Pop-Culturalist.com

Beau Mirchoff is a gifted storyteller who is best known for his transformative performances in projects including Awkward., Good Trouble, and Desperate Housewives. Currently, he can be seen in his leading role as Cash McMurray in Hallmark’s must-see new series, Ride.

Ride is a multigenerational family ensemble following the lives of the McMurrays, part of a rodeo dynasty going back a generation, as they struggle to keep their beloved ranch afloat. After a tragic loss, each character embarks on an empowering journey of transformation and self-discovery while also uncovering a twisted web of secrets, threatening to tear the family and their small Colorado town apart at the seams.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to catch up with Beau to talk about Ride Season 1, exploring his character’s complexities, discovering his Cash’s wounds, and more.

PC: Cash is such a complex character with so many different layers. He’s a war veteran suffering from PTSD. He’s trying to provide for his family. He’s trying to step outside of his brother’s shadow. With so many different complexities, where do you dive in first as an actor preparing to tackle this role?
Beau: First, you always try to find the character’s wounds. A lot of things are influenced by those wounds. What were his wounds before going overseas? Then what happened overseas? That influences everything.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve been able to play such a wide range of different characters. Each is so different from the last that you’ve done. What was it about Cash that resonated with you? How much of your own personal experiences were you able to channel into his journey?
Beau: As an actor, you just want a complicated character. At least that’s what I gravitate towards. Anything to chew on is really helpful. He’s a very dynamic and multidimensional character, so that was cool. He’s a cowboy. He rides bulls. He’s all these things. He’s a veteran. There seems to be this unrequited love. His brother is dead. His father’s dead. It’s all this rich tapestry from which to pull. He just seemed like this fascinating, fascinating person to me. I was immediately hooked.

PC: Because of the pandemic, you and Tiera [Skovbye] did a chemistry read over Zoom, which I imagine isn’t the easiest thing to do. How challenging was that? Was there a moment when you were on set filming when you realized you had the chemistry needed for the dynamic between these two characters?
Beau: We actually got to do the chemistry read in person. It was towards the end of the pandemic. We were doing all these COVID tests to make sure everyone was safe. But we met on Zoom before the audition. We talked through ideas, our characters, and all that kind of stuff. Then when we met in person we had the most fun. It was such a great chemistry read. I hadn’t been in a room with actors in quite a while. So it was fun to be in there and share space with people. But happy accidents happened in the audition, which I love. I always love when that happens. I jumped up on a chair and I fell down. Then I played the whole rest of the scene in pain on the ground. I love when stuff like that happens. I love it when stuff surprises you and you can keep rolling with it. We had a really fun audition sequence. Afterwards, I was like, “There’s no way that I’m not getting this.” [laughs] We connected so well and we hit it out of the park.

PC: Speaking of surprises, one of the benefits of television as a medium is that you’re learning more and more about your character as the season goes on. The show does a brilliant job leveraging flashbacks to show the rich history between all these different characters. How much of Cash’s backstory were you given ahead of time? Has anything surprised you about his journey?
Beau: It was cool. Two months before we started shooting, I chatted with the creator and the writers. I understood the backstory that they had built for Cash, and then I came in with my ideas. We got to collaborate and create this elaborate backstory.

Was I surprised by anything? There were a couple of things that surprised me. I don’t want to spoil them, but there are a couple of things that will be revealed within the next couple of episodes regarding Cash’s brother Austin that I was surprised about.

PC: In addition to filming on a ranch, you all had actual rodeo performers and riders on set. How did those conversations and that collaboration help bring the authenticity that we see on screen?
Beau: It was everything. I wouldn’t know what to do without those guys. They’re consummate pros. Everything that I do for the show from the physicality to my ritual getting on the ball, that’s what I took from them.

PC: There’s a scene in Episode 7 where Cash is able to vocalize everything that he’s been struggling with to his mother. It’s an impactful moment for the character and a standout within the series. How did you create the space to explore that vulnerability?
Beau: It was figuring out exactly what was going to be said and what needed to be revealed. It was a process because it’s such a pivotal scene. We wanted to make sure we got all the specifics right, especially when it came to the war stuff. I love that scene so much because it’s an accumulation of things. You don’t really see Cash expressing himself that way a lot. It’s the first time that you really see what he’s contending with and how scared and alone he is. He’s treading water here and he doesn’t have much fight left in him, so it’s almost a call for help. He needs that connection. I love that scene because we finally get to see that from Cash.

