Erin & Ben Napier Almost Said No to Acting in HGTV Christmas Movie, Until Ree Drummond Stepped In
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Erin and Ben Napier are making their acting debut in an HGTV Christmas movie — but they very nearly passed on the offer.
When the network approached the Home Town stars about appearing in one its first-ever scripted holiday movies, A Christmas Open House (streaming now on discovery+ and airing on HGTV Dec. 7), the couple's first thought was no way. "We didn't feel that comfortable doing it," Ben explains to PEOPLE in this week's cover story. "We're not actors in the traditional sense. We don't get into character. In our normal job, we're just us reacting to what happens, but it's in front of a camera."
"We shoot things fast and loose when we're making Home Town. It's just what happens happens, and we try to get it from the best angle," adds Erin.
But an encouraging word from a famous friend changed their minds.
Larsen and Talbert
The Pioneer Woman star Ree Drummond, who appeared in a holiday movie on the Food Network last year gave them some advice. "She said it was the most fun she's ever had and to definitely, definitely do it. And I trust her. So we did!" says Erin.
The couple read the script on the road between renovation check-ins around their town of Laurel, Mississippi, and ran lines at home at night. And when the time came, the production moved to Laurel for a week so the Napiers could film their parts while continuing the rest of their work.
Erin and Ben portray an uncannily familiar couple: Sarah and Henry, a small-town artist and craftsman who play a key role in the romance of the movie's leads, Melissa (Katie Stevens), a big city realtor who returns to her hometown to sell her mother's house with some enthusiastic help from her childhood crush, David (Victor Rasuk).
They had instant chemistry with their new costars. "We got to spend about an hour with them before we started, and my character and Victor's are supposed to be best friends," says Ben. Luckily, he was already a fan. "Victor was in a show called How to Make It In America and I loved that show. That was the click. And then we were pals."
Larsen and Talbert
The easy report came in handy when the film crew asked Victor to make his on-screen singing debut for an impromptu "open mic night" scene in a bar. Thankfully Erin knows her way around a stage, having performed in a band in high school and even occasionally on Home Town, and grabbed her guitar to perform a Christmas carol with her husband and their co-star.
RELATED: 'Home Town Takeover' Season 2 Is Heading to Fort Morgan, Colorado — with Two New HGTV Hosts
Larsen and Talbert
RELATED: See Inside Erin and Ben Napier's New Country House: 'I Was in Love Immediately'
Still the newly minted thespians are awaiting their reviews. "I'm still a little nervous. I hope people like it," says Erin.
A Christmas Open House is now streaming on discovery+ and will air on HGTV Dec. 7; The Napier's holiday special, Home Town: Christmas in Laurel, airs Nov. 27; Home Town returns to HGTV Dec. 4; and season two of Home Town Takeover will arrive in early 2023.
