Hallmark Channel’s made-in-Hawaii film, ‘You Had Me at Aloha,’ premieres Saturday

Kavan Smith was born and raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He studied economics at the University of Calgary but decided that acting was where his heart was. He dropped out and then studied acting at Mount Royal University in Calgary. Smith made his debut in “Destiny Ridge,” a Canadian television series, in 1993. He has been a working actor ever since.

Sci-fi fans know him as Major Evan Lorne on “Stargate: Atlantis” and “Stargate SG-1,” and as Agent Jed Garrity in “The 4400.” Since 2015, he has played Leland “Lee” Coulter opposite Pascale Hutton as Rosemary LeVeaux Coulter in the Canadian-American television series, “When Calls the Heart.”

Hutton and Smith have such chemistry between their fictional characters that their fans are looking forward to seeing them in an original television movie, “You Had Me at Aloha,” premiering 6 p.m. Saturday on the Hallmark Channel. Hutton plays Paige, a former travel show host who reluctantly agrees to come out of retirement. Little does she know that she’ll have a co-host, Ben (Smith), whose work ethic and personal style are the direct opposite of how she does things.

Smith, 51, learned earlier this month that “When Calls the Heart” has been extended for a ninth season.

Congratulations on the film. What made it interesting for you?

This is our baby, Pascale and I pitched this ourselves. We nurtured it from the very beginning. We didn’t write it, but we did pitch the idea, and worked with the writer and the producers along the way, and so we had a fair amount of say when we were in Hawaii as well.

Could the two of you become an on-camera couple like Rock Hudson and Doris Day?

That’s a pretty big compliment for both of us. If people want to put us in that category, we’re more than happy to try and carry that mantle, but at the end of the day we are just two really good friends who really enjoy what we do.

Did you have a favorite scene?

The one that we had the most fun doing is the scene where it’s the first time they’re on camera together. We were improv-ing a lot, the director had a lot of great ideas, the weather was cooperating and we were all so happy. Everything we were doing was funnier than the last one. We could have spent three days there shooting that scene.

How much of the characters’ backstories came from your lives? For instance, Pascale’s character talks about her father building her a trapeze and I’ve read that Pascale’s father built her a trapeze.

We talked with the writer a couple of times and he started to dip into the things that we talked about. I don’t know if any of them necessarily changed the plot or characters, but it makes you feel a bit more connected to them. There’s a scene where we’re driving along and we mention where we’re from, and that was quasi-real and autobiographical, and so there are bits and pieces that are ourselves and there are some things about the characters that are not.

Could there possibly be a sequel? If so, where would you like them to go?

Part of the reason that we pitched this show is because our families are also friends, and the idea of this movie was supposed to include the families coming for a vacation. It didn’t happen obviously because of COVID, and so if we were going to do another one — of course, we’ve talked about it — I think it would have to be someplace that our families would want to go.

Any chance we’ll see Major Evan Lorne again?

I never understood my role on “Stargate,” but I feel very lucky to be a part of that group. That was a particularly good experience for me. I would certainly go back and do “Stargate” again; if they ever ask me, of course I’ll go back.

Do you ever think about where you might be if you had gotten your degree in economics?

I happen to be writing a novel about that now and it is a depressing novel. I have thought a great deal about what my life would have turned out like if I had stayed the course in economics. And I can assure you that it would not have been a very happy life.

What’s next for you?

We’ll be shooting (“When Calls the Heart”) this year, and I’m hoping that we get good numbers (for the movie), so we can do it again. The immediate forecast is being at home, raising my kids and giving my wife a break.

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WATCH IT

“You Had Me at Aloha”

Premieres 6 p.m. Saturday on Hallmark. Re-airs at 4 p.m. on June 6 and 5 p.m. on June 10.

“On the Scene” appears on Sundays in the Star-Advertiser. Reach John Berger at jberger@staradvertiser.com.