A swoony moment in People We Meet on Vacation flies by so quickly you might miss it. As heroine Poppy Wright (Emily Bader) enters the welcome party for the wedding in Barcelona — where she seeks reconciliation with estranged will-they, won’t-they BFF Alex Nilsen (Tom Blyth) — Alex clenches his jaw. His involuntary reaction slips by as fast as the seconds it might take for friends to decide to become lovers. Blyth had no idea that this reaction conjured memories of Matthew Macfadyen in Pride & Prejudice — Emily Henry, the author of the 2021 book that inspired the movie, however, “loved it.” 

“That’s something I do naturally,” Blyth tells Tudum. So Henry, who also executive produced People We Meet on Vacation, encouraged the actor to follow his instincts and continue clenching his jaw during takes. “In drama school, they tried to get rid of all our tensions and said it led to bad acting,” he continues. “It’s nice to be vindicated and feel like sometimes you just let your body do its thing — and it works.” 

As Blyth inadvertently channeled Mr. Darcy, Bader felt inspired by her own favorite love stories. She counts romance queens Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts among her heroes. Now — with Poppy’s “rascal” sense of humor, adventurous spirit, and enviable wardrobe — Bader joins the When Harry Met Sally… and Notting Hill stars in the pantheon of rom-com leading ladies. “That’s the dream, right?” she says to Tudum. “I’m such a fan of all those movies.”  

But Blyth and Bader aren’t just paying homage to classic rom-coms in People We Meet on Vacation (now streaming). They’re making brand-new magic of their own. 

Like your favorite page-turner, the actors’ road to Alex and Poppy was kismet. Blyth initially wasn’t sure if he wanted the fizzy rom-com role, but returned to the script after a few “intense” projects. “I’d said no, because I wasn’t ready. I was doing all this serious stuff. Then they sent it again — and it was time,” he says. So Blyth and People We Meet on Vacation director Brett Haley set out to find their playful Poppy. Only just the right actor could join Blyth in pulling off the decade-long, time-jumping story of romantic tension and true friendship.   

Just like world traveler Poppy, Bader was far away from home when it came time for her audition. “I was in Sweden. I was scrambling to try to make a space in this random house I was in. I was really, really nervous. But Tom was so present and so supportive of me,” Bader says. “I felt like everyone involved wanted me to succeed, so I had a really good time with it, which is how Poppy goes about everything. So maybe that’s why it worked out.” 

While Bader wasn’t sure if she nabbed the part — “Even if I didn’t hear anything, I felt happy to be a part of that chemistry read,” she admits — Blyth and Haley very much were. “Emily just brought it from day one. It was so clear,” Blyth says. “Brett called me afterward and was like, ‘It’s a no-brainer, right?’ And I was like, ‘You’d be crazy not to cast her.’ ” 

Haley still feels that way. “This story lives or dies on the chemistry between Alex and Poppy — and Emily and Tom’s chemistry is electric,” he says. “They capture that opposites-attract dynamic in a way that feels effortless and true.” 

Henry agrees. “Emily and Tom have become the characters. Emily is actually so much like Poppy … She feels like someone you want to be best friends with, and that was who Poppy was always meant to be,” the author says. “For Alex, I knew that this [character] was really funny, really clever, really delightfully weird, and that he just kept most of that to himself. Tom [does] a phenomenal job of toeing that line: You get to see him be the more stoic, upright Alex, and then you get to see Poppy pull him out of his shell.”   

Alex and Poppy’s excursion to New Orleans brings that dynamic to life with neon-colored clarity. While Alex would be happy to sip hurricane cocktails and enjoy beignets for breakfast, Poppy enacts a more whimsical plan. She throws on a wig, puts on an accent inspired by Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny (“I just had to stick with it and run,” says Bader), and crafts a honeymoon yarn that charms the city. Alex and Poppy’s fake marriage crescendos in an impromptu dance sequence set to their song, Paula Abdul’s “Forever Your Girl.” Although Alex is hesitant at first, the performance dazzles onlookers. Between sultry moves inspired by Dirty Dancing and Sam Rockwell in Charlie’s Angels, Alex even breaks out the worm. 

“I can do the worm,” Blyth confirms. “I can only do it the front way, I can’t do the back way. I need to practice that.” The actor learned the skill at 10 years old to impress a girl who, Blyth realized, had a crush on a breakdancing classmate. “It’s always about trying to get the girl,” he says. 

At least Blyth’s confidence on the dance floor encouraged Bader, who’s secretly “terrified” of dancing. “Filming that was just all sticky floors and sore ankles. It was the best time of my life,” she says. “Tom is such a good dancer that I felt like it was OK if I wasn’t that good. Because it’s actually funnier if Alex’s character, who’s this very reserved guy, is great. There was no other situation that could have cured my fear of dancing better.” 

The romantic spark between Poppy and Alex is undeniable in New Orleans. But the duo have several summers ahead of them until they accept they’re so much more than “just friends.” There’s the chicken noodle soup–forward staycation in New York City, the tense double-date jaunt to Tuscany, and the two years of uncomfortable silence that follows. Poppy and Alex only consummate their near-decade of chemistry on a rainy night in Barcelona, following the wedding rehearsal dinner. 

While the scene sizzles from the heat of nine years’ worth of pent-up yearning, filming in constant chilly drizzle was a different story. “So much of filming that day was wrapped in blankets. You would never know it,” Blyth says. “We’d throw our towels. Run out in our cold, wet clothes, and snap into gear. When you’ve got a great scene partner like Emily, you can drop in and out like that.”

Poppy and Alex finally lean in after Barcelona. Poppy returns to her apartment and realizes it’s not exactly home — at least not without Alex. Then she jets to Ohio and does the unthinkable: She runs. Poppy sprints after Alex, desperate to finally profess her love — and, more importantly, commitment — to him. 

“She’s following through for the first time. Poppy is someone who runs away quite a bit from the big feelings and from the fear of being truly seen,” Bader says. “But when she steps off that plane, it’s like now or never.”

As People We Meet on Vacation comes to a close, we realize the compromises didn’t end with Poppy’s cardio-based grand gesture. The next summer, the couple is living together in New York City, which means Alex has left the Midwest behind in favor of the Big Apple (and a job at nearby Sarah Lawrence College). 

“They have a dog, and the place is actually tidy, and the mail is open,” Blyth says. “Compromises are so important. It’s so easy to fall in love with someone, but staying in love with someone is about compromise and work.” 

Feel the love for yourself by (re)watching Bader and Blyth in People We Meet on Vacation. And keep coming back to Tudum for even more from Bader and Blyth — along with new news from the Emily Henry universe.