they have great chemistry themselves.

CG: Did you all become an on-set family? In the book and film, The Bridge becomes kind of a home away from home for a lot of people. Did you find yourselves falling into that family?
WN: Yeah, in a way. We were away from L.A. — we filmed up in Canada — and you hang out with the people that you know, and the only people you know are the people you work with. I got to spend a lot of time with both Ted and Faith outside of filming and especially Katie. We all definitely enjoyed getting along together up there. Yeah, I think we had a real strong connection between the four of us.

CG: Hallmark is calling this The Bridge, Part One. Is there going to be a part two, is the story left unfinished?
WN: Yes. Yes, it is, indeed. They took Karen’s book, The Bridge, and split it into two parts. There’s so much juicy story in her book, it’s so dense, there’s so much to tell, that they thought it would be better if we split it into two pieces, instead of brushing over and rushing through it. I think they made the right call. We actually filmed both parts back-to-back, and this year, you’re only going to be seeing the first half of the book. I believe the second half will air sometime next year around the same time.

CG: That’s incredible; so next year we’ll have another movie to look forward to?
WN: Yes. It’ll be The Bridge, Part Two — basically the second half of the book.

Karen Kingsbury’s The Bridge > Hallmark Channel > Sunday, Dec. 6 at 8pm ET/7pm CT

All movie images Copyright 2015 Crown Media United States, LLC/Photographer: Duane Prentice