PC: Throughout your career, you’ve been able to jump back and forth between comedy and drama so effortlessly. Is one more challenging than the other?
Beau: That’s a good question. I don’t know if anyone’s ever asked me that before. My favorite shows are…actually, maybe that’s changed. I don’t know. Comedy can be really hard in the sense that you have to play it dramatically for it to be good. You want it to be as authentic as possible. Maybe comedy’s a little harder at times because it has such a rhythm to it. You can’t take your time. If you mess up your lines, you screw up the jokes. It has such a pace. It’s almost like music. There’s a meter to it. They’re both challenging in their own right.

PC: Something that’s so interesting about Cash is that throughout the season you question whether he actually enjoys riding or if he’s just doing it to support his family. What backstory did you create for yourself as you approached that juxtaposition and conflict?
Beau: Yeah, you know, I like for people to interpret it how they like to interpret it. The way that I see it though is that he does love it. But there are these other things that get in the way. Acting is a good example. You do it for the love of it, but then it becomes a job. Now you have all this pressure. Now you have mortgage payments you have to pay. Then it becomes less about the love of acting and more about the job aspect. It’s not always like that, but it can sometimes become that and then it takes some of the fun out of it. It’s not all the time, but it does happen. It’s similar to Cash where he loves this thing but now there’s all this pressure to save the ranch and to live up to his brother and dad’s legacy. That’s not really what it should be about. It distorts his love for it, which is what I think you’re picking up on. But at heart, he loves the connection with the animal and getting in the ring.

PC: Great answer. The sense of family among the cast radiates off the screen. Do you have a favorite behind-the-scenes moment from Season 1?
Beau: I don’t know why this just popped into my head, but I would sometimes go on these long runs at lunch. Sara [Garcia] and I would go on these long runs. You’re out in these rolling hills. It’s very idyllic and beautiful with the mountains. But then you’re running and you’re like, “This is grizzly bear territory.” No one knows where I am. [laughs] But there are so many great behind-the-scenes moments from spending time on that ranch. It’s healing and wonderful. You’re so present there. It’s so nice being there.

PC: I know that you can’t say too much. But what’s ahead for Cash in the back half of Season 1?
Beau: Everything with the bull riding and the ranch comes to a head. There’s this crescendo. He’s tested. There’s also some family dynamic stuff that’s revealed and that he has to contend with. There are some duplicitous actions going on with some other people. There might be a run-in with the law. It all starts to heat up and it gets very exciting.

PC: If we’re lucky enough to get a second season, where would you like to see Cash’s storyline head?
Beau: Oh gosh. I have no idea. I have no clue. I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’d love to see them do more stuff on the ranch and see how their relationship with the earth translates into their real lives. Also, more bull riding. I’d love to see how far he can take it. Is this what he’s destined to do? Does he have what it takes? All of that is very compelling. With athletes, they have to continue to prove themselves. You’re only as good as your last ride. If you do well one year, can you do it again the next year? That’s how you differentiate the great ones from the good ones. Does Cash want to be great? Does Cash want to be the J.B. Mauney of this world?

PC: Beautifully said. This series is built on the relationships between all the characters. Is there another character that you’d like to see him interact more with in Season 2?
Beau: I like the relationship between the brothers. There are some pretty great things coming up. But I like that relationship. We have the younger brother and the middle brother. How was this relationship when they lost Austin? Tuff was super young when their father died. Was Cash a pseudo-father figure to him? It’s super interesting to see how that dynamic was and how it is now. He’s now the bullfighter for Cash, and Cash is the bull rider. That whole dynamic is really cool. Maybe we’ll see them on the circuit together because the thing with that is they’re constantly traveling. That would be cool. But I’ll leave it to the writers.

PC: During your time on Awkward., you got to direct an episode. Is that something you’d like to do again if we get a second season? How does your experience behind the camera impact the way that you approach your work on screen?
Beau: I would definitely love the opportunity. It definitely changes your outlook as an actor because you see how the sausage is made. Some actors think that they’re the center of everything. It’s all about the acting. They are important, but there are so many other moving pieces. It really takes a village. It really does. Directors really get a good understanding of that and how it takes everyone working together and collaborating to pull off a vision. It humbles you a bit.

To keep up with Beau, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch new episodes of Ride every Sunday at 9/8c on the Hallmark Channel.

Photo Credit: ©2023 Hallmark Media/Photographer: David Brown