Emily Kinney’s new single part of Hallmark original “Love on the Sidelines”

Emily Kinney

It’s surprising to hear an actress be thankful for getting a chance to wear makeup and get her hair done, but for Emily Kinney, who spent four seasons running for her life on The Walking Dead (R.I.P. Beth Greene) you understand. The dainty, adorably sweet Kinney stars in the Hallmark Channel original Love on the Sidelines this Saturday (Jan. 16 at 9pmET).

Emily KinneyIn the film Kinney plays an out of work fashion designer, Laurel Welk, who lands a job as the personal assistant to superstar quarterback Danny Holland (John Reardon), who has been sidelined with an injury. Laurel knows nothing about football and Danny, a bit chauvinistic, has never had a female assistant. NFL great Joe Theismann plays Danny’s father Owen Holland.

We caught up with Kinney at a recent Television Critics Association press event in Pasadena, where she talked about the film and her music career.

A romantic comedy about falling in love is a far cry from Kinney’s past work. She laughed sizing up her resume as being “a little darker and fatter,” mainly referring to her roles on Cinemax’s The Knick and her past projects like The Walking Dead, Masters of Sex and The Following.

“There’s so many funny, silly and loving things about it,” Kinney says. “For me to be able to work on that was really refreshing, nice and fun.”

Working with football great Joe Theismann was also rewarding. “He was awesome,” tells Kinney. “Every time he was on set, it was like there was extra positivity, motivation. I feel like he has this ability to motivate people in a way that’s really incredible. Immediately, I could feel it. That’s pretty special but yeah, it was really fun working on the show. For me, I haven’t really ever worked on anything like this.”

Playing Laurel wasn’t much of a stretch in some respects, as similarly to her character, Kinney doesn’t know a whole lot about football.

emily kinney“Growing up, we all loved the Huskers, like college, because the Huskers were a big deal,” tells the Nebraska native, who admits she was way more into theater than sports. “I’m a theater geek.”

Fans of The Walking Dead will also remember Kinney for her sweet vocals, and those endearing serenades she had with Darryl (Norman Reedus). Kinney released her first full debut album — This Is War — in October and is dedicating much of her time to promoting her music. She will continue touring in March, with plans to attend South By Southwest later this year. In the Hallmark original, Love on the Sidelines, Kinney’s single “Weapons” is played in the background.

 

6 Comments

  1. Emily Kinney gives a very believable performance that makes the viewer want more. She is definitely an actress who will please Hallmark fans, who will enjoy watching her performances over & over. Please, let’s have more of her.

  2. This movie was so much fun and Emily Kinney shines. I just love her and as an added bonus she got to showcase her music. Weapons is one of my favorite EK songs. Thank you Hallmark for bringing Emily back to our TV’s.

  3. Emily Kinney is a perfect fit for the Hallmark channel. Would love to see and hear more from her.

  4. Mr. John Reardon and Emily Kinney did a fantastic job in their roles as Danny and Laurel in this movie. It was well written, cast, and played by all actors especially the by Mr. Reardon and Ms. Kinney. I look forward to more Hallmark ( romance , & comedy ) movies by these two either separately or together. Thank you for such a wonderful movie! Great job!

  5. Would like the Hallmark Channel to use regular size credits at the end of movies as I’d like to see the list of songs used. Thank you in advance for your consideration!!

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