After starring in 20 Hallmark movies in the last 10 years, Kristoffer Polaha says choosing a favorite is a little like picking a favorite kid.
Impressively, he can name all 20 in order with little hesitation, from his first — “Dater’s Handbook” co-starring Meghan Markle, just before she met Prince Harry — to his latest, “Missing the Boat” with Emilie Ullerup, which premieres on January 31, 2026. When asked to pick one that stands out from all the rest, Polaha admitted to EntertainmentNow that there is one that will always hold a special place in his heart.
Kristoffer Polaha Says There Will Always Be Something ‘Special’ About ‘A Biltmore Christmas’
On January 21, Polaha posted a retrospective on Instagram of photos and videos from Hallmark projects he’s worked on since 2016, including seven movies for his “Mystery 101” franchise with Jill Wagner and multiple destination movies that have taken him from Iceland to Italy to Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry.
“It was a lot of fun to go through (the Hallmark movies),” he told EntertainmentNow. “I don’t often go back over the work pictures. I feel really blessed. I feel really grateful.”
As for choosing a favorite, Polaha said that as he was choosing photos for his anniversary post, he had a disproportionate number of shots from filming 2023’s “A Biltmore Christmas,” starring as 1940s actor Jack Huston opposite Bethany Joy Lenz, who played modern-day screenwriter Lucy Hardgrove.
“I mean, they gave us a double budget, we had carte blanche, we knew we were making a big movie,” he smiled, recalling the grand scale of the production and the picturesque location in Asheville, North Carolina.
“It was just a really special movie,” Polaha continued. “I think (John) Putch, our director, did such a good job with that film in the telling of the story that it holds up. I would put that up against any other Christmas movie, from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ to ‘Christmas Vacation.’ I would put ‘A Biltmore Christmas’ in there.”
“I am clearly extremely proud of it,” Polaha said. “I think the work that Joy and I did was a lot of fun, the work that Putch did. But then also, like, all of the actors in that movie, every single one of those actors brought it. All of them. Every character I can think of, every single person, brought their A game. It was just like an elevated experience. It was really cool.”
Polaha admitted he’s a bit biased, having not only starred in the movie but also fallen in love with the location and people involved, even visiting the area in the weeks after flash floods from Hurricane Helene caused extensive damage in the fall of 2024. But Polaha maintained that he believes “A Biltmore Christmas” — which drew more than three million viewers for its November 2023 premiere — will stand the test of time as one of Hallmark’s best.
“I think that Hallmark, in time, will look back at it as like, of all the Hallmark movies, that one will sort of stand alone as the representation of (this) era,” he said. “I’m talking about when we’re all much older and looking back at what we were doing in this time and place, (we’ll think) the one that was the gold standard was that film.”
Would Kristoffer Polaha Return for Another ‘Biltmore’ Movie?
Hallmark hopes to capture the same kind of magic Polaha felt on the set of “A Biltmore Movie,” with a second film — “A Grand Biltmore Christmas” — now filming at the historic estate. Starring Niall Matter and Holland Roden, the new movie was a surprise to Polaha, who said he didn’t know it was happening until Hallmark announced it.
As with the first movie, the Biltmore House kept its renowned holiday decorations up longer for the new movie. But Polaha and Lenz are far too busy filming new TV series to be part of the latest production; he’s filming “American Hostage” with Jon Hamm and Giovanni Ribisi, and Lenz is filming the “When Calls The Heart” prequel “Hope Valley: 1874” with Benjamin Ayres.
However, Polaha said he’d definitely be open to returning for a future movie, calling the decision to create a Biltmore movie franchise “genius.”
“I imagine that if the house serves as a portal for time,” he mused, “I can see them telling as many stories as they want out of that building. I mean, I think it’s incredible for them to be making another. It’s so good for their local economy.”
“I’m hoping that they were smart enough to carve out room for, like, a Biltmore universe,” Polaha added. “Jack and Lucy’s story, this one, another story can come in. If they wanted to rinse and repeat, they should be able to do it for as long as they want.”
“A Biltmore Christmas” is available to stream via Hallmark+ and “A Grand Biltmore Christmas” will be released during the 2026 holiday season.
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Kristoffer Polaha Marks 10 Years With Hallmark: Which Movie Was His Favorite? (EXCLUSIVE)