Crown Media
Fans say Niall Matter, who stars as Nick in Hallmark’s “Aurora Teagarden Mysteries” movies, is almost unrecognizable with his beard and facial hair in the new “Haunted by Murder” film. In fact, some fans were so surprised to see his new look that they didn’t recognize him at all in photos and promotions.
(After this story was written, Candace Cameron Bure later revealed why Matter had the beard, which you can read about in Heavy’s new story here.)
Some Fans Didn’t Recognize Niall Matter
Niall Matter typically appears clean-shaven in his Hallmark movies or with just a slight amount of facial hair. Here’s a photo of Matter in a recent “Aurora Teagarden” movie that aired before this one.
Crown MediaNiall Matter on Heist and Seek
So his switching to giving his character Nick a full beard in the newest movie is a big change.
In response to a Facebook post showing his new look, one fan wrote: “Niall Matter looks so different with the full beard and new hair do. Looks like a different person, at first I thought it was someone else.”
When Hallmark posted a trailer on Facebook on February 13, some fans thought Matter wasn’t in the movie at all.
One person even wrote, “Is Niall still on Hallmark?” Hallmark Movies’ official Facebook page replied, “Niall Matter will be appearing in the ALL NEW ‘Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Haunted by Murder’ Sunday, February 20 at 9/8c!”
Another person wrote in response to a photo of Aurora and Nick in the new movie, “Here is my question….is Niall Matter still on it? I can’t tell from the advertisements..”
Fans are divided on Matter’s new look. Some love it and some prefer his previous look. Matter himself hasn’t shared why he changed up his look, as of the time of this article’s publication. Some fans wrote that they thought it was for an upcoming role in a different production, but this is not confirmed.
In response to an official Facebook post, one fan wrote: “I love the beard 🤣🤣🤣.”
Another person wrote, “Please shave. I don’t like the beard.” But someone else replied, “Seriously, it’s his face and his business!”
Matter Climbed a Roof to ‘Rescue’ Bure Once During Filming
When they were filming a previous movie, Matter actually climbed onto a roof to rescue Bure when she got herself locked in a bathroom.
Bure wrote on Instagram: “I thought I would reminisce on the one time I got locked inside a bathroom while filming Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: How To Con A Con and Niall rescued me. . . for then no reason because they unlocked the door 😂 #goodtimes #aurorateagardenmysteries #aurorateagarden”
In the video, you can see that Matter climbed out of his own window and onto a steeply angled roof to get to the bathroom that Bure had gotten locked inside. He instructed her on how to remove the window screen first. He then tried to brace himself against the outer wall as Bure climbed out of the window of her bathroom. But as soon as she climbed out, someone else managed to get the door unlocked and she was able to just go back inside.
The moment happened while Bure, Matter, and Doig were filming “How to Con a Con,” which was the 15th in the series. “Haunted by Murder” is the 18th movie.
READ NEXT: Hallmark’s February 2022 Movie Lineup