Hallmark Christmas at the Golden Dragon
The Hallmark Channel’s newest movie, “Christmas at the Golden Dragon” premieres on Sunday, November 13, at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central. The movie stars Kara Wang, Osric Chau, Sara Canning, Barbara Niven, and Antonio Cupo. Here’s everything you need to know about where it was filmed, the cast, and more.
‘Christmas at the Golden Dragon’ Was Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia
Hallmark
Like many other Hallmark Christmas movies, Christmas at the Golden Dragon was shot in and around the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada. The movie is from Timeless Pictures, a production company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It is also directed by David I. Strasser, who is part of the Directors Guild of Canada, located in Vancouver.
David Strasser posted a multitude of announcements on his Instagram account for interested fans about the movie.
Kara Wang shared her excitement about the movie on Instagram, writing: “An experience that surpassed all my expectations- get ready for Christmas at the Golden Dragon!!”
She also shared a series of pictures where she can be seen with some of the actors, thanking Vancouver for welcoming her.
And she shared these two with her dog, writing: “Sending love from Canada ♥️.”
Meet the Cast
Hallmark’s synopsis of the movie reads:
Growing up, Romy (Wang) and Rick (Chau) spent the holidays working at their parents’ popular Chinese restaurant, the Golden Dragon. When Romy’s boyfriend Blake (Markian Tarasiuk, “Virgin River”) invites her to spend the holidays with his family in Vermont, she is thrilled that her parents let her off the hook, so she can finally experience a “real Christmas.” Her brother Rick currently works for the restaurant fulltime while he figures out his future, but secretly harbors a passion for cooking. When Rick and Romy’s parents (Sharon Crandall, “Pillow Talk” and Vincent Cheng, “The Romeo Section”) announce they will be closing the Golden Dragon for good just before the holidays, the siblings must each figure out what that means for their futures. Also impacted by the news are the landmark restaurant’s loyal patrons and staff: workaholic executive Veronica (Canning) who longs to be a mother; recent widow Jane (Niven), who is planning her first Christmas without her husband; Nate (Cupo), a single father trying to do the best by his daughters during the holidays; and helpful delivery driver Miguel (Jason Fernandes, “Cruel Summer”) who is hoping to secure a college scholarship. As each of them face the closure of the Golden Dragon, they discover what Christmas and family truly means to each of them.
Kara Wang, who plays Romy, is a Chinese American actor who recently relocated back to Los Angeles after spending the previous five years working in Asia, according to her bio. Her most recent appearance on the big screen was in the blockbuster “Top Gun: Maverick.” In the earlier part of this year, she also played the title character in Sony’s “The Calm Beyond.” On the television front, Wang continues to remain busy with a season-long storyline on the last season of Amazon’s “Goliath.” Additionally, Wang has played Sumi Liu on Freeform’s “Good Trouble” for all four seasons of the show.
She often posts on social media, including taking part in the #SommelierSunday 🍷 hashtag, promoting many wines she enjoys.
Osric Chau, playing the role of Rick, was born in Vancouver, Canada, to parents who were immigrants from Hong Kong and Malaysia, according to his bio. After studying martial arts with the goal of working in stunts, he was able to land his first leading role alongside David Carradine in the two-part miniseries “Kung Fu Killer.” Since then, Chau starred in a number of films, including Roland Emmerich’s “2012” and Paramount’s “Fun Size.” Notable TV roles include Kevin Tran through of six seasons of “Supernatural,” Vogel in “Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency,” and Ryan Choi (The Atom) in numerous Arrowverse episodes.
He is also a World of Warcraft partner, a popular video game online.
Sara Canning plays Veronica in the Hallmark movie. According to her bio, a few of her credits include “The Vampire Diaries,” “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Big Sky,” “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” and “Remedy.” As a result of her involvement in the web series “Hospital Show.” In the spring of this year, she appeared at the Belfry Theatre in the part of Annie in the production of “Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes.” She will soon be seen in “Sweetland,” a feature film set in her home province of Newfoundland. Canning is a frequent director for the Vancouver Film School, and she also writers her own scripts, one of which was selected for the Screenwriting Program at the Whistler Film Festival in 2019.
“Lucky me to be working with these fellas on their seventh feature, and all the other awesome people involved,” she shared in an Instagram post.
Barbara Niven portrays Jane in the movie. She’s a staunch supporter of both human and animal rights, according to her bio. Throughout her career, she’s performed in more than 100 film and TV roles. In addition, she was a member of the National Board of Directors for the Screen Actors Guild for a period of three years. She’s well known for her role on “Chesapeake Shores” and numerous Hallmark movies.
She also enjoys Halloween, and playfully warns fans of cavities on Instagram, telling them to eat healthy too.
Also starring in the movie are:
- Jason Fernandes (Miguel)
- Sharon Crandall (Sue)
- Vincent Cheng (Jim)
- Markian Tarasiuk (Blake)
- Genevieve Buechner (Sadie)
- Juliette Hawk (Jessa)
- Mila Jones (Vivi)
- Zak Santiago (Luis)
- Bobby Stewart (Mr. Barber)
- Robyn Bradley (Tinsley)
- Mike Dopud (Aidan)
- Brendan Taylor (Dylan)
- Lydia Campbell (Jen)
- Hailey Ocean (Bridgette)
- Richard Keats (Dr. Cohen)
- Alana Hawley Purvis (Hannah)
- Devon Busswood (Ella)
- Jocelyn Tam (Waitress)
- Gerry Dai (Busboy)
- Sacha Joseph (Head Nurse)
- Kapila Rego (Beth/Receptionist)
- Kate Dion
- Richard (Disheveled Mom)