Though actress Tammin Sursok hails from Australia, she’s found great success as an actress in the U.S. over the last two decades. But in all her years of landing roles on popular American TV shows, from “The Young & the Restless” to “Hannah Montana,” she’s never experienced a fanbase like she’s found at Hallmark Channel.
In November 2024, Sursok starred in her first Hallmark Channel movie, “Trivia at St. Nick’s,” opposite her former “Pretty Little Liars” co-star Brant Daugherty. On January 17, 2025, the actress was asked on the Australian podcast “Something to Talk About” what it’s like to be part of such an iconic network in the U.S.
“I didn’t know how many people (watch), my goodness,” the actress marveled on the podcast, produced by Australia’s Stellar magazine. She then described the fandom as being “like a cult” she’s been sucked into — and she’s pretty to be part of it.
Tammin Sursok Says Americans Use Hallmark Channel Movies to Escape Reality: ‘That’s What Hallmark Does So Well’
Sursok originally immigrated to Los Angeles and was able to earn her Green Card as she landed various TV roles, per The Chronicle. She has since moved to Nashville with her husband, TV producer Sean McEwen, and their two daughters — Phoenix, 11, and Lennon, 6 — according to The Daily Mail.
Sursok described “Trivia at St. Nick’s” as her first Hallmark movie on Instagram, but longtime fans may remember her appearing on Hallmark Channel in 2020’s “Adventures in Love & Babysitting.” That was actually a movie Sursok filmed in 2015 for a different production company and Hallmark acquired it — and changed the title — five years later, per IMDb.
When asked on “Something To Talk About” about being a Hallmark rookie, Sursok said, “Hallmark movies are, like, what people live and die by here.”
“Like, it’s just like a cult,” she quipped, and then admitted, “I didn’t know that I was part of the cult until I became a part of it. You know, I think it’s because life can be intense, especially as a parent, and I think, especially, the nature of what’s going on in politics.”
Sursok explained, “To turn on the news and it’s so much fear and division and anger, sometimes I think people just really need that lukewarm water bath to get into and just be like, ‘It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold, but it gives me comfort.’ And I think that’s what Hallmark does so well and these movies do so well … there’s just no drama.”
“I think our limbic systems are constantly under attack and we’re on defense all the time,” Sursok said. “And it’s so stressful that I think people can just go, ‘Okay, I’m gonna watch a movie, there’s gonna be no blood, guts, swearing. I don’t have to be stressed about my kids watching it.’ So people love it.”
Tammin Sursok Says She’s ‘Manifesting’ the Chance to Do More Hallmark Movies
Reflecting on what a “nice experience” it was to film “Trivia at St. Nick’s,” Sursok told “Something To Talk About” that her character — described by Hallmark as a “Type-A astronomy professor” competing in a local Christmas trivia competition — was a delight to play compared to some of her other roles.
“A lot of the films that I do, I’m either screaming or crying, or you know, I’m thinking about the accent,” Sursok said. “I’ve got to change the accent for this, or it’s a period (piece), whatever it is. It was just nice to play, like, a version of myself — maybe a little more uptight — and just enjoy it.”
Sursok enjoyed working with Hallmark so much, in fact, she’s hoping to make more movies soon.
“It was a really cool experience,” she continued, “and they say — fingers crossed — you do one, you’re in the family! So you end up doing like three the next year. At least that’s what I’m manifesting.”
The one drawback Sursok noted was that many Hallmark Christmas movies are filmed in the heat of summer so they’re ready for the holiday season.
“I had, like, Fanta and Sprite cans down my butt because I was dripping in sweat,” she laughed, adding that she was wearing a hat, jacket and scarf in the heat. “It is not glamorous. The whole time, I’m like, ‘Just move your feet, don’t pass out!'”
“Trivia at St. Nick’s” is available to stream on Hallmark+.
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Actress Says Hallmark Channel Fans Are ‘Like a Cult’ & She Considers Herself a Member