Q&A with Cindy Busby, star of Unleashing Mr. Darcy

I had a lot of fun with my Q&A with Teri Wilson, author of Unleashing Mr. Darcy and now I had another pleasure of interviewing the lovely and beautiful  (above photo credit: Alaina Michelle Photography | courtesy of Cindy Busby. Thank you!), the lead star of Unleashing Mr. Darcy. She portrayed the female lead character Elizabeth Scott in the movie. You may or may not have seen Cindy before Unleashing Mr. Darcy, but she did previously co-starred in two prominent TV series, Cedar Cove (Hallmark) as Rebecca Jennings and Heartland (UP) as Ashley Stanton. She also appeared in The Big Year movie with Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, and Rosamund Pike. See an IMDB list of Cindy Busby's TV & film work here. A special THANK YOU to Cindy for letting me do an interview/Q&A with her, here on my P&P blog. I very much appreciated her for taking the time to do this and answering all my questions about her movie (read my Unleashing Mr. Darcy Movie Review), which I loved and enjoyed watching. Thanks again, Cindy!

Unleashing Mr. Darcy starring

For now, read my fun Q&A with Cindy all about her Unleashing Mr. Darcy movie and more below...


Jeane/P&P Blog: How did you hear about Hallmark's adaptation of Teri Wilson's Unleashing Mr. Darcy and what was your reaction when you were cast as Elizabeth Scott?
I was in LA at the time, so I put myself on tape and sent it to my agent in Vancouver. It was the second round of auditions for the role of Elizabeth, and I guess they were still looking. I found out 3 days later that I got the part. I hadn't heard of Teri Wilson's book at the time, but was excited about it once I looked into her different take on Pride and Prejudice.

J: Did you read the book before filming started?
CB: I didn't read the book. I based my version of Elizabeth on the script.

 (Copyright 2015 Hallmark | Crown Media 

United States, LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss)

J: What attracted you most to your Elizabeth Scott role in Unleashing Mr. Darcy? What similarities do you have to this character and what differences?
CB: What I loved most about Elizabeth Scott is her independence and passion. I actually think I'm similar to Elizabeth in a lot of ways. Her awkwardness and how hard she tries to do the right thing all the time. I love that she's a romantic at heart, but she doesn't always want to show her vulnerability for fear of being hurt because she's very sensitive and when she finally opens her heart beautiful things happen. I think a lot of aspects of her character are a good role model for a young woman.

 (Copyright 2015 Hallmark | Crown Media 

United States, LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss)

J: The original Elizabeth Bennet (as modernized by your character) has been portrayed many times by many different actresses (see Then & Now: The Many Faces of Elizabeth Bennet (part 6) ) in various TV and film adaptations of P&P since 1940. How did you prepare for your own Elizabeth role?
CB: For the role of Elizabeth I watched a lot of dog training videos online and dog show footage. Ryan and I worked with dog trainers before we started shooting too. The rest I left to my own experience, and imagination.

(screen captures via Hallmark)

J: What's your favorite Elizabeth Scott quote in the movie? 
CB: My favourite movie quotes from the movie are: "No, I'm not crying, I don't cry, why would you think I was crying?" & "Would you like me to tell you what I think you are?" & "Consider me swept."

 (Copyright 2015 Hallmark | Crown Media 

United States, LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss)

 (screen captures via Hallmark)

 (Copyright 2015 Hallmark | Crown Media 

United States, LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss)

J: Your favorite scene in Unleashing Mr. Darcy?
CB: I actually have so many favourite scenes from the movie! I loved the dog shows because the dogs were so incredible cute and professional. I loved learning about how to show a dog properly and train them. I also thought the scene where I'm walking Bliss at night and I see Darcy arrive in the limo and he catches me staring at him was super cute and of course, the gala scene was so beautiful! The night we shot that was one of the funnest days on set because we got to be all together.

J: How was it meeting Teri Wilson (author of Unleashing Mr. Darcy) on set?
CB: Meeting Teri was amazing. I felt a little nervous because taking on a role like Elizabeth feels like a lot of pressure to deliver. I wanted to make her proud and give her story the perfect interpretation. She was incredibly excited and so kind. I really enjoyed meeting her. :)

 (Copyright 2015 Hallmark | Crown Media 

United States, LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss)

(Cindy & Ryan at Hallmark's Winter TCA 2016 

| photo by Hallmark on Instagram)

(screen capture via Hallmark)

J: How was it kissing...I mean working with Ryan Paevey (Donovan Darcy) in this movie?
CB: HAHA! Ryan and I instantly hit it off. We hung out before we started filming just to get to know each other better and create chemistry, which was quite easy...And kissing him was...done in front of 50 people, so...

 (Copyright 2015 Hallmark | Crown Media 

United States, LLC/Photographer: Bettina Strauss)

J: How about working with Frances Fisher (aunt Violet Darcy)?
CB: Working with Frances Fisher was beyond incredible! She's honestly one of the most talented actresses I've ever worked with. She's also very generous, friendly and is SO funny! I loved having her on set because we got along well and she always made me laugh. I was very sad when I had to say goodbye. She definitely left a forever positive mark in my life. :)

(Copyright 2015 Crown Media United States, 

LLC/Photographer: Brendan Meadows)

J: If there's a sequel for Unleashing Mr. Darcy (or a series), would you be on board to reprise your role?
CB: I would definitely be on board with shooting a sequel to Unleashing Mr Darcy, if the timing worked out. :)

J: Have you read or seen at least one screen adaptation of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice? If so, which version? Favorite Elizabeth & Darcy portrayal?
CB: The TV adaptation and reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice are my only references! I'm a big Colin Firth fan, so I'd say his Pride and Prejudice (1995) tv series was my favourite!

J: After Unleashing Mr. Darcy, what's next for you? Do you have another Hallmark movie project on the horizon or other TV series/films you're working on?
CB: After shooting "Unleashing Mr Darcy," I shot a Christmas movie called "A Puppy for Christmas," which will be out at the end of 2016. I have a few more things on the go right now, but I'm not sure if I can talk about them, so stay tuned for my details!

For more on Cindy Busby, follow her on her official social media accounts here: Twitter and Instagram.