Fans of Why Can’t My Life Be a ROM-COM and Welcome to Valentine, we have an exclusive interview with Markian Tarasiuk. He stars as Rich Hawthorne and George Kessler from both shows! We can’t wait to talk to Markian about his roles as Rich and George, his thoughts and experience with the two shows and cast members, and more. The two television movies were released recently this year. This article will avoid extensive spoilers for those who haven’t watched the films yet. We highly recommend watching them before reading this article to experience the maximum enjoyment of this interview. And now, onto this interview and its refresher.
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Let’s first talk about Why Can’t My Life Be a ROM-COM! This film stars Eliza Sloane (portrayed by Em Haine), a young woman who was living her best life. That is until she doesn’t get her desired promotion and her heart was broken by her current ex-boyfriend. With her life in the middle of this crisis, her best friend suggested following a different path. The path is moving to the Hamptons and marrying a rich guy with a large trust fund. All while following the advice from a 50-year-old self-help book. Markian stars as Rich Hawthorne in the film. If you’re interested to see how Markian stars in his role, be sure to check the movie out on the E! Network!
Welcome to Valentine, meanwhile, is a bit different from Why Can’t My Life Be a ROM-COM. Olivia Lafferty (portrayed by Kathyrn Davis) loses her boyfriend and job all at once. She aims to return to her home in Nebraska. But when she gets stuck on the road with George Kessler (portrayed by Markian Tarasiuk) on a cross-country road trip, Olivia finds that love is what truly matters.
The two movies, while carrying some similar aspects like losing love initially and rediscovering it along the way, both showcase romance and comedy in a way that makes the journey behind it fun and lighthearted. If you’re a fan of romantic comedy stories, or if you’re a fan of Markian’s work, be sure to check these movies out! As mentioned earlier in the article, you can watch Why Can’t My Life Be a ROM-COM on the E! Network, while Welcome to Valentine can be found on the Hallmark Channel.
Here’s a refresher on Markian! A Ukranian-Canadian actor who graduated from the Studio 58 Theatre program. You might remember Markian for his role as a certain camp counselor named Brogan Van Skioh in the Disney movie, Bunks. He’s been in other shows and films as well. He has starred as such characters as Uli from Project MC^2, Crest from Shut Eye, Prince Micah from The Magicians, Andy May from Supernatural, Eric Felt from 50 States of Fright, and more.
We first ask Markian what his favorite movie is of all time. He happily replies that it is The Mummy from 1999, starring Brendan Frazier and Rachel Vice. To him, the movie is a wonderful blend of action, comedy, and romance, with roles that stars the hero versus the villain. He mentioned that it would be an absolute, dream come true if he would be in a movie like that.
When asked about what he learned from his time on the Disney Channel as Brody, he mentioned that it served as a great lesson in acting. He learned that he didn’t need to do it the same every time. As an actor with origins stemming from theatre, he initially had this idea that everything needed to be done in order. he discovered in the film that not only is it more fun, he learned that you’re able to do everything different every time.
Markian explains that once you’ve done something on film doing it one way, that specific avenue has already been explored, and is encouraged to do something different. In the movie, he realized that and started to play within the form of the scene. He offered different line readings and different lines, and grew as an actor as a result. If you want to learn more about Markian, be sure to check the interview out to learn more!
