There were many recognizable actors in the main cast. From a beloved teen star to a Grey’s Anatomy hunk, fan favorites abounded in Sweet Magnolias. Even though fans are plenty familiar with them, there may still be some things they didn’t know about the actors.
JoAnna Garcia Swisher
Fans know and love Joanna Garcia Swisher (Maddie Townsend) from Reba, but they don’t know everything about her. She’s appeared in a slew of popular TV shows over the years—including Party of Five, Once Upon a Timeand Are You Afraid of the Dark?
It’s the latter program that brought her to TV in the first place. Fun fact: she was actually discovered by Nickelodeon while she was a high school student. At that point, she commuted from her home in Tampa to Quebec in order to film the scary show.
Brooke Elliott
She didn’t just wow viewers as a singer on Drop Dead Diva; she’s a real-life singing sensation. Elliott has performed on Broadway and in national tours of major productions, including Beauty and the Beast. Talk about star power.
Heather Headley
Viewers love Headley as Helen Decatur on Sweet Magnolias, and they’ll love her in real life, too, after hearing this bit of trivia. She’s an incredibly talented singer-actress and Grammy Award winner.
In 2009, she won a Grammy for Best R&B Gospel Album. And just like co-star Brooke Elliott, she was a Broadway star too. She first captivated audiences playing Nala in The Lion King. Headley also took home a Tony for her performance as the star of Aida.
Logan Allen
The young actor plays Kyle Townsend, Maddie’s teen son, on Sweet Magnolias. Just like his TV mom, he’s originally from Florida. While he doesn’t have many big-screen credits to his name, viewers may recognize him—but might not be able to put a finger on it.
Anneliese Judge
Playing Annie Sullivan marks the actress’ on-screen debut, so there’s plenty that fans don’t know about her yet. But they’ll get the chance: Sweet Magnolias is her first role to stream, but she has a short called Theo in the works.
According to her Instagram, Judge is a trained actress. During the summer of 2018, she spent the warmer months training with Lee Spencer’s On-Camera Scene Study. She’s clearly been putting the work into her craft and now it’s paying off.
Carson Rowland
Rowland plays Tyler Townsend, another son of Joanna Swisher’s character. Like Joanna, he got famous from starring in a Nickelodeon show. His program was called I Am Frankie. But there’s a lot more than meets the eye with this actor.
Justin Bruenig
Fans are most likely familiar with Bruenig (Cal Maddox) as Matt from Grey’s Anatomy. He also made it big on iconic soaps like All My Children. Now, viewers are getting reacquainted with him.
Fans may not have known or remembered, but Bruenig was tapped to become the next Knight Rider. Following in the steps of the great David Hasselhoff, Justin starred as the titular character back in 2008.
Chris Klein
Most everyone will recognize Chris Klein from the rowdy American Pie series. He’s now returning to screens as Bill Townsend on Sweet Magnolias. Even though he’s been in the public eye since the 1990s, fans still have more to learn.
Jamie Lynn Spears
Audiences were thrilled to see Jamie Lynn Speakers returning to TV on Sweet Magnolias. She’s been spending time away from the cameras (12 years, in fact!) raising her family. After living in the limelight for most of her life, there’s not much that fans don’t already know about her.
One fact fans may not know is that Spears fought off an attacker. This is a completely true story: when a friend of hers got assaulted in Louisiana, Spears stepped in and warded off the assailant with a knife. She never played a superhero, but she certainly has the chops.
Dion Johnstone
Johnstone, who plays Erik Whitley on the show, accounts for the fourth Nickelodeon star in the cast. But that’s not the only fun fact about him. He’s a talented artist.
He sells his sketches online, where fans can not only purchase his drawings but also peruse his acting and theater credits. Johnstone is a true Renaissance man.
