Hallmark Star Brooks Darnell Promises He's Nothing Like His Scrooge-y Character In 'A Christmas Miracle'

From Woman's Day

Fans of Hallmark Christmas movies wait all year long to get their fix of feel-good, festive films, and the star of the upcoming movie A Christmas Miracle says that audiences are in for an extra special treat this year.

Brooks Darnell stars in A Christmas Miracle, a film that centers around single mother Emma Sanderson (played by Sister, Sister star Tamera Mowry) who moves to a new city to start a job at a lifestyle magazine. There, she meets Darnell's character Marucs, the magazine's photographer who is a bit of a Scrooge, to say the least.

"He’s jaded at his job and she’s so bubbly," Darnell said. "I’m more or less like 'Slow down. You’re new on the job. It’s not as Christmas-y as you think. Relax.'"

At her new job, Emma sets out on a mission to write a killer story about a Christmas miracle and ends up coming up with a pretty great idea — until her boss devastatingly steals the story out from under her. But things start to turn around when she teams up with Marcus, and the two start to develop an unlikely relationship.

When it comes to playing a Scrooge, the extremely personable and Christmas-loving Darnell said that aspect put his acting chops more to the test.

"I’m the total opposite," he said. "I’m like putting the Christmas tree up with the Christmas hat, putting it on the dog, eating popcorn. I have Home Alone playing in the background on the TV. I have all my soundtracks that I’m listening to on Spotify. I’m the guy that goes to the Thanksgiving Day sale, the day after Christmas sale, camping out, and I pretty much buy out the whole store, so I’m all for the whole Christmas theme."

Lucky for Darnell, Hallmark did an amazing job of making sure the set of A Christmas Miracle always felt like Christmas, despite the fact they were shooting in the dead of summer. There was plenty of hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts, and even real snow. And apart from the fact that he got to be surrounded by all things Christmas every day, Darnell said one of the best parts of working on the film was getting to work with Mowry, and experience her constant positivity and unbeatable leadership.

"It was just over and beyond," the Ohio-native said. "It doesn't matter how you were feeling that day, what happened before you got to set, as soon as you laid eyes on her and you started talking to her, she just radiates this positive energy and it was just so refreshing to go to work. She was a class act, she really helped me bring my game up."

A Christmas Miracle is Darnell's second movie venture with Hallmark, after landing a role in the 2016 film All Yours. He said what keeps him coming back is the same thing that has made Hallmark Christmas movies such a hit: the warm feeling each movie leaves you with.

"It’s the positivity, it’s the family," Darnell said. "They do a great job with casting and they cast people with chemistry. Family first is what Hallmark is about and I think deep down inside, that’s what we all are about."

You can catch Brooks Darnell and Tamera Mowry in A Christmas Miracle on Nov. 14 at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark channel.

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