Hallmark Star Steve Lund Almost Had A Much Different Career

As an actor who has become a Hallmark Channel mainstay, Steve Lund has pretended to hold a number of different jobs that align with the company's distinct brand of romance. He was the designer of an ice hotel in "Baby, It's Cold Inside," an Air Force veteran in "Unlocking Christmas," and an entrepreneur who inherits his father's business empire in "Christmas Incorporated." That empire includes a toy factory, and his character considers shutting it down right ahead of the holidays like a real Grinch.

Long before he started telling seasonal love stories, what made Lund discover his love of acting was his first on-stage experience as a child: landing a role in his Nova Scotia elementary school's production of "The Lion King," which was inspired by the Broadway play. "I played one of the hyenas," he told Saltwire. "I claim that I stole the show. I don't really think that's the case in hindsight but I really relished that opportunity to perform in front of people and bring smiles to people's faces."

But around that same time, the young Canadian thespian was pursuing another passion that took up a lot of his time and energy, and he decided to choose it over a potential acting career. He also had to learn a skill that can come in pretty handy when filming romances set during the holiday season. 

If any of Steve Lund's Hallmark holiday films ever call for a visit to an ice-skating rink with his on-screen love interest, he likely has to fake being a bit unsteady on the ice — unless he's playing a hockey player like his fellow Hallmark stalwart Luke Macfarlane does in "Taking a Shot at Love." 

Lund told the Toronto Guardian that watching Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones is what first sparked his interest in acting at age 3. But a growth spurt temporarily derailed his Hollywood dream. "I grew about two feet overnight and learned how to take a slap shot and my dad was like, 'You're going to be a hockey player,'" he said. "Because if the American dream is freedom, the Canadian dream is to have a son in the NHL."

From 2004 to 2008, Lund had a fruitful hockey career. During his stint in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, the defenseman played for the Prince Edward Island Rocket and the Halifax Mooseheads. His talent on the ice made him a shoo-in for the NHL, but in 2007, he suffered a concussion. He told Saltwire that it took a second concussion and a spine injury to make him finally realize that it might be time to retire. "I was a little embarrassed and it almost felt like I was escaping an abusive relationship," he said of his decision to leave the brutal sport, which he likened to a religion.

Despite how hard it was to feel like he was letting his teammates down, Steve Lund knew that he was making the right decision when he decided it was time to revisit his interest in acting. His interactions with his teammates served as a reminder of the storyteller lurking inside him just waiting for a creative outlet. "I would often find myself getting more excited to tell a very flamboyant and theatrical story than I was for getting on the ice," he confessed to The Coast. He attended the Vancouver Film School, and just one year after graduating, his series "Yukonic!" premiered. In addition to joining the Hallmark family, he went on to star in the Syfy series "Bitten" and the critical darling "Schitt's Creek." He credited the former, which he appeared in from 2014 to 2016, with helping him get his own apartment. "I had been homeless, either sleeping on friends' couches or sleeping in Bellwoods Park or sleeping in my car," he told the Toronto Guardian. "I was sleeping in McDonald's."

But enduring the hardships paid off for Lund when he finally felt like was doing what he was meant to do. On "The High Button Podcast," he said that when he nails a scene, he gets a more rewarding form of recognition from everyone on set than he ever got playing hockey. "That is the high that I will chase for the rest of my life," he shared.