When Calls the Heart has continued to dominate ratings and lively discussions, thrilling the Hallmark Channel.
In When Calls the Heart Season 11, storylines centered around character-driven arcs that pushed storylines and relationships forward.
When Calls the Heart shines when it focuses on family relationships and character-driven arcs. They have an incredibly talented, diverse cast of characters.
Many of this talented ensemble have been around since the beginning, while others joined midway through.
When the show returns in 2025, we’re looking at this exceptional cast to bring those emotional character arcs to life.
Related: When Calls the Heart Season 12: Everything We Know So Far
Check it out below.
Erin Krakow (Elizabeth Thornton)
Elizabeth Thornton wears many hats. She’s the schoolteacher in Hope Valley, a loving mother, a loyal friend, and a helpful part of the community.
Elizabeth was married to Jack Thornton, but he died during a Mountie training session at the end of Season 5. During the Christmas special before Season 6, Elizabeth gave birth to Little Jack and spent part of Season 6 adjusting to single motherhood.
Soon after, two new suitors, Lucas Bouchard and Nathan Grant, arrived in town, and the endless battle for Elizabeth began. By Season 9, Lucas and Elizabeth seemed happy as he proposed by the bridge, but everything soon changed in Seasons 10 and 11.
Lucas and Elizabeth broke up at the end of Season 10 since she thought he was the safe choice, and Elizabeth and Nathan restarted their relationship during Season 11.
Hopefully, Season 12 will return to its’ roots of Elizabeth’s calling as a teacher. She’s helped so many students, including when she taught Angela Canfield to read Braille and the importance of having her in the classroom.
Since 2014, she has spent most of her career at the Hallmark Channel. She has portrayed and been a co-executive producer on When Calls the Heart.
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Krakow has starred in and produced many Hallmark films, including Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen, It Was Always You, and The Wedding Cottage.
She will reunite with her former When Calls the Heart costar, Daniel Lissing (Ex-Jack), when they star in the upcoming. Hallmark Channel holiday film Santa Tell Me.
Krakow has such an incredible warmth that she lights up the screen with all her costars.
Kevin McGarry (Nathan Grant)
Nathan Grant is a Mountie who originally came to Hope Valley after Jack died to keep a watchful eye over Elizabeth, Little Jack, and the rest of the town.
While he and Elizabeth became friends, she wasn’t ready to give her heart to another Mountie yet, but he stayed in town and became a valued member of the community.
After several seasons of back and forth, Nathan and Elizabeth gave their relationship a real try in Season 11.
Nathan also had custody of his Allie, who he adopted after her birth father, Dylan Parks, came to town and extorted $1000 from him. This came back up in Season 11 when Allie became curious about her birthfather, but she later realized Nathan was the dad she could count on.
Kevin McGarry has had a busy acting career. He also stars on CBC’s Heartland as Mitch Cutty.
While he’s guest-starred on several television series, he’s also been involved with Hallmark for several years. He’s appeared on When Calls the Heart as Nathan Grant since Season 6.
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McGarry has appeared in numerous Hallmark films, including the Wedding Veil franchise and Checkin’ It Twice.
McGarry brings an honest appeal to Nathan, which shows in his scenes with Allie and Elizabeth and when’s upholding the law.
Chris McNally (Lucas Bouchard)
When Lucas Bouchard initially moved to Hope Valley, he got off on the wrong foot with several residents because of the long hours he ran the saloon. However, once he donated a library to the town, he developed a deep friendship with Elizabeth as she realized he wanted to do great things for Hope Valley.
Lucas and Nathan competed for Elizabeth for several seasons until Lucas put his heart on the line. After that heartfelt proposal, it looked like Lucas, Elizabeth, and Little Jack were going to be a family.
Things shifted during Season 10, and Lucas was suddenly pressured to run for governor to save Hope Valley. With his big ideas, he’s made an ideal choice.
Since his resort idea failed, Lucas is trying to win back his supporters with his new national park idea.
Chris McNally has appeared in many films and TV series throughout his career, including recurring on Netflix’s Altered Carbon and Paramount +’s Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies.
