Julie Benz may have a new gig on ABC appearing in a guest role on Desperate Housewives but that’s not all she’s got going on professionally … Julie will be starring in a new TV movie for the Hallmark Channel called Uncorked which tells the tale of an overworked, overstressed woman who finds rest, relaxation and an appreciation for a simpler way of life in the wine country. Here are a couple promo pics from Uncorked and a bit more info about the movie:

Julie Benz likes to work. A lot. This is a good thing indeed considering that Benz has been working pretty much nonstop since landing her first acting job some 20 years ago in a forgettable horror flick called “Two Evil Eyes” opposite a fellow named Harvey Keitel. “I don’t like to be unemployed,” Benz admits. “I love being on a set more than just about anyplace else, certainly more than sitting on my couch at home. I take every opportunity that comes along, and I’ve been very lucky, because the opportunities haven’t stopped.” So you have to believe that Benz may have related a bit to the character she portrays in the new Hallmark Channel in HD Original Movie, “Uncorked,” which premieres on the channel Saturday, March 6 (9p.m. ET/PT, 8C). She’s Johnetta “Johnny” Prentice, a workaholic CFO for a major corporation whose life is turned upside-down when she’s sent to a conference in California wine country to seal a deal, but winds up falling in love along the way in a flick that costars JoBeth Williams, Elliott Gould and Scott Elrod of “Men in Trees” fame. “Johnny is a woman who relies on work to get things in her life done,” Benz stresses. “I understand that sort of mindset really well, though I think Johnny’s a lot more cut off emotionally than I am. I like to think I’ve got a lot of different sides to me that I can bring out in my performing.” And how. Consider that at the same time Benz is starring in the Hallmark Channel pic, she’s been featured in a recurring role on “Desperate Housewives” as Debbie, “a stripper with a brain,” as she describes it, a lady who shucks stereotypes along with her clothes after arriving on Wisteria Lane. For the 37-year-old Benz, acting simply doesn’t get any better – or more wide-ranging – than this. “It’s pretty great, isn’t it?” she exults. “But I mean, that’s Hollywood for ya. It’s wonderful to be able to depict a stripper and center a Hallmark Channel movie at the same time. It’s just all about finding ways to grow as a performer, to raise myself to the art, to challenge myself and make it interesting. The only thing I really know how to do is work – so here I am” … Fortunately, there was plenty of work waiting for Benz … She’s having a “wonderful” time on “Housewives” working closely with star Teri Hatcher. She has also been shooting an indie feature drama called “Answers to Nothing,” alongside Dane Cook. But it was “Uncorked” (her second Hallmark Channel Original, the first being 2004’s “The Long Shot”) that Benz found the most refreshing departure of her recent acting life. In a career dominated by action fare like “Dexter” and 2008’s “Rambo,” she welcomed centering a project that was “so simple and romantic.” She adds, “The film shoot was so much fun. Part of the time was in Solvang (California) at a winery in this little tiny town. The whole cast and crew took over this one little motel. It was like being back in college…but with a little more responsibility. And our director, David Cass Sr., was just wonderful, a guy with an amazing work ethic who got us done every day at a decent hour.”

Aww … to be honest, this is SO not my kind of movie but I love Julie Benz so much, I might have to check it out. It sounds like a fun environment to make a movie and these days, work is work. I know that there are a lot of Julie Benz fans out there so I figured y’all might like to know about this movie so you might mebbe check it out when it premieres on the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, March 6 (9PM ET/PT, 8C).

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