Andie MacDowell Admits She Had 'Strong Feelings' AboutThe Way HomeIntroducing Young Del: 'It Scared Me' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

(L) Andie MacDowell and Julia Tomasone in ‘The Way Home’.Photo:Hallmark Media/Peter Stranks (2)

Hallmark Media/Peter Stranks (2)

Andie MacDowellisn’t letting go of her reins — especially when it comes to protecting her beloved character.

During The People Interview: Hallmark’sThe Way Homeevent on Jan. 22, the actress, 66, who plays Del Landry on the hit series, opened up about the unexpected challenges of seeing a younger version of her character being developed for the third season.

(L) Jordan Doww and Julia Tomasone in ‘The Way Home’.Hallmark Media/Michael Tompkins

Hallmark Media/Michael Tompkins

“I’m like, wait a minute,” she recalled, noting that the writing made young Del seem “spoiled.”

“And she has to say something about the farm,” she continued. “Because to me, that was my character.”

Andie MacDowell in ‘The Way Home’.Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks

Hallmark Media/Photographer: Peter Stranks

Once the changes were made, MacDowell breathed a sigh of relief. “I was terrified of some of that stuff that happened. [The] writers had full control of like my history, but I’m connected to who I feel I am, right?” she explained. “So I did have to say something about that and I did say it’s your choice, but [these are] really strong feelings that I’m having here.”

When it comes to any advice she passed along to Tomasone, she revealed that she encouraged theBackstagealum to “listen to the show” and the choices she made for Del’s accent.

Andie MacDowell at The PEOPLE Interview.Mike Coppola/Getty

Mike Coppola/Getty

“I made a very specific choice for Del, because I had to play two generations and I wanted people to believe it,” she said. “I made the present-day Del a little hoarser, a little tougher, a little coarser. She lost her husband. She lost her son. And then I tried to lighten my voice when I would go back to the ’90s.”

“So I just wanted [Tomasone] to look to see what I had done, because I didn’t try to make it overly southern,” MacDowell continued, joking that she asked writers to “make me from The South because I didn’t want to have to work so hard all the time.”

“I’m not like an overly southern character, you know. So that’s why I said, ‘You have to listen to the show to make your choices,” she concluded.

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The Way Homeairs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel. New episodes are available the next day on Hallmark+ and Peacock.

source: people.com