Ginna Claire Mason and Wes Brown Talk Love, Destiny, and Time Travel In A Newport Christmas
“Before we even got on set, this is a script that Wes and I really combed through and were so excited to tackle it head-on,” said Ginna Claire Mason who plays charitable 1905 Newport socialite Ella in Hallmark Channel’s A Newport Christmas. Ella wishes her a different life when her father intends to set up an arranged marriage for her and finds herself in 2025. Reluctant to return after she meets Nick, she is faced with her future legacy being erased the longer she stays in the modern day. Mason and Wes Brown sat down with Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado to talk love, destiny, and time travel in their new Countdown to Christmas movie.
Mason was excited about the challenge of stepping into another time. “I love when you watch the film, right away you're transported to the Gilded Age, another time, a slower time, some might say. It was so exciting for me to step into the challenge of playing this character from 120 years ago and what were the manners like and her rhythm of speech and what would she wear and how would she move,” she told me, expressing her love for history, sci-fi, and fantasy. “Certain things like corsets and gloves and hats and petticoats help with that. It was such an adventure.”
“This is a story about a love that transcends time and looking for meaning and belonging even when the world looks different from the one that you know,” she continued. “Home sometimes isn't a time or place. It can be found in a person.”
A Newport Christmas explores the themes of true love versus destiny through Ella’s storyline. “Gosh, it's something we haven't really gotten to talk about enough in press, which is you see this woman who is ahead of her time,” explained Mason. “Before women's suffrage and meeting a lady boss in the future, also knowing what she has to go back and start with her nonprofit to help her society, to help her community. We see that the longer she's in the future, some of her impact starts to slip away. I think there was a real struggle there. I loved the stakes of this story. It was so complex and exciting. Even when I was reading the script the first time I’d go, whoa, how are we going to wrap this up? Where are we going to land? It's an exciting one to watch unfold.”
“You definitely forget your acting sometimes,” said Brown about working alongside Mason. He plays local Newport Historian and sailor Nick who meets Ella in modern day aboard her schooner. While she declares him a stowaway, he maintains its his boat. “I knew Ginna Claire was cast before I read the script and, once reading it, I could hear no one else doing it except for her. I'm not certain anyone else could have pulled it off in the level that she did. And I think I was correct.”
“It was so fun to get to be opposite her, getting to watch this internal and external struggle, with not only the comedy, but just the realism,” shared Brown. “She's very much into it. It was just a blast getting to watch that transition ‘cause it was very unique storytelling from Hallmark with the time travel element. Just everything involved with it, with costuming, with going from past to present, her figuring everything out, to all of the one-liners.”
The time travel adventure offered up tons of entertaining acting choices to make. “It was so fun to sit back and ask yourself the question, what would it be like if someone from 120 years ago is experiencing technological advances of today? Like oat milk, women in pants,” Mason enthused. “Definitely one of my favorite scenes is when she's playing with a computer for the first time. She's frustrated because the letters are all out of order. Then he mentions touching the mouse and I'm very frightened that suddenly a mouse is in her midst. That was a really fun one for me.”
Those moments also allowed Brown to take on a new type of role. “An old acting coach line is acting is reacting,” he shared. “This was the first movie I've ever done which my part was almost entire reactions of her driving this story, so that was unique for me.”
It’s thrilling to see how the past and present influence each other. “There's two balls. There's one in 1905 and one in 2025. And I think, didn't we do that the same day, Wes? Or back to back. That was really magical,” said Mason. “Seeing how we got to step into totally different garments to wear, seeing how they transformed our incredible, lavish mansion from two different centuries. That was really fun.”
And another fond memory? “I got to dance with Mr. Wes Brown!” shared Mason. “Wes is the warmest, most wonderful guy and then also just an incredibly grounded actor and seasoned professional. I feel like he made so much of the magic work and our roles were so different, but we really needed each other. He was there for me every step of the way. I'm incredibly grateful that I got to be partnered with him and collaborate on this.”
Not only did they collaborate in this film, but the co-stars even recorded a song for it! “That was a an honest dream come true because of what the song sounded like when it was sent to me. It was a song that was inspired by this film and written by Miss Donna Stewart who is so good. GC asked me to do a song with her. Not sure why, but we did and I was grateful that she did,” said Brown, with Mason adding: “He sounds so good. You're going to love it.”
“We flew to Nashville just a few weeks after we wrapped the movie. We knocked it out in maybe two days,” shard Brown. “It's called ‘Timeless Christmas,’ but it’s got a timeless sound to it. I'm very grateful to be a part of it. So I can't wait for everyone to hear it. Hope it's part of your new Christmas tradition.”
“Decorate your tree. Listen to ‘Timeless Christmas!’” encouraged Mason.
Take a listen to “Timeless Christmas” and watch A Newport Christmas airing November 2 on Hallmark Channel,
