Hallmark’s Alec Santos on Cuddling Alpacas in ‘Machu Picchu Proposal’ and Teaching on the Side (EXCL)
Plus, learn all about his daredevil approach to summer fun and acting in three languages!
With summer in full swing, Hallmark is airing two of their most beloved series, “Passport to Love” and “Christmas in July.” The former features films set in exotic locations while the latter features—you guessed it—Christmas rom-coms, and actor Alec Santos just so happens to be the leading man in films from each program. The star of the new Hallmark movies A Machu Picchu Proposal and Unwrapping Christmas: Tina’s Miracle has been keeping busy as a mainstay of the channel, and when he’s not acting, he can be found working a surprising second job as a high school science teacher.
Santos’ eclectic background only makes him more charming, and he sat down with Woman’s World to discuss shooting A Machu Picchu Proposal on location, the connection between acting and teaching and much more.
Woman’s World: What do you love about working with Hallmark?
Alec Santos: It’s always a delight to be in these movies because the stories make you feel happy and cuddly inside, and it really does feel that way on set, especially in Peru. My goodness, it was like we were one big happy family at summer camp shooting this movie. I’ll keep shooting Hallmark movies forever because it’s such a joy to be a part of.
WW: What was it like to shoot ‘A Machu Picchu Proposal’ on location?
AS: We were in Cusco, which is an incredible city. It’s thousands of years old, and the Incas were there for a very long time. We had a small crew. The cinematographer was also the camera operator, and everyone was working double time.
Being on location, there were tourists and people hawking food and dogs barking and sirens going off. Every time we started rolling, there was a lawnmower or a leaf blower going off somewhere. We had to play with all these sounds and pause in the middle of scenes.
It could be really intense, because there are those romantic Hallmark looks you give each other, so I’d be looking at my costar, Rhiannon [Fish], and all of a sudden there’d be someone selling empanadas on the street. There are challenges, but at the same time, it’s really easy to act because everything is real. It’s really a blessing. Our crew was from all over the world, and I got to speak Spanish and Portuguese in addition to English. It felt like more of a labor of love than I’d ever experienced before.
WW: The movie is part of Hallmark’s ‘Passport to Love’ summer series. What do you like to do when you travel outside of work?
AS: Give me a cliff that I can jump off of into the water and that’s where summer starts for me. I definitely like the more adventurous side of travel. I was lucky to have been born in Brazil and because of my dad’s job, we moved around everywhere, so travel was always part of my life.
I love trying all the different street foods. My partner and I spent two months in Colombia and every time there was a street food vendor, we’d go there. Arepas, tamales, tacos—you name it. There’s no better way to experience a country than to eat street food, because it’s all the same kind of recipes they’d make at home, and they’re not trying to make it fancy like at a restaurant.
WW: How has being fluent in multiple languages impacted your career?
AS: It’s been very useful, since I get to audition for Spanish-speaking roles, Portuguese-speaking roles and English-speaking roles, and every once in a while, I get to speak all three languages. It’s very cool, and Hallmark has embraced it. My character’s name in Unwrapping Christmas was originally American, and then when the production team realized that I spoke Spanish and Portuguese, they were like, “Oh, let’s make this guy half American and half Latino,” so my character’s name became Michael Alonzo, and they encouraged me to speak Spanish with my onscreen daughter.
We live in such a melting pot of a society, and it’s a pleasure to be able to speak those languages on set, because that’s who I am. I dream in multiple languages and speak Portuguese with my mother and some of my best friends. It’s nice to be able to bring that into my characters.
WW: How do you like to unwind after a busy day?
AS: A nice glass of wine is always very helpful. With Hallmark, we finish a 13-hour day and then we have to go back to the hotel and memorize lines. I find a really great way of memorizing lines is to get on a treadmill and walk slowly. You can do one word with each step, and even though you’re still working it can be relaxing.
Shooting in a place like Peru, it’s easy to unwind because it’s such a beautiful location. We stayed in this hotel that made us tea with lemongrass and honey, and they had free-roaming alpacas, so after a long day I’d sit out in the field next to an alpaca while drinking some tea. That was very relaxing.
We go to an alpaca farm in the movie, and they’re so cuddly. At the markets, you can buy alpaca fleece and it’s so comfortable, so you look at this animal and you’re like, “Thank you so much for making the most comfortable clothes.” They’re just adorable. I can’t believe they’re real. It’s like, “Evolution made you? How did you survive this whole time?” They’re so docile.
WW: Outside of acting, you work as a teacher. What has it been like to balance these jobs, and have you found any similarities between them?
AS: I have a biochemistry degree, and I actually taught in northern India in a place where the Dalai Lama lives. I taught science and English to Tibetan students, and that was my first foray into teaching. I still work as a substitute teacher because anywhere in the world, they always need teachers. I’ll probably keep doing that forever because I love it. I love being in front of a classroom and I have such a passion for science and science education, so I get really excited. Just last week, I did a squid dissection for a biology class!
It’s odd, and everyone’s always surprised that I have a background in science, but these are my two passions, and they sometimes meld together. I think some teachers would benefit from a theater class, because you’re performing in front of students, and they’re the hardest audience in the world. Teenagers can be apathetic, but if you can make them laugh and get them interested in the material, they’ll remember your class, and performance certainly helps. I do believe acting comes in handy in the classroom.
WW: Do your students know you’re an actor?
AS: In today’s world, it’s impossible to keep anything separate. The students can Google you right away and find out, but in a way, it helps. They know that I have an interesting life on the side, and they’re fascinated by it. I don’t want to stand there teaching a science class while students are asking acting questions about acting, but it does give you some legitimacy, and I think they appreciate that.
I have a group of students that always reaches out when one of my movies comes out because they want to do a movie night. The school has a theater and we’ll project it and watch it together, and it’s really heartwarming. I always look forward to that moment, and as a result, in addition to teaching science, I also teach drama. Since I’m speaking from experience, I think they can take me a little more seriously.
WW: A lot of Hallmark stars have gone on to write and direct for the channel, in addition to acting. Is this something you’d like to explore in the future?
AS: There’s a scene in A Machu Picchu Proposal where I actually got to direct a bit of it because all the actors only spoke Spanish. Colin [Theys], the director, asked me to help out and it was a pleasure. I’d love to jump into that role.
When you’re an actor and you’re onscreen reading somebody else’s words, it’s wonderful, but the idea that you could write something and have it come to life is a dream come true. Every time I talked to our screenwriter, Juliana [Wimbles], I was like, “How cool is it to watch a movie that you wrote? You had this idea. It was in your brain and then someone invested in you, and now it’s real.”
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