The Lesser-Known Truth Of Hallmark Hunk Brendan Penny

If you were to ask Hallmark fans who on the network is a certified hunk, Brendan Penny would definitely make the list. From his role in "Autumn in the Vineyard" to "A Dash of Love," Penny can make anyone who watches his films fall in love, and it doesn't hurt that he's not bad to look at either. Despite all the films he's done for the network, it's his role in the "Chesapeake Shores" series that solidified him as a fan favorite. Penny played the dashing Kevin O'Brien on the series since 2016 up until it wrapped in 2022.

The actor and Hallmark go hand-in-hand and Penny has enjoyed every minute of it. "It's been a very long working relationship," he told Just Jared in 2023. "Well, not even that long, but it's been six or seven years now of us working together and I have nothing but the utmost gratefulness for them and the way that they've always treated me."

As much as we have seen Penny on Hallmark, the actor tends to keep his personal life a bit more private. He's not one to do tons of press or spend time talking about himself, so not much is known about him. But don't worry we do have some details about Penny as we dive into the lesser-known truths about his life.

Brendan Penny is an extremely private man, and he specifically keeps his family out of the spotlight. Some might even be shocked to find out that the Hallmark hunk is married. Penny tied the knot in 2010, and the "Chesapeake Shores" star kept it so under wraps, that many people didn't even know the name of the woman the actor wed.

However, in April 2023, Just Jared revealed that the actor married a woman named Lisa. In the interview, Penny even chose to spill some rare details about the wedding ceremony. Penny told Just Jared, "We actually got married in the Okanagan, which is in interior British Columbia in the summer on a family friends' place. They allowed us to get married at their house and we had a very nice small wedding right on the water and it was, it was beautiful." Penny feels like quite the lucky man to have said I do to Lisa, he told the outlet, "I'm really, really fortunate."

Although the exact dates are unknown, Penny and Lisa did expand their family, you just never hear about the kids. The couple welcomed two children into their lives, and even though fans may not know every detail about them or his relationship with Lisa, all they need to know is that Penny is quite the family man.

Brendan Penny launched his acting career much later than you probably think. He wasn't a child star and didn't get his big break young, at least not that young. Initially, Penny pursued a bachelor's degree in accounting from Fanshawe College. After getting his degree, "The Wedding Cottage" actor attended the Lyric School of Acting thanks to some encouragement from his dad.

In an interview with the Ottawa Sun, Penny admitted that unlike many celebs whose parents trash their kids careers; his dad encouraged him to start acting professionally. He shared, "When I moved out to Vancouver from Ottawa in 2002, I had zero acting experience. It was my dad who gave me the urge to go try it." Like many actors at the start of their career, Penny was a struggling actor. He told Ottawa Sun, "I had 3,000 bucks in my pocket and bought a one-way ticket so I didn't have a fallback."

Penny may not have known how his career would turn out when he made the move to Vancouver in 2002, but lucky for him, he landed a gig not long after. In 2003, Penny starred in his first professional role on the television series "Jake 2.0." After that, the acting roles kept coming in. So, Penny may owe his dad a massive thank you.

Brendan Penny is a man of many talents! Not only is he an incredible actor, but he also has a knack for photography, and he's pretty good at it. In fact, the Hallmark star seems to spends his millions on his hobby. Back in November 2013, the Hallmark star posted a stunning photo of a fisherman on Instagram. The clouds tolling over the mountains and the dark colors could have fooled anyone that a professional photographer took the picture. Penny was pretty good at being behind the camera, but he got even better over the years.

In November 2022, the actor shared a couple of snaps on Instagram of people surfing. He wrote in the caption, "Some shots from the beach a few days ago of some local boys." Anything that Penny finds camera-worthy he makes sure to take a snap of it, and the majority of it is nature pics, including photos of some wildlife. In November 2022, Penny snapped an amazing photo of a wolf out roaming the woods. He wrote in the caption, "This is a beautiful Vargas wolf. Was lucky she wasn't spooked. #wolf #tofino #naturephotography." It's been a minute since Penny has dabbled into his photography skills, but it's probably just because he's been busy onscreen.

Brendan Penny has well over 10 Hallmark movies under his belt, and the truth is, it will never be enough. If it were up to the actor, he would do Hallmark films until his career ends. He told TV Goodness in 2017, "I'll do Hallmark movies for the rest of my life if they let me." For Penny, the reason these films are so good is because of the people involved in them. He shared, "It's always some of the nicest people you could ever meet. Everybody is there to have a good time and do a good job and to make something that makes people feel good. I laughed so completely on every single one of those movies." Penny even offered up a list of fellow Hallmark stars that he would like to share the screen with, so take note network writers.

Penny revealed to Just Jared in 2023 that he would love to work with Autumn Reeser, Merritt Patterson, and Emillie Ullerup. Now, if you're a die-hard Penny fan you're probably aware that Penny has worked with Ullerup on "Chesapeake Shores," but the Hallmark Hunk wants to star opposite his co-star again. He shared with Just Jared, "I don't know if that would ever happen because I think people would find it weird, because we were brother and sister on Chesapeake Shores, but she's so talented and such a lovely human that I would love to work with her again."

Brendan Penny was a big social media user in 2020 and used his platform to advocate for social causes. The Black Lives Matter movement was prominent in the headlines in 2020 after the death of George Floyd, and Penny was not like one of the many celebs getting slammed about the cause, but rather a big supporter of the movement. In June 2020, he tweeted, "The world is broken right now. Division in certain places in the world is extreme. I can't fathom hating someone due to the color of their skin. Support coming together as one. #BlackLivesMatter." Penny shared and retweeted countless posts advocating for the social justice cause and it's not just the Black Lives Matter movement that he has been vocal about.

In March 2020, Penny made it clear where he stood on the stay-at-home orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He tweeted, "Before you tweet about how bored you are and how hard it is being stuck at home, please think about all the doctors, nurses, and sick patients who are fighting for their lives who would trade anything in the world to be at home. Safe." For a while, Penny was pretty outspoken on X, formerly known as Twitter, but whether it's because of his career or busy family life, the actor has seemingly taken a step back from posting so much about social causes in years since.