Three Wisest Men Stars Reflect on Breaking ‘Norms’ of Hallmark Films

Three Wisest Men stars Paul Campbell and Tyler Hynes are proud of how they’ve challenged the norms of typical Hallmark movie structure over the years.

“The reason that people keep coming back to these movies — largely as much as they’re fun — is because they do reflect the human experience,” Campbell, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the film’s Saturday, November 15, premiere. “And those are very real things. We’ve sort of taken the gloss off of it and the polish, and we go, ‘Actually, life is messy and it’s imperfect, and it doesn’t have to fit into this neat little box and family.’”

The actor, who cowrote all three Wise Men films alongside fellow Hallmark star Kimberly Sustad, noted that the duo were aiming to tell a “really human, relatable story” to the audience. “These characters are not living perfectly, but they’re doing their best,” he explained. “And I think that’s why people enjoy these movies so much.”

The Three Wise Men trilogy premiered in 2022 with Campbell, Hynes and Andrew Walker in the lead roles as brothers Stephan, Taylor and Luke Brenner, who find their lives in disarray when Luke brings home a baby that was abandoned at the fire station. With the help of their mother, Barbara (Margaret Colin), the trio navigate how to balance their messy personal lives with raising a child.

The film quickly became Hallmark’s most-watched movie of the year, spawning follow up Three Wiser Men and a Boy in 2024 and the most recent Three Wisest Men, which will serve as the trilogy’s final installment. The franchise has become known for its boundary-pushing stories, with the first film finding empathy and compassion for an overwhelmed and down-on-her-luck mom who not only returns for redemption — but ends up falling in love with Walker’s character, Luke.

The third film is no different, integrating progressive story lines like that of Hynes’ Taylor, who is torn on whether he should move to San Francisco with his girlfriend, Caroline (Erin Karpluk). The two are not engaged or married — something that has historically been mandatory for couples to live together in the world of Hallmark — but does feel reflective of reality.

“We really try to humanize these characters,” Campbell shared of choosing to have Taylor and Caroline move in before wedlock. “And not everybody waits until they’re married to move in, that’s not accurate.”

Campbell and Hynes said it was Sustad, 38, who was adamant in providing an “accurate depiction of the humanity” for audiences.

“While we were shooting and Paul was sleeping because he worked such long hours, she was fighting for these characters and helping clarify these points,” Hynes, 39, told Us. “And it’s because of Kim that any of this stuff that we’re talking about happened.”

Campbell added that to the network’s credit, Hallmark — who has been applauded for its progress in diversity and inclusion over the past years — was “really good” about letting the Three Wise Men franchise “push the envelope of what maybe they’ve been comfortable with historically, or what their audience is comfortable with sometimes.”

He added that while “not everybody’s going to love that story line, Hallmark has been really great about letting us tell that because it’s necessary to sort of diversify in the way that we tell stories and be more inclusive.”

Campbell also credited Hynes, Walker, 46, and the rest of the cast for their “incredible contribution” and support in telling stories that feel honest, noting that “everybody shows up with 1,000 percent, and that’s the only way this movie makes sense.”

Hynes, however, refused to let Campbell get by without singing his praises. He pointed out that the actor has a “crazy job” of constructing the entire project — and making sure it’s something special — before then taking center stage as one of the main characters.

It’s a job that isn’t exactly easy after three consecutive movies.

“He is the MVP of these movies. Without a doubt, he is the centerpiece of it all,” Hynes gushed. “He takes on the burden of building the world and evolving these characters, which they do feel evolved, and then making it feel fresh and not stale and like we’re just phoning it in. That’s really hard to do.”

He also applauded Campbell for providing so much “open conversation” and “fluidity” on set, figuring out what works and doesn’t in the moment.

“It’s that very specific alchemy which turns out this final product, and it’s in the details,” he explained. “These are Christmas movies. They’re all funny, they’re all fun, etc., but it’s that little extra sauce that makes the difference with why this [franchise] resonates [in a way] that people maybe can’t put their finger on. But that only exists because of Paul.”

“He’s the Patrick Mahomes of the movie,” Hynes said before adding with a laugh: “He’s the quarterback. Andrew is Travis Kelce. I’m the goal post. I stand there.”

Three Wisest Men is out now.