If you've watched Hallmark movies at all in the past decade, Trevor Donovan is a familiar face. From his blond hair to his tall frame, he was a natural fit on the network as a popular leading man, starring in a slew of rom-coms and holiday films over the years. He's appeared opposite many a memorable leading lady ranging from Jen Lilley to Jessica Lowndes — which is why it was a shock to longtime fans when he jumped ship and moved over to competitor network Great American Family.
The relatively new network, helmed by former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott, makes very similar content to Hallmark: feel-good rom-coms and holiday films targeted at a heartland audience, starring many former Hallmark regulars. Donovan joined Candace Cameron Bure, Danica McKellar, Jill Wagner and more when he signed a deal for exclusive new content. Though the move brought some controversy in 2022, mostly surrounding Bure, Donovan had his own reasons for working with Great American Family.
If you've wanted to know more about Donovan as a person — including a bit about where he came from, how he got into acting and why exactly he decided to leave the Hallmark Channel — we've got all of the information right here.
Who Is Trevor Donovan?
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Donovan grew up in Mammoth Lakes, California, where he was active in winter sports such as skiing and snowboarding. He was even on the U.S. teen ski team. He moved to Los Angeles to attend The Art Institute of California, where he was pursuing a degree in graphic design. During his senior year, he started taking acting classes out of curiosity and discovered he loved it. He decided that maybe he wanted to work in Hollywood instead.
He started getting work as a model and landed his first TV role on the sitcom "Quintuplets" in 2004. A role on "Days of Our Lives" followed before Donovan landed the role of Teddy Montgomery on the reboot of "90210." Over the years, he's appeared on various shows including "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "The Client List," "Melissa & Joey," "NCIS," "Lucifer" and more. But he's best known for making a name for himself as a leading man on the Hallmark Channel.
When he's not acting, Donovan is a passionate animal lover and is an ambassador with Habitat for Humanity and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice & Human Rights. After his German shepherd, Dogbert, was diagnosed with degenerative myelopathy, he began actively educating the world on his pup's story on social media. Though Dogbert is no longer with us, Donovan still volunteers his time and platform, and he posts photos with his other dogs — Tito, Chancers and Shadow. Though his personal life is kept quite private, we know he also has a younger brother named Jake who's a firefighter in Sacramento.
Trevor Donovan's Hallmark Movies
Crown Media/Allister Foster
For nearly a decade, Donovan became one of the most recognizable leading men on Hallmark. But, interestingly enough, he didn't know much about the Hallmark Channel before starring in his first film for the network, "Strawberry Summer" in 2012.
"To be honest, I wasn't very familiar with the Hallmark Channel before doing my first movie," he told My Devotional Thoughts. "But since being a part of the Hallmark family I've seen why they are so successful. I think Hallmark is a place people can go to watch a morally uplifting movie for the whole family and know they're getting a happy ending."
After eight years of appearing on Hallmark, the actor told WECT that he loves the work and loves being a part of something so special.
"Part of what I love so much is, I know my grandmother, my aunts and uncles, my young 5-year-old niece, everyone can sit down and watch these (movies)," he said.
"Especially around the holidays when the family is together. You can have these on the TV and there's always an uplifting, moral message to it. There's always a happy ending. The country, the world and life is pretty chaotic right now, and these types of movies can bring in those moments and raise a couple hours of positive energy, sunshine and smile, and reminders that family is most important. I get approached all the time since I started doing these things, and people love them. It makes me feel really, really good."
Donovan has appeared in a slew of Hallmark movies over the years including "Love on a Limb," "JL Ranch," "Marry Me at Christmas," "Snowcoming," "Love, Fall & Order," "Nostalgic Christmas," "USS Christmas" and "Two for the Win." His final Hallmark appearance was in 2021's "Nantucket Noel."
Trevor Donovan's Great American Family Move
Great American Family
After Donovan appeared as a contestant on "Dancing With the Stars," he signed an overall deal with Hallmark competitor Great American Family. His deal included starring in various films for the network in addition to a TV series on Great American Community, according to Variety. Why exactly did he jump ship to the other network? Donovan explained to Variety in 2022 that it was partially due to former Hallmark CEO Bill Abbott's support of his anti-bullying program Upstanders. That, and the move would give him the opportunity to get more involved behind the scenes of his projects.
"My move to Great American Family was largely due to [CEO] Bill [Abbott]'s support for my Team Upstanders program while we were both at Hallmark. Additionally, I was given the opportunity to produce my own films. It has always been my goal to create films that bring people together without being overtly political or religious, and I will continue to do so. And sometimes, in future rom-coms, I'll play the naive country boy who finds love in the big city or saves his family's farm. Stay tuned!"