McNally has been busy being part of the Hallmark family. He’s played Lucas Bouchard on When Calls the Heart since Season 6 and has starred in many Hallmark films, including A Winter Princess, Eat, Drink & Be Buried: A Gourmet Detective Mystery, and Snowkissed.
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In 2023, McNally and his partner Julie Gonzalo starred in 3 Beds, 2 Baths, 1 Ghost on Hallmark’s Movies and Mysteries. He most recently starred in Tipline Mysteries: Dial 1 For Murder.
McNally brings a sensitivity to Lucas, which allows him to shine through as one of Hope Valley’s leading men.
Pascal Hutton (Rosemary Coulter)
Since coming to Hope Valley, Rosemary Coulter has had many careers. She has been married to Leland since Season 3, and on When Calls the Heart Season 10 Episode 4, she gave birth to a daughter, Goldie.
Rosemary is versed in fashion and used to work in Dottie’s dress shop for years. Lee offered to buy the shop when Dottie chose to sell it, but Rosemary was ready for a new career.
Since Season 9, Rosemary and Lee have run the Valley Voice, the town’s local newspaper.
Rosemary’s investigative skills proved useful during Season 11 as she and Bill helped to prove who was behind Lucas’s shooting.
Before landing on Hallmark, Pascale was known for recurring as Abby Corrigan on the Canadian sci-fi drama Sanctuary.
She’s been a series regular on When Calls the Heart since it began in 2014, and she’s starred in several Hallmark films, including You Had Me at Aloha.
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Pascale was also the executive producer on the last few Hallmark films she starred in, including Fourth Down and Love and We Wish You a Married Christmas.
Pascale and her on-screen husband, Kavan Smith, are about to team up again for a new Hallmark Mystery, Nelly Knows Mysteries: A Fatal Engagement, in August 2024.
Kavan Smith (Leland Coulter)
Leland Coulter arrived during When Calls the Heart Season 2. He arrived at a pivotal time in the town’s history during the trial convicting the mining company of hazardous behavior, which cost many people their lives and jobs.
Since Lee announced he was opening a sawmill, he brought new jobs and life to the town and was immediately welcomed. Over the years, Lee became a shrewd businessman and became a mentor to many others in town.
Lee runs for Mayor but loses and instead helps Rosemary run the Valley Voice while they learn how powerful their voice is.
Lee has been busy the last few years. He and Rosemary finally have a daughter, Goldie. He bought the saloon from Lucas and hired Mike to manage it, and he became mayor to help improve the town.
Kavan Smith has been acting for over 30 years. Some of his well-known earlier roles include playing Major Evan Lorne on Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis and portraying Jed Garrity on The 4400.
He has been with When Calls the Heart since Season 2 began and has starred in and produced several Hallmark films.
Related: When Calls the Heart Season 11 Report Card: A Lackluster Season With a Few Bright Spots
Kavan Smith and his on-screen wife, Pascale Hutton, have worked together for several Hallmark films, including You Had Me at Aloha. They have a magical connection that is seen on-screen.
They are about to team up again for a new Hallmark Mystery, Nelly Knows Mysteries: A Fatal Engagement, in August 2024.
Jack Wagner (Bill Avery)
Bill is one of the only characters besides Elizabeth and Rosemary to appear in every season.
Originally, Bill Avery came to town to investigate the mining disaster. He co-owned Abigail’s cafe with Abigail and served as a sheriff. Later in Season 6, the governor offered Bill a judgeship.
Bill is Little Jack’s godfather because he was close to both Jack and Elizabeth. Recently, he gifted Little Jack a pony and convinced Elizabeth to let him teach his godson how to ride.
While Bill is an important town leader and mentor, he hasn’t had many story arcs lately.
Jack Wagner has the longest career of the When Calls the Heart actors. His romantic ballad “All I Need,” was a hit in the 80s.
Wagner is well-known in the soap opera genre, having played Frisco Jones on General Hospital, Peter Burns on Melrose Place, and Nick Marone in The Bold and the Beautiful.
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He’s appeared on When Calls the Heart since Season 1. Fun fact: He reunited with his Melrose Place costar Josie Bissett there and in the Wedding March films.
His work in the soap opera genre has helped Wagner bring a range of emotions to Bill Avery, who knows when situations call for wit and humor or drama.
