(Photo Credit to Abigail Gorden)
Written by Colleen Bement, Editor
Romance and family-friendly drama welcome Cindy Busby in her new role. Best known for her role as Ashley Stanton on “Heartland,” this television mainstay is jumping into her lead role in Great American’s second season of “When Hope Calls” debuting April 3rd. Cindy plays a 1920s lawyer who moves from San Francisco to the little town of Brookfield and discovers an entirely new life. The series looks to be packed with friendship, family, and romance that both Hallmark and Great American viewers will no doubt love.
This talented actress has a filmography packed with variety. Not only is she loved for her Hallmark roles, she can be spotted in “Supernatural,” “The Vampire Diaries,” and “Psych.” She played alongside Andie MacDowell in “Cedar Cove,” opposite Steve Martin in “The Big Year,” was in “A Life Interrupted” with Lea Thompson, “Picture This” with Ashley Tisdale, and the list goes on. Catch up with Cindy and dive into some amazing stories. Some will inspire, and some will make you laugh.
Colleen Bement: You have been a staple in Hallmark movies and TV shows. Now Great American Family channel fans will no doubt fall in love with you and your character of Nora Anderson in the second season of “When Hope Calls.” Two questions:
- What can you tell us about your new role in “When Hope Calls?”
Cindy Busby: Nora Anderson is new to “When Hope Calls,” which we’re starting season two, and what I really love about her is she’s super strong and smart while also being very sensitive and loving. She’s a lawyer in 1920 so she’s ahead of her time in many ways. She leaves San Francisco, kind of looking for answers. Her family was kind of broken up. There was some family drama and she finds out that she has two family members that she never knew she had, and so that’s what takes her to Brookfield. It’s quite vulnerable in the beginning for her because she doesn’t know if her family is going to accept her or not, or push her away. There are a lot of unanswered questions there, and through her joining this town she finds community and connection and friendship and family and you know potentially some romance as well, which is good. There’s a lot of great aspects to that character that I really love. She’s a very layered woman, especially for that time period.
Colleen: I love that time period. It’s one of my favorite time periods in history!
Cindy: Right? The 20s, the beginning of the century in so many ways, and it’s still quite rural where Brookfield is so it hasn’t quite been affected by that industrial aspect of the world changing, which is really fun. As an actor getting to immerse yourself in that world, you do all the work ahead of time preparing for the role. You know, understanding what it would have been like to be someone of that time. And then you get your hair and makeup and your costume on and then all of the sudden you’re on set and it makes it that much more real, and easy, to a certain degree, to believe the world that you’ve just been immersed into. I really love that part, and getting to see everyone dressed up…and the background performers. And that whole world coming to life was really cool. And having horses and a carriage, and a donkey and a dog and it’s just really cool.
- What has the transition been like to switch from the Hallmark world to the Great American world?
Cindy: The thing is I always say, as an actor you’re kind of like a free agent, for the most part. You audition for roles and you hope for the best and that includes our Great American Family, CBS, NBC, The CW, so I don’t necessarily think of being “owned by any network.” It’s really where the opportunities take me and this incredible series came my way with Great American Family, and I’ve done two Christmas movies with them before and it was such a wonderful experience. Of course, I’ve known Bill Abbott who was the president of Hallmark for a long time and he was the president when I first got my break with Hallmark. It felt nice to reconnect and find myself in this show that is truly so beautiful and the fans have just been waiting for another season, and that’s been exciting to kind of fulfill that for them. I’m grateful to have an amazing job that I’m excited about. Nowadays it’s such a changing world and also to be a part of something that is in the wheelhouse that I’ve been a part of which is family-friendly content which is important to me that everybody can watch together. I think it’s nice to dabble in all the things.
Colleen: I’m going to ask you this question I had for later then, speaking of dabbling in different things. You had guest roles on “Supernatural” and “The Vampire Diaries.” What was it like to dive into that type of genre? Was it fun?
Cindy: It was super fun, I mean “Vampire Diaries” was really cool because it was the pilot of the show so I had no idea what this show would become. It became a cult classic and everyone went on for years and years and years. All I know is when I got the audition I saw that Kevin Williamson was a part of it. You know, who did “Scream” and “I Know What You Did Last Summer” and so many other things. For me that was exciting. I’m a big horror fan, but I loved his way of writing so that was really great. And “Supernatural,” I mean at the point I got onto that show, it had already been going on for many seasons and was very successful. Jensen and Jared, the two leads, I can’t say enough great things about them. They were so lovely and so kind, and so successful, and I feel like that’s the kind of lead that I strive to be in so loving and caring and treating everyone with kindness and respect.
