Rib Hillis – The Wrong Mr. Right

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) Please tell us the premise for The Wrong Mr. Right. 

A) Well, the title really says it all. He is the Wrong Mr. Right … My character appears charming, caring and honest when in fact he turns out to be something very different. I guess it’s the old adage: You can’t judge a book by its cover.

Q) How was your character Paul originally described to you?

A) A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Ha! I have worked with the production team before, so I was familiar with this type of character. I played a similar one in The Wrong Man.

Q) What made you want to be a part of the film?

A) The Wrong series is just fun to work on. The whole team, production, crew, actors are great to be around and work with. As an actor, it is a real treat to be on set, doing what you love and having fun doing it. The whole lifetime genre is also fun to do, you really get to create and play these fun polarizing characters. It’s just a dream job.

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on the movie?

A) I have previously worked with Vivica Fox on several of The Wrong She is amazing! I had also had the pleasure of working with Eric Roberts on several films already. He played my dad in a fun movie called Cowboys vs Dinosaurs few years back. I was familiar with Krista Allen but hadn’t had pleasure of working with her yet. I hope to be able to work with her again. I had heard great things about Anna Marie Dobbins from the producers and was not disappointed. She is fantastic!

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to shoot?

A) There are so many fun scenes…but to pick two I will go with the basketball scene and the climax where the girls are tied up. The basketball scene was fun because we were just playing around having fun shooting baskets. It was hot that day and we were all sweating and breathing had while the camera crew ran around and grabbed the footage. The scene where the girls are tied up was also a fun one. My character is, how should we put this, not the nicest of people. It is always fun to play the bad guy. I got to walk around menacing the girls essentially giving a monolog for five minutes. It was pretty fun.

Q) With such intense and dramatic moments, how did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) Yeah, sometimes the more dramatic material, which is fun to do, can stay with you for a while. I just try to leave my work on set, at least the emotions of it, and not take it home. I have younger kids at home, so walking into that environment is a good way to get reconnected with family life. Sometimes taking the long way home to clear your head is helpful, too. I remember one night on way home from set pulling over to look up at the stars. There was a comet passing by earth at the time. Gazing up at all those stars puts things back into perspective.

Q) What advice did director David DeCoteau offer that you took to heart while shooting?

A) I have worked with David several times before and feel really comfortable working with him. We had done The Wrong Man a couple of years ago, so we were both familiar with this type of character. He was great and just encouraged me to have fun with it. It is always great to work with a director who you are on the same page with.

Q) What do you think it is about The Wrong Mr. Rightthat will make it a fast LMN favorite?

A) The Wrong Mr. Right is just one of those guilty pleasure movies. The audience and Jessica can see so clearly what kind of a guy Paul is while Tracy can’t. It’s just fun to follow along as more and gets revealed. I mean, we all have wondered at some point in our lives, is someone really who they seem to be. I think the audience will be able to relate in their own way, just hopefully not as dramatically as in The Wrong Mr. Right. [laughs]

Q) You are a part of social media. What kind of fan response did you receive to the movie?

A) It has been a very positive response to the film on social media. People seem to love these types of movies – this one is no exception. The Lifetime genre/formula is fun. And with The Wrong series is always fun to see how Vivica is gonna deliver her take line in each version, this one being “Looks like you picked The Wrong Mr. Right!” [laughs]

Q) What are some upcoming projects we will be seeing you in soon?

I just wrapped on a Christmas movie due out next holiday season called Christmas Wish. I am starting a slasher film where I get to play a really fun character, called Psycho Storm Chaser and our action film HUNTED should be coming out next Fall. 2020 was crazy year for so many reasons, but it ended on a positive note and that momentum has been able to carry on into 2021.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

A) I’d like to say thank you to everyone who takes the time to watch the films and projects I do. Our business, the entertainment business, exists because of all the people out there who watch what we create. I can’t imagine a better job than making movies and TV shows. It’s a dream come true. I love hearing from fans and supporters and appreciate each and every one of you. Thank you.