Q&A: 'Mystery Island' star Elizabeth Henstridge on bringing fun, adventure back for part II

Behind the Screens with Joshua Maloni

GM/Managing Editor

@joshuamaloni

The Hallmark Universe is a bit like Tony Stark.

By day, its Hallmark Channel film characters fly around the world, filming in fantastic locations; they succeed in business and find romance, often while being heroic and, at their best, aspirational – much like the billionaire tech genius.

But by night, its Hallmark Mystery movies are suspenseful, oftentimes taking place around a crime scene or murder investigation, and typically ending with one or more villains in handcuffs and headed to jail – something not uncommon to Stark’s Iron Man alter ego.

Two years ago, Hallmark debuted a project that sought to merge these two halves. Its “Mystery Island” would feature beautiful scenery, attractive stars, and a “will-they-or-won’t-they” vibe – but set against the backdrop of a gripping suspense novel.

Mystery Island (the place) is like an escape room – but instead of its players working out the puzzle within an enclosed unit, the game takes place on a luxurious landmass. Gourmet meals and choice wines replace beer and chips, with couture collections swapped in for ripped jeans and ballcaps. It’s a picture-perfect presentation … until someone gets murdered.

For real.

Such was the premise for Hallmark Mystery’s first trip to this whodunnit-themed resort.

With the film finding favor with fans in 2023, the network opted to make a sequel – “Mystery Island: Winner Takes All” – wherein another group of pseudo-sleuths will look to crack the case, claim the prize, and, hopefully, escape alive.

In need of a strong lead to carry the stories through to conclusion, Hallmark turned to actor Elizabeth Henstridge – someone who knows a thing or two about mixing amorousness with adventure.

Henstridge is no stranger to universes, either, having become a part of the Marvel (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) and DC (“Superman & Lois”) comic galaxies.

She’s also familiar with Hallmark, starring in the holiday-themed “Christmas at the Plaza.”

Henstridge plays Dr. Emilia Priestly, a criminal psychologist who, upon solving the riddle in the original go-around, remains on at Mystery Island as a part-time plot maker. Also recurring are Emilia’s associates: Det. Jason Grant (Charlie Weber), her partner in crime-fighting; and Baroness Jane Alcott (Kezia Burrows), a university chum and Mystery Island investor.

“I think what people loved for the first one – that we've taken and amped up – is there's an escapism to it,” Henstridge said in a phone interview. “It's glamorous. It's a beautiful, tropical location. It's fun, but … it's also suspenseful, and it's quite twisty-turny.

“I recently had all my family over to America, and I streamed them the first movie. I hadn't seen other people see it live. And so, they were gasping and, like, covering their faces with cushions – and it's that similar vibe for this one. It's a bit jumpy, but all good fun.

“It's some escapism into a glamorous world that is just beautiful. … It's glamorous, suspenseful and playful.”

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Henstridge explained more, and offered a preview for part II, in this edited Q&A.

BTS: I enjoyed the first “Mystery Island.” I don't recall, at the time, if it was pegged as a project that would have multiple parts or sequels to it. Was that originally the plan, or was this a welcome and nice surprise?

Elizabeth Henstridge: Oh, super nice surprise. I don't know that it was the plan. I think everybody was pleased how the first “Mystery Island” was received. And I think, you do some projects and you go, “Oh, there's something really fun here. There's some magic here.”

If people didn't want to do it again – regardless of the numbers – I don't think that we would have made a sequel. But everybody just got on so well; and it's just fun. It's really great for me to do a project that is just lovely. It's lighthearted, it's family-friendly, and I think it was more just everything clicked and worked.

BTS: You mentioned funny and lighthearted and family-friendly, and it is all of those things. Of course, I think Hallmark also does mysteries very well. They're always suspenseful; they're always fun to watch.

Tell me about your character. What appealed to you – and not just in playing her once, but now playing her a second time?

