An American In Austen’s Eliza Bennett Teases Fiery Chemistry In New Hallmark Flick — Exclusive

In our interview with Eliza Bennett about her new film “An American in Austen,” she marveled at the chemistry between the actors. “We laughed from the beginning of the shoot to the end,” she said. Bennett praised costar Nicholas Bishop as being “a very smart, very funny man,” adding that in doing scenes with him, “My cheeks hurt, my stomach hurt. We would laugh so much and, you know, he plays such a sort of a new take on Darcy.” She noted that over the years the character has been idolized as almost an “incredible, perfect man.”

But reality sets in for Harriet as Darcy’s not quite as perfect as people believe. “We start actually to sort of see his flaws and this sort of mismatch and him not getting the point all the time, and him and Harriet sort of liking each other,” explains Eliza Bennett which spells disaster for the story as Darcy’s supposed to end up with the Elizabeth Bennet (the similarity to Bennett’s real name doesn’t escape us).

Bennett explained that she had grown up watching adaptations of Jane Austen’s novel, and was subsequently drawn to this project, which is a refreshing take on the author’s works. “I think Hallmark movies obviously tend to have the love story really at the heart of the film,” she explained. “I think what this movie does differently is [that] the love story really is the bookend of this story.”