Crown Media/TikTok Danica McKellar revealed why she needed a stunt double.
Danica McKellar recently revealed that she had to use a stunt double in her 2020 Hallmark movie, Christmas She Wrote. It might sound unusual for a Hallmark movie to require a stunt double. Here’s why she needed one.
She Needed Help with Her Ice Skating Scene
In an interview with Access Hollywood, McKellar revealed the secret behind Christmas She Wrote: she needed a stunt double.
“The stunt double is for ice skating,” she explained. “So it wasn’t really a stunt double, it’s an ice skating double because I’m terrible on the ice. I mean, I can dance, I was in Dancing with the Stars. Put me on ice and … I’m like Bambi. … When I first accepted the job, I said, ‘You guys I love this, but just so you know, I can’t skate.’ … In the movie, I’m supposed to be this great skater and I’m challenging Tripp like, ‘Oh, if you can catch me,’ you know… And I’m like, ‘That’s not going to be me skating. There’s no way.’ And the director on set was like, ‘Oh come on, it couldn’t be that bad.’ And I stand up and … he’s like, ‘Yeah, you’re not gonna skate.'”
TikTok
Christmas She Wrote was filmed in Canada. It takes place in Pineberry, California, but it was filmed in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada in October.
The Crew Had to Build a Special Rig for Closeup Shots
She said she made a TikTok about what happened, and her video ended up going viral and getting millions of views.
In the video, she showed that when they needed to show her face, they actually carted her around on a wooden board so she didn’t have to skate at all. Here’s a screenshot from that iconic moment in her TikTok video.
TikTok
One fan joked, “I love how the solution was to build a rig instead of just teaching her how to ice skate.”
When asked if she’s done any of the dance challenges on TikTok, she said that she and her son had done an arm dance challenge, but it took them almost two months to learn it.
Fans loved her TikTok video about skating. She commented to one fan on the video: “Yes, we employed another person, and I didn’t break my neck (for one scene in a movie)!”
One fan said, “I’m amazing at the cameraman on skates skating BACKWARDS while filming.”
McKellar replied, “Right?? I mean, they’re all Canadians so I think they learn to skate before they can walk, but still!”
On TikTok, she also shared that they had to create artificial snow for Christmas She Wrote.
In the same interview with Access Hollywood, McKellar was asked if she ever considered auditioning to be the Jeopardy host.
“I’d have to stop doing my Christmas movies and Hallmark movies,” she said. “…That’s an every day job. But Tom Bergeron and I actually had lunch a couple weeks ago and I was telling him that he should be the new host. He was telling me that I should be the new host.”
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