Hallmark Star Kristoffer Polaha Reveals the Story Behind His Name

I learned a few things about Kris Kristofferson recently: He was a military brat who later served in the Army himself, he was playing rugby in college long before most Americans had heard of the sport, and Kristofferson was a Rhodes Scholar! The full spelling of his first name—Kristoffer—connects him to an actor with the same unique spelling—Kristoffer Polaha.

Polaha, a staple on Hallmark revealed in an Instagram post that his mom gave him the unique spelling instead of the traditional "Christopher" because of Kristofferson.

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"My sweet mom spelled my name with a K and two f’s because of this man," he said on Instagram. "I’ve known of him my whole life and loved his music and movies. Because of this connection I was told story after story, throughout my life, from people who knew Kristofferson, of how Kris moved through the world in a very special way. He’s a legend and a class act."

Related: Kris Kristofferson, Grammy Award-Winning Singer-Songwriter and Actor, Dies at 88

But did Polaha ever get the chance to meet the man whose moniker they shared? "The closest I ever got to meeting Kris Kristofferson was during an elevator ride at the Toronto Film Festival back in 2003. I had just met Robert Duvall, who Kris was in town to support, and I wanted to whip out my driver’s license and say “See that spelling? That's because of you!”, but I didn’t want to embarrass the girl I was with, I was trying to play it cool. So I didn’t meet him. Silly me," Polaha goes on to write in his post.

What happened with the girl? Polaha finishes up his story with, "The cool part is, I later married that girl and SHE did a few years later and told him that story and it afforded them a moment of bonding and me the promise of a warm “hello” if Kris and I were to ever cross paths again."

Unfortunately, Polaha never had another opportunity to meet Kristofferson again, but added, "I'm honored to carry on the spelling."

Polaha previously starred in Backstrom opposite Rainn Wilson , Miss Guided, and starred as the title character in Valentine . He most recently starred in A Biltmore Christmas with Bethany Joy Lenz and will star in the upcoming Countdown to Christmas movie, The Christmas Quest, opposite Lacey Chabert .

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