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Jocelyn Hudon and Olivier Renaud starred in Romance With a Twist which aired in January 2024. In the storyline, the actors played Luna and Bennett who showed off their aerial talents at a local arts festival.
Luna came from a background of dancing, while Bennett was an expert in aerial performances. When watching the movie, fans likely thought Renaud had a stunt double for his high-above-the-ground scenes, but it turns out they could be wrong. Read on to find out more about Olivier Renaud and his previous career in the circus.
Olivier Renaud and his career before Hallmark
In the movie, Renaud and Hudon’s characters revealed their talent at a local arts festival, with Luna previously a dancer and Bennett an aerial performer. While the movie is fictional, it turns out the two actors’ expertise is very real.
Before getting into acting, Renaud was a professional aerialist, which made him perfect for the role in the Hallmark movie Romance With A Twist. While still in college, Renaud joined the world-renowned Cirque du Soleil and toured the world as a professional aerialist.
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‘Find what you are good at and keep working at it’
In an interview with Digital Journal, Renaud spoke of his role in the Hallmark movie, saying, “In my opinion, find what you are good at, and keep working at it.” He is clearly good at his aerialist moves and also at acting. However, he also spends time in another unexpected business and this applies to his use of his extensive entertainment knowledge in the corporate arena.
Meanwhile, Olivier also excels in public speaking, which is no mean achievement, and also hosts corporate workshops to help others improve their public speaking skills. On his official website, Renaud writes:
We will understand the important principles of entering and exiting stage, daring and failing, embracing your inner ‘Beautiful Idiot,’ your relationship to authority, ‘Pushing,’ and ‘Working too hard.’
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Hallmark star Jocelyn Hudon and dancing
Meanwhile, Olivier’s co-star, Jocelyn Hudon is a professional dancer in her real life, which makes her casting ideal. With the two stars together, it seems Hallmark Channel really did cast the best actors for the roles.
Before Hudon got into acting, she was a professional ballerina, and trained with the National Ballet School of Canada. Between the two of them, both Hudon and Renaud, with their experience behind them, did most of the aerial scenes themselves. However, there were movements during the filming where they did require stunt doubles.
A hairstylist working on the project noted that the hardest part of this was finding matching wigs for Olivier’s hair. On Instagram, Natasha shared images from the movie with the caption:
There was one time when the double got too close to the top of the silks; the opening was too small, and when he tried to flip through the silks, they snatched that wig clean off.
Both Hallmark stars have enjoyed varied and fascinating careers, making them perfect for roles like theirs in Romance With a Twist.
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