William deVry is diving head-first into A Whitewater Romance on the Hallmark Channel — premiering on Saturday, May 11 — but don’t expect any ordinary rom-com, as there’s not a bookstore or bakery in sight! The General Hospital alum was thrilled to sign on for a role that took him into the wilderness in the most “beautiful part of Canada” where the cast was able to “step away from [their] phones, disconnect, and enjoy nature.”

His character, Jim, is the leader of an outdoor wilderness retreat, who hosts a group of ambitious business leaders competing for a high-powered position in a tech company. Maya (Cindy Busby) and Matt (Benjamin Hollingsworth) are fierce rivals, and you know what’s coming next… possibly something more. And as the movie’s tagline goes, “Let your heart be your compass.” That means you shouldn’t count deVry’s character out because while he’s busy dispensing worldly wisdom, he just might find a love connection of his own. Jim isn’t just a man of the woods! 

DeVry’s passion for A Whitewater Romance was more than evident when he shared why viewers are going to love his latest movie. “We expect so much by way of instant gratification these days. It was nice for me to just sit and listen to nature and enjoy nature’s music. My takeaway is that I hope the audience has the same experience,” he told Soaps.com. “I think Cindy and Ben did a great job of portraying a lot of subtleties within the characters that give it another level. And I think the location is just breathtaking.” He’s not kidding — the shots of the majestic mountains with the river running through it will have you booking your next Canadian vacation.

DeVry also got to show off his outdoorsman prowess in a few scenes and promised us that the whitewater rafting scenes were “pretty smooth sailing.” Translation: that means there were “no broken bones or sprained ankles” on the rough rapids. And yes, there’s even a lesson to be learned for city slicker Maya, who isn’t necessarily a fan of the rustic terrain. Jim offers her sage wilderness advice that we could all take to heart in our real lives: “If you go this way, it’ll be a lot of the same. If you go that way, your whole life could change.”

He’s excited that A Whitewater Romance is another one of the “positive-themed pictures [that] Hallmark produces” for viewers to add to their must-see list, and deVry adores how “very dedicated” the audience continues to be with the content they put out. That’s why he hopes fans will love Jim just as much as he did. “I mean it’s no joke. No fake stuff on this picture,” deVry summed up. “I really believe people will love it.”