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Three Wiser Men and a Boy might bring fans to tears with its heartwarming story — but stars Tyler Hynes and Paul Campbell couldn’t stop crying because of Andrew Walker’s comedic performance.
“I look over at [Andrew and Paul on set] and I think of all my childhood friends that I grew up with and all those dumb dumbs, and I’m like, ‘Imagine if they were in a movie with me?’ That’s what this feels like,” Hynes, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly of filming the Three Wise Men and a Baby sequel.
Hynes, who plays Taylor in the Hallmark Channel movie, noted that all three actors are goofballs on set. He recalled “crying” with Campbell, 45, during one scene because all they could see was Walker’s face.
“It’s these little things he does that break us,” he said of Walker, 45. “He was learning his lines and he was doing his thing and he was battling, trying to remember his lines, and we were just crying, watching our friend try to figure his way through it.”
The actor laughed while thinking about the funny scene. “I was crying watching Drew try to find his lines. Paul was crying. And once we start doing this, it doesn’t end,” Hynes explained.
Hynes confessed it’s “hard” to stay in character while working with Walker and Campbell, who play his brothers Luke and Stephan, respectively.
“I watched Paul [say], like, ‘Alright, roll cameras action.’ I watch him go [serious] into a scene and it just kills me,” Hynes told Us while we were on location in Canada earlier this year. “It’s surreal. It’s really beautiful. You’re also watching your best friends that you really truly love, apply themselves and excel at it.”
Campbell — who also cowrote both 2022’s Three Wise Men and a Baby and 2024’s Three Wiser Men and a Boy — was in total agreement with Hynes about their onset dynamic.
“There’s a lot of breaking. The stuff that’s killing me is when Andrew starts to get — when [his character] Luke starts to get angry and frustrated, I’m dying,” Campbell exclusively told Us of the trio’s inability to stay focused at times.
He described the same scene Hynes told Us about, saying that Luke “signed himself up for something he didn’t want to sign up for, but he was doing it to posture up and to kind of be the hero a little bit” and recruits his brothers to help.
“He’s just trying to do these things, and he’s really annoyed. And Tyler and I could not get through a scene. We just destroyed his coverage,” Campbell recalled of Walker’s attempt to convey the expressions. “We couldn’t get through it. My shoulders were shaking, I was laughing so hard. But it’s a good thing when you can make each other laugh like that. That’s chemistry.”
Three Wiser Men and a Boy picks up five years after the original as the Brenner brothers get wrangled into putting on a holiday play at Luke’s son, Thomas’ (Miles Marthaller), school. Hilarity ensues when one of the brothers becomes the villain in How the Grump Ruined Christmas while the other siblings handle the elementary school kids.
While Hynes and Campbell teased Walker for his facial expressions, Walker exclusively told Us that he also has a “tough” time staying in character thanks to his costars.
“Paul and Tyler kill me. They are so funny together,” Walker gushed. “I always say [Paul’s] like the John Cleese of Hallmark. He’s just such a funny, witty guy.” (Cleese is a British comedian and actor best known for the Monty Python franchise.)
Walker noted that since the actors are all “so different” they work even better as an ensemble. “We just kind of give each other the space and I don’t think anyone’s stepping on anybody’s toes,” he added. “It’s just the perfect chemistry.”
Campbell agreed, telling Us, “There’s not much difference between offscreen and on screen in terms of character, in terms of everything.” He joked, “We really are just slightly heightened versions of ourselves on camera. It’s just joyful.”
Hynes, meanwhile, teased that fans will appreciate all the stars for their very different story lines.
“Me and Paul have definitely been in the trenches on this one. Drew is kind of the bright, shining light,” he shared. “He’s like a unicorn. He’s very positive and comes with the vibe. Me and Paul [however] are in the dirt scratching around trying to figure things out.”
Three Wiser Men and a Boy premieres on Hallmark Channel Saturday, November 23, at 8 p.m. ET.