I have a really great story about Jensen. I was on set with them and I had asked them hey guys, it was my last day, would you mind taking a photo with me when we get a moment? They said absolutely, no problem. I thought we were going to be wrapped but then they were like oh Cindy, we have to do an insert with you, and the guys were whisked away to leave. I didn’t get a photo and I was so bummed. I did my insert and then I was wrapped for good and leaving. I was thinking, I really wished I had gotten a photo with them. And then, all of the sudden I hear “hey Cindy,” and I turn around and Jensen came out from behind wherever and he was like “did you want to take that photo?” He truly waited. He could have changed and gone to his hotel room and called it a day, but he waited and totally made my day. It just goes to remind you how something so simple can mean so much to someone, and I remember and cherish that moment because I know what it means to people. I try to be that as much as I can, especially being a lead of a series now. That matters to me.
Colleen: Let’s switch back to a Hallmark-type vibe. In a chaotic world, Hallmark movies give us comforting storylines that we can depend on and problems that are solved in just 2 hours. Do you feel the same way, and, I’d love to know, are you a romantic at heart?
Cindy Busby: I think the rom-com genre has been around for so long, and I loved all those movies in the 90s and early 2000s, finding my way into this world where it’s potentially a little bit more family-friendly. We’re all looking to feel good when the world, like you said, is chaotic and very loud these days. When we come home, we don’t need more of that. We need something to calm our nervous system down and allow us to reconnect to ourselves. A lot of that is through love and simplicity, and that’s really what a lot of these movies are about. It’s a formula that works because every network is doing it. Like you said, it’s been happening for so long like these types of movies. Romance and love, as a woman to be whisked away by love and to find that person that makes us happy, and that’s the same for any human being. I think a lot of people can relate to that. Sure, life isn’t perfect like it is in the movies, but then again, I think that’s what we’re escaping from for the two hours that we can. I’m really grateful to be a part of those types of movies.
Colleen: What is the best advice you’ve ever been given? I always ask that question because I feel like I always learn something.
Cindy: I feel like I’ve had a lot of advice. I would say probably something that has stood out to me is that everything is temporary and seasons change and to allow those seasons to be but let them flow through you. There’s going to be seasons that you have great success, and seasons of love, and seasons of loss, and to allow ourselves to really experience them and be them. That’s really important to me because it’s what allows you to grow and expand as a person. The hard parts are hard, but they also allow us to get stronger and better, and allow us to be better versions of ourselves when those great times happen.
Also, don’t take things personally. As an actor people talk about the rejection. I don’t really see it as a rejection, I see it as the opportunity wasn’t meant for you.
CB: Everyone knows you as Ashley Stanton from “Heartland.” Can you share a story from your time on the show? I know your fans would love it.
Cindy: I have so many memories from that show, especially with the cast. It was fun because I got to play Ashley Stanton, the antagonist in the show, that everybody kind of loved to hate. Love to hate but hate to love kind of thing. One of my favorite things that would happen consistently my co-stars would often start laughing as soon as they’d yell cut because they knew me as a person. In real life I love to be funny and easy going and so they would always look at me as Ashely and then they’d yell cut and they’d start laughing and say how is this the same person. I always really loved that. It was just such a fun stretch of a character for me, but I loved every minute of it.
I remember training on a horse once, getting thrown off, and getting right back on the horse. I got kicked off–I don’t remember if it was the same time–but I got thrown off a horse twice. One time, I literally landed on my feet which was super bizarre. Another time I actually fell on my side. That was a bit scary, but they say you’ve got to just keep doing it. It was so fun to get to learn to ride a horse. I really go deep into that because it was important for me to feel comfortable with horses, and learn the whole culture around it. I would take lessons between seasons, and I really enjoyed it. I think horses are magnificent beings who probably know too much and feel too much. They would know if an actor was nervous. I love horses.
That show was kind of the really big break for most of us. We were still all so very young, and it was a big life-changing experience. We’re all friends. We still talk, like it was one of those where even if we haven’t spoken, like Amber, in a couple of months, we’ll text each other and she’ll immediately text me back, and we’re always so loving and appreciative of each other. I think that speaks volumes about the show and the content and about how special it was. It really brought an amazing group of people together who are still very close to this day and has created a cult following with the show and it keeps growing and growing even after 18 seasons. Absolutely insane and amazing. It was really cool to get to go back at the end of season 18 after 11 years of not being on the show.
Colleen: Well, thank you so very much for taking the time out. What a pleasure, and best of luck with “When Hope Calls.” Keep up with Cindy on her Instagram
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