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How Actor Kristoffer Polaha Prioritized Family On Journey to Hollywood

How Actor Kristoffer Polaha Prioritized Family On Journey to Hollywood

By Movieguide® Staff

In 2003, actor Kristoffer Polaha burst onto the scene in the TBS biopic AMERICA’S PRINCE: THE JOHN F. KENNEDY JR. STORY.

“That was the biggest TV movie that TBS had ever released,” Polaha recently recalled in an interview with Forrest Hartman. “I think 40 million people watched it that night, and I had a picture in Times Square of my face.”

Despite Polaha’s sudden success, his career did not take off like he thought it would.

“I was convinced that I was about to be the next Brad Pitt,” he said. “I thought, ‘Dude this is about to happen.’ And then it didn’t happen.”

The WHERE HOPE GROWS actor did not struggle to find roles in the following years, but the shows themselves failed to take off.

Unlike his peers in Hollywood, Polaha had a stable marriage to actress Julianne Morris and Christian faith.

“It was a really beautiful, innocent two-year courtship where we just took our time to get to know each other, and it was in that time where I was like, ‘I don’t think that my career is going to amount to anything unless I have someone to share it with,’” he said. “And I loved meeting Julianne when I did because I knew she wasn’t marrying me for my money or my fame or anything other than the fact that she just loved me.”

After 18 years of marriage, the couple shares three sons, Caleb, Micah, and Jude.

“It’s made the journey that I’ve been on a million times richer, a billion times richer, because I get to share it with these people,” Polaha shared.

The Movieguide® Award Gala host confessed that the constant dead ends are difficult for him and his family.

“I was so exhausted,” he said.

After years of hard work with no tangible reward, Polaha turned to Hallmark.

“It just happened to be like lightning in a bottle,” he said. “You can’t manipulate it, you can’t plan for it, and Hallmark is just a really wonderful company to work for. To be honest with you, you do a couple of those a year and it becomes this padding from which, financially speaking, you can then go out and seek the other gigs.”

“I never in a million years imagined that I would end up being the face of the romcom genre on television via Hallmark,” he added. “I feel blessed to even be able to call myself a working actor.”

Since stepping through the door at Hallmark, Polaha has earned roles in major Hollywood movies like WONDER WOMAN 1984 and the upcoming JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION.

Movieguide® previously reported of Polaha’s Christian faith:

“Christ is the center of the holiday for us,” says WONDER WOMAN 1984 actor Kristoffer Polaha. “What it means to choose joy this Christmas season is to allow yourself to be fully impacted by the Christian narrative. I think if you can truly unpack how profound that narrative is, then you’re left with no other choice but then to choose kindness, to choose goodness, to choose joy, to choose love, to choose peace and faithfulness.”

Choosing joy and love is one of Polaha’s favorite parts of the holiday season.

“One of the things that I love most about the Christmas season is that, I guess we call it the spirit of Christmas, where everyone just feels happier. They feel more joyful, they’re kinder to one another,” Polaha shared. “And I just love the idea that, you know, 2000 years ago, this baby was born in the desert at night, and in that moment, the whole world was changed….and once a year, we are reminded to go back to that mentality. So I love that yearly, we get this annual reset of mind and focus.”

Polaha continued: “I think that if you can just stay true to what the reality of the season is, and you can remember that it’s about Jesus and it’s about this baby that was born….through the life that he lived, which is really truly about….bringing heaven on earth and loving one another and being present with one another….If you could all of a sudden jump into that mindset, then you stay pretty grounded.”

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.