Ian Harding Talks New Hallmark Movie ‘The Magic of Lemon Drops’ (Exclusive)

Ian Harding was all-in on The Magic of Lemon Drops before he even finished the script. In the new Hallmark movie, he plays Rory, a newly divorced dad who moves back to his hometown and crosses paths with his ex-girlfriend, Lolly (Lyndsy Fonseca), again. When Lolly’s aunt gives her three magical lemon drops, Lolly gains the ability to live out different versions of her life for a day, one of which includes a scenario where she never ends things with Rory.

The Hallmark actor loved the film for exploring “different paths not taken.” He added, “That was really interesting to me, even though it’s not my character that’s going on those paths. At this stage in my life, as I approach 40, you start to get to that place of if you had chosen this or if you had chosen that. Personally, I am unbelievably grateful and lucky for my paths, but her character feels that she had made a series of choices that weren’t necessarily wrong but have led her to a place that isn’t inspiring and maybe not what she wanted.”

Hallmark Media / Holly Dunphy

When Lolly takes one of the drops, the path she never pursued unfolds. “But what happens is, like anything in life, when you make a choice on one thing, you lose the other thing you’re not choosing,” Harding pointed out. “I think it’s her coming to grips with her life and the choices that she’s made and what she can actually change.”

Despite the magical element of the Hallmark movie, Harding emphasized how “authentic” the story felt. “Popping lemon drops and living a different life is not an everyday occurrence, but I love that the heart of the story is Lolly’s growth and acceptance of her life,” he said.

Lolly and Rory have a long history. The Pretty Little Liars alum revealed they had a “rough breakup” and “falling out” that’s never been fully addressed. When Rory returns to town, he’s “a little lost” and “trying to figure some things out.” He teased that “there is an opportunity for reconnection” with Lolly.

When TV Insider asked if there was an “invisible string” between Lolly and Rory, Harding noticed the Taylor Swift reference. “That is one of my favorites of hers [the song ‘Invisible String’]. It was actually on my playlist for this character,” he revealed. His playlist for this role also included Maggie Rogers, Sylvan Esso, and Damien Jurado.

But yes, there is an underlying connection between the characters that has never gone away. “I don’t know if you have interacted with somebody that you’ve known for most of your life, and now you find yourselves together, and you might actually not really know what’s happening in their lives, but you have that shared experience of overcoming loss and everything,” Harding elaborated. “Lolly’s mother had passed and that could have been a compounding factor in their breakup and the sort of volatility that was there. There’s obviously something there, but there’s never been the opportunity. He’s coming off a divorce, and that’s not even where his mind is when they meet, which I think makes for fertile romantic ground when you’re not looking for something. That’s usually when something comes along.”

The Magic of Lemon Drops led Harding to reflect on his own life and the paths he’s taken. Over the last couple of years, the actor and his wife, Sophia Hart, have experienced several life changes: welcoming a son and moving out of Los Angeles.

“Our lives have changed significantly, but there’s always that voice of like, oh, what if you’d stayed? But then I go back and visit friends, and I go, ‘This is why I would come back, for all these people.’ But for everything else, no. I feel good in my choice. I feel incredibly, incredibly, incredibly blessed that there isn’t a lot of regret. I think that’s kind of the conclusion that we came to. I could have made other choices, but I don’t regret making the choices that I did make.”

The Magic of Lemon Drops, Movie Permiere, August 24, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel