Hallmark Nicholas Bishop and Alexa PenaVega in "A Paris Proposal"
When Alexa PenaVega jetted overseas last fall to film Hallmark Channel‘s “A Paris Proposal,” she was a bit nervous about working with a leading man other than her husband, Carlos PenaVega, who has co-starred with her in multiple Hallmark projects.
In interviews to promote the movie, which premieres on February 11, 2023, the seasoned actress admitted that she’s grown so accustomed to working with her husband that it was daunting to film with a different leading man, British actor Nicholas Bishop, whom she’d never met before. Fortunately, PenaVega found Bishop to be so easy to work with that she told KTLA she now wants him as her “bench man,” able to step into any project her husband isn’t in.
Alexa PenaVega Says She Always Hopes Her Co-Stars Are ‘Not Weird’
HallmarkNicholas Bishop and Alexa PenaVega in “A Paris Proposal”In November 2022, PenaVega spent 23 days in Paris and Bulgaria, away from her husband and their three kids — sons Ocean, 6, and Kingston, 3, and one-year-old daughter Rio — to film “A Paris Proposal.”
In the movie, PenaVega plays Anna, a New York City advertising manager who has the chance to land her biggest client yet, Durand Diamonds, at a pitch meeting in Paris. The ad agency pairs her with another ad exec played by Bishop, whose character Sebastian is originally from Paris. Per Hallmark’s synopsis, viewers will watch the pair “end up in a tricky situation when the client mistakes them for a happy couple.”
PenaVega told Media Village that pairing up with someone other than her husband — especially a stranger — was a bit daunting.
“It’s funny … we’re so used to working together, that honestly, it’s a little scary for both of us not knowing who you’re working with,” she said. “When we’re both spearheading a project, we set the tone, the way (the project) feels, and the mood.”
PenaVega continued, “When it’s my husband, we just have the best time ever. Some co-stars aren’t always as easy.”
During a February 7 interview with KTLA, PenaVega admitted it’s hard preparing to film romantic scenes with a leading man she doesn’t know.
She said, “It always is just because … you just never know who you’re gonna get when you show up. So you’re just like, ‘Please let them be normal and not weird,’ right?”
Fortunately for the actress, who got her start as a child actor in the “Spy Kids” film franchise, Bishop quickly put all her fears to rest.
“He’s such a gem of a human, and so unbelievably professional,” she told Media Village. “He’s British yet had to put on a French accent throughout the film. He speaks French, which was so helpful, as I had to learn a good chunk of French for some scenes. We got to play and improv and bounce back and forth. So many things in this movie weren’t scripted and they kept them in! That’s so rare and special.”
Alexa PenaVega Says She Wants to Film More Movies With Nicholas Bishop
GettyAlexa PenaVega and Carlos PenaVega attend Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies and Mysteries Winter 2018 TCA Press Tour.
Though PenaVega is excited to film future Hallmark projects with her husband, she also told KTLA that she was so comfortable working with Bishop, she laughed about wanting him to serve as backup for any movies her husband isn’t a part of.
She said, “We were joking around earlier today doing interviews, saying like, ‘Can I just put you on the bench? So whenever Carlos isn’t available, I work with you?’ Because he was so easy and great to work with, so Nick is now my bench man!”
Along with loving working with Bishop, PenaVega was also so smitten with the locations where they filmed that she told Media Village she’s already begun pitching Hallmark on the idea of a sequel.
“I have to tell you, we’ve been pitching ‘A Paris Proposal 2’ so we can go back to Paris, and Bulgaria, because it was so much fun. Honestly, I would shoot every movie in Bulgaria if it were up to me, it was a whole new scene and it is phenomenal.”
“A Paris Proposal” premieres on Hallmark Channel on February 11 at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times.