Elizabeth Henstridge: I think she is in search of something and, as life often does, it kind of puts you in a position where you maybe didn't realize you were lost. And I think Emelia finds herself – certainly in this second movie – with a bit more of a purpose in her life. I think the first movie we saw her just kind of unexpectedly put in a situation and not really knowing that she needed a bit of an escape in her life. Whereas this movie, we see her a bit more purposefully going, “I want to change. I want a bit of excitement. This is good for me.”

I like how she's quite type A, and then tries to push herself to loosen up a little bit and do something maybe a bit out of the norm for her.

And so, then in the second movie, we see her growth of going, “OK, I'm going to put myself out there. I'm going to try something a bit different.” And then, obviously, things happen that she did not expect (laughs), but then push her to a very different place.

In terms of the appeal for me, she's driven, intelligent, but also doesn't have everything together, and it's a bit messy. You know, she's a bit unsure of herself, but she's trying to improve and not be so stubborn, and stay open to things, which is what I also strive for in life (laughs).

BTS: I like that there's character development. I like the callbacks to the first film. But this one is definitely capable of standing alone.

In the first one, there certainly were elements that would suggest a follow-up – or perhaps more than one follow-up. With this second one, there are more of those elements – and one is a huge staple with Hallmark. … What are the odds for a third “Mystery Island”?

Elizabeth Henstridge: I think the odds are not zero. We had such a great time filming that there's definitely positivity around it.

So, yeah, I'd say not zero (laughs).

BTS: I love it. The odds are not zero. That is the perfect answer. I'll take it and run with it!

Elizabeth Henstridge: Thank you!

Mystery Island hosts contest winners vying to solve a fake murder for a grand prize – but the event goes awry when an employee is murdered, and secrets are uncovered. Elizabeth Henstridge, Charlie Weber and Henry Twohy star in “Mystery Island: Winner Takes All.” (Photo ©2025 Hallmark Media/photographer: Alberto Rodriguez)

Kezia Burrows and Elizabeth Henstridge return to “Mystery Island.” (Photo ©2025 Hallmark Media/photographer: Alberto Rodriguez)

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BTS: I don't believe you have been in a sequel before but, certainly, with the “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” you had a recurring character. As an actor, the challenge of playing a character twice in two different movies versus the challenge of coming back in a TV series – is it the same? Is it different? How would you describe the prep and the challenge – and the appeal – of coming back in a movie versus coming back on a television show?

Elizabeth Henstridge: I think, if it was a good experience, it's really fun – and that certainly was the case here.

You spend a lot of time preparing a character, getting to know them, and then for it to sort of be done is – there's a sadness when you kind of go, “That's it then.” And maybe that's it forever.

You've done most of the work already. You kind of are stepping into well-worn shoes around other people that are comfortable in those characters, as well. All the groundwork of getting to know, say, like Charlie and Kezia, and getting to know the other leads, and understand how people work; a lot of that's all done. Then you just kind of hit the ground running, and then you have the added dynamic of new actors coming in with new characters.

It definitely feels kind of more play than work a lot of the time, because you've already done a bunch of the work already.

I think the challenges come from remembering. TV, it's just constant week after week after week. Whereas, it was a while between the filming of the first and the second. So, you're thinking, “How did I do this? What exactly was my accent?” You know, all those things. I guess that's a challenge. But after a day, or the morning, you go, “Oh, OK, yeah, I remember this.” The body does remember.

And obviously the script is similar. You have a lot of help, kind of reestablishing your character with all the different departments. And then what was lovely about the film, too, which made it just seamless, was that most of the crew was the same. We shot in Panama, and all the local crew was pretty much the same.

Sadly, my Spanish was no better – although I did start learning Spanish when we were there. So, by the end of it, I kind of had a few words down and had some help of learning local colloquialisms of Panama, which was fun.

But costume was the same; hair was the same; obviously, writers were the same; a lot of production directing was the same. I think that's also a testament to how well the first movie did, not just in, you know, obviously it's all about the final product, but also our experience of making it was great – and I think that's shown.

"Mystery Island: Winner Takes All" premieres at 8 p.m. Thursday on Hallmark Mystery, and will stream the next day on Hallmark+.