Martin Cummins (Henry Gowen)
Henry Gowen is one of the most interesting characters in Hope Valley and has had one of the best redemption arcs.
Originally, Henry knew of the unsafe mining conditions and made shady decisions like trying to evict the widows of the coal miners from the row houses.
For the first few seasons, Henry has issues with many of the townspeople, except for Abigail and later Elizabeth, who saw the potential in him. Henry started showing that potential when he worked with Bill to show that Eleanor Roberts wanted to steal information from Lee for her competing sawmill.
After that, Henry kept to himself until Lucas and Mike Hickam got Henry involved with the oil business again.
In Season 9, Henry learns that Jerome Smith wanted to reopen the mines and they were still unsafe. Henry exploded the mine, shutting them down forever.
While it was a crime, he was seen as a hero, and that was another turning point in his redemption.
Martin Cummins has had a long-standing acting career before signing on for When Calls the Heart. He is most well-known for playing Nick Boyle on Poltergeist: The Legacy and Ames White in Dark Angel.
After starring in Poltergeist: The Legacy, he funded and staffed his own film, We All Fall Down, based on his own life after his mother’s death.
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He’s appeared on many other television series throughout the years, including Kyle XY, The Whispers, and Away.
Cummins also starred on The CW’s Riverdale as Sheriff Keller from the beginning.
He’s used all of these experiences to make Henry Gowen a layered, flawed character that audiences root for.
Andrea Brooks (Faith Carter)
Faith Carter is the doctor in Hope Valley. She originally came to Hope Valley and ran the infirmary by herself as a nurse before Dr. Carson Shepherd arrived.
After his arrival, they worked together and became a couple until Faith went to medical school to become a doctor, and Carson got an offer in Baltimore. While he wanted Faith to accompany him, she chose to run the infirmary by herself with Molly’s help.
Faith has had issues with some people not wanting a female doctor. She even had to have Mike pretend to be the doctor once.
Faith also felt like her life was missing some things, but then she gained custody of Lily Watson since her grandmother had health issues. She took to motherhood beautifully.
(©2023 Hallmark Media/Photographer: Courtesy of Cartel)
Andrea Brooks excels at portraying evil and calculating and sweet and helpful. Besides portraying Faith Carter, her other main role was playing Eve Teschmacher on Supergirl.
Brooks has become a Hallmark movie favorite, with her most recent being A Lifetime Love.
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She brings honesty and earnestness to her scenes, which makes it seem like she really wants to help her patients and friends.
Ben Rosenbaum (Mike Hickam)
Mike Hickam has become a more important character since he’s helped out at the Queen of Hearts saloon, and the residents realize how in tune he is with everything. Recently, Lee bought the saloon and made Mike the manager.
During Season 10, Mike started dating Mei Sou. They became serious last season and got married while her brother was in town on military leave.
Rosenbaum has basically played Mike Hickam on When Calls the Heart, but the best part was he met his girlfriend, Erin Krakow, on set.
His laidback attitude has helped as he’s adapted to Hickam’s many jobs throughout the years.
Amanda Wong (Mei Sou)
Mei Sou came to Hope Valley at the beginning of Season 9. She introduced herself as a licensed pharmacist, and even though she applied under the name Geoffrey, Ned, and Florence agreed to let her work at Yost’s Pharmacy and Soda Fountain.
Mei’s past came back to haunt her when Geoffrey arrived in town and had her arrested, but Bill and Nathan stood by her and proved that she was never married to Geoffrey.
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Mei had a special touch with animals and befriended Newton and helped the horse and he and Nathan were in an accident.
Mei and Mike Hickam began dating in Season 10 and married in the Season 11 finale.
Wong has appreciated putting some of her Asian heritage into Mei Sou’s character from her love of cooking to the mud masks at the spa.
Additional Cast
Viv Leacock as Joseph Canfield
Natasha Burnett as Minnie Canfield
Hrothgar Mathews as Ned Yost
Loretta Walsh as Florence Yost
Johannah Newmarch as Molly Sullivan
Jaeda Lily Miller as Allie Grant
Over to you, Hearties. What are you hoping to see in What Calls the Heart Season 12?