‘Space Jam’ Inspired This ‘When Calls the Heart’ Star to Become an Actor

<p id=”par-1_14″>A millennial classic inspired one <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/when-calls-the-heart”><em>When Calls the Heart</em></a><em> </em>star to become an actor. </p>

<p id=”par-2_32″>Chris McNally, who plays <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/lucas-chris-mcnally-leaving-when-calls-the-heart.html/”>Lucas Bouchard on the Hallmark Channel</a> series, recently opened up about how watching the movie <em>Space Jam </em>as a kid led him to pursue acting as a career. </p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-chris-mcnally-from-when-calls-the-heart-discusses-his-acting-journey”>Chris McNally from ‘When Calls the Heart’ discusses his acting journey</h2>

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<p id=”par-3_20″>During a conversation with <em>The Edify Show</em> (via <a href=”https://youtu.be/NM2Xk8Kp2lQ?feature=shared”>YouTube</a>) earlier this year, McNally talked about his decision to pursue acting.</p>

<p id=”par-4_26″>“When I first decided I wanted to be an actor is kind of a silly story. It was watching <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/space-jam-tv-commercials.html/”><em>Space Jam</em></a><em>,</em>” he said with a smile. </p>

<p id=”par-5_43″>“I was watching Bill Murray and Michael Jordan on <em>Space Jam </em>and in my little kid brain, I was like, ‘These guys are doing this for work? They’re working with the Looney Tunes. They get to work with the Looney Tunes. That’s crazy.’”</p>

<p id=”par-6_44″>“And I remember watching it over and over again, sitting in front of the TV on the floor … when I was a kid, that was what I was convinced I was going to do. I didn’t understand how it worked, though,” he recalled. </p>

<p id=”par-7_28″>As a child, McNally went on auditions. But because he had no training, he “never booked anything … I would get in there and get flustered and nervous.”</p>

<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-he-almost-played-nathan-on-when-calls-the-heart”>He almost played Nathan on ‘When Calls the Heart’</h2>

<p id=”par-8_89″>It wasn’t until after high school – and a brief stint studying business in college – that he really got serious about learning how to act. Yet success didn’t arrive overnight. It took 10 years of study until things “clicked” and he began getting work as a actor. Eventually, he booked a role on the show <em>Altered Carbon, </em>which gave his career a boost. But he was struggling. After a move to LA, he realized he was quickly running out of money and wasn’t sure what to do next. </p>

<p id=”par-9_72″>“I was freaking out,” he recalled. One day, he was venting to his partner, actor Julie Gonzalo, sharing his fear that he’d failed and would have to move home to Canada. She urged him to take a shower to calm down. When he got out of the bathroom, he had multiple missed calls from members of his team telling him that he’d landed the role of Lucas on <em>When Calls the Heart. </em></p>

<p id=”par-10_46″>McNally had actually auditioned for both Lucas and the role of Nathan Grant, a part that ultimately went to Kevin McGarry. Initially, he thought he had a better chance of being cast as the new-in-town Mountie. He felt he’d fumbled the ball in his Lucas audition. </p>

<p id=”par-11_45″>“I didn’t think it went very well at all,” he told <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/news/when-calls-the-heart-chris-mcnally-almost-played-nathan-not-lucas-on-hallmark-channel-drama.html/”>Hallmark’s Bubbly Sesh podcast</a> in 2020. “It was one of those ones where you leave going, ‘Man, I really screwed that one up. I wish I could roll back the clock and try again.’”</p>

<p id=”par-12_26″>He was invited to do a chemistry read with series star Erin Krakow, who plays Elizabeth. He first read for Nathan, and then again for Lucas. </p>

<p id=”par-13_28″>“That time, I felt great about the read,” he said. “I felt like I did what I wanted to do; what I should have done the first time.” </p>

<p id=”par-14_8″><em>When Calls the Heart </em>is streaming on Hallmark+. </p>

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