This Sunday, Fear the Walking Dead star Karen David stars with Tyler Hilton in a CBS authentic vacation movie When Christmas Was Young. Sheryl Crow wrote the title music, and Karen sang it within the film.
Luke Dawson’s (Tyler Hilton) profession is at risk, and he can solely save his job if he can safe the rights to a homey Christmas ballad Melody sang years in the past.
The downside is that Melody is a single mother who left her musical goals behind. Soon, Melody reveals Luke the true which means of Christmas, and he helps her open up her coronary heart.
We chatted with Karen concerning the film, collaborating with Sheryl and her favourite vacation traditions.
Hi, Karen. I’ve been an enormous fan of yours from a few of your different stuff. You have a formidable appearing resume in tv and movie, however that is your first vacation movie. What appealed to you about enjoying Melody Douglass?
You know, you are proper about that. I’m a sucker for a very good vacation movie. I’ve my go-to’s with the household and my mates that we watch yearly from the classics I used to look at as slightly woman with my dad. Christmas is certainly one of my favourite occasions of the yr as a result of I could be totally current and spend time with my mates and household, whom I like.
That’s why I like Christmas a lot, so doing a vacation movie all the time appealed to me, however I really feel so fortunate {that a} film like When Christmas is Young touched on so many issues that I may relate to personally, particularly with the music aspect of it.
I like that music is that this film’s star and the heartbeat of this movie. It made me nostalgic and went again to my singer-songwriter days, and I do know it was very comparable for Tyler. We may relate a lot collectively and with one another, our journeys, and our relationship with music.
So, to have that and this candy storyline and then to have Sheryl Crow write the title observe and having the chance to sing her music and authentic music and a Christmas music at that was a dream come true. It was a win-win. It was a really quick sure after I learn the script and heard Sheryl’s music.
Yes, I noticed that you just sang the title music. Did you get to work along with her in any respect on it?
Sheryl and I went again and forth, and she despatched the demos. Another surreal factor was that I used to be in London on the time heading house, and I keep in mind being on the practice, carrying a masks. All you could possibly see have been my eyes coming out as a result of I used to be so excited when she despatched the demo.
She was doing the information vocals, and she sounded so lovely on it, and there she was singing away, enjoying on the piano, and listening to the uncooked vocals, and her imaginative and prescient from the start was magical too. So, I used to be nervous. I used to be so scared as a result of I needed to make sure that I did the music justice for her and that she was pleased with it.
It was nerve-wracking, however she is such an unbelievable human being, and she’s so inspiring. Her complete journey is extremely inspiring and to have this chance to work along with her and document an authentic music by her was a dream come true.
And what was it like working with Tyler Hilton, and how did you guys play off one another so properly?
Tyler is a kind of human beings. First of all, he is so type, beautiful, and open. You all the time hope for a scene associate that can come to play and present up every single day and play with you and be there to cheer one another on and deliver out the perfect in one another.
Tyler is that form of scene associate, and I could not have hoped for a extra magical scene associate than Tyler. We may bond a lot on many issues as a result of we each have music backgrounds and are actors.
We swapped many tales concerning the good battle and all of the rejections that make up a part of that journey, and all of the loopy tales that we might have from touring or being on the highway.
We may relate to one another on many ranges, however we additionally shared a love of music and the reward of making music and performing. So, we had a lot in frequent after we met. He’s beautiful and enjoyable to work with and insanely charismatic and proficient, and he made my job simpler to be current and benefit from the scenes we filmed collectively.
I’m grateful for that as a result of it does not all the time occur that approach. This really aligned with us, and we frolicked so much. We hung out attending to know one another and making an attempt to be accountable for each other and current for one another as a result of it was important for us to inform this story and be very grounded, real, and pure with our characters.
I keep in mind the primary time we rehearsed, and I advised Tyler how I ready. Because of my music background, compiling a music checklist is one factor I’ve all the time carried out with each character I’ve performed in preparation. I choose songs that remind me of my character or what’s occurring in a specific scene.
After I created this playlist, Tyler liked the thought a lot that he did one too. Then what was beautiful, which I’ve by no means carried out earlier than, is that we shared one another’s playlists. That gave us an perception into the place we have been with our characters. I ended up taking a bunch of his songs and including them to my playlist and vice versa.
It painted the scene the place we have been emotionally so far as getting ready for these scenes. That was particular. I like that the music unifies everybody and brings everybody collectively; it definitely did for all of us. And for the bond that Tyler and I had, it was all via this shared love of music.
On that word, what are a few of your favourite Christmas songs to sing?
Where do I begin? I like the outdated nostalgic classics like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas to Chestnuts Roasting. One of the favorites that I might all the time sing was My Grown-Up Christmas List. Those are my high three, however now, I’ve my Sheryl Crow music, When Christmas Was Young.
I like that I’ve these candy reminiscences and such a unbelievable expertise connected to this music, which makes it so distinctive for me and expensive to my coronary heart.
Absolutely. It was such a superb film.
Oh, thanks. That means a lot to us as a result of, Laura, everybody confirmed up each day, cheering one another on and eager to deliver the perfect out of one another, and we have been laughing and smiling. It was a dream figuring out this was how we obtained to pay the payments. This is not a job. It’s one thing that all of us get pleasure from.
We liked working on this collectively, and that is simply what made it so additional particular. So, if that sense of neighborhood got here throughout and translated onto the display, that makes this so pleased.
It did. I particularly appreciated your relationship with the actress that performed your daughter. She appears to be like a lot such as you.
I do know, the casting was so good, and Grace, who performs Bailey, is so wonderful. She’s such a professional, and she’s so type and so beautiful, and, and simply so adaptable. Whenever Monica, our director, guided us in a scene, Grace would make these modifications. She’s simply such a expertise at such a younger age.
I naturally felt very maternal for her, and I obtained to know her and her mom and her lovely household, and all of us obtained alongside so properly and had a lot enjoyable. We have many behind-the-scenes movies of us laughing, the place she’s serving to Tyler, and I run via some line modifications and the scene once more.
It’s simply pleasant. The dynamic between the three of us was distinctive.
Yes. The three of you have been fairly enjoyable. So, for our final query, what are a few of your favourite household vacation traditions?
The very first thing after I take into consideration Christmas or the vacations is I consider my mother after I was slightly woman, she would take out these lovely garlands, and she would painstakingly wrap these garlands across the stairwell, and that was the very first thing she would do even earlier than placing up the tree.
She put a lot care and love and care and consideration in direction of these garlands, and how she put the fairy lights and wrapped that over and layered it with the bows and the bobbles and made the home really feel so magical and so festive. She would play her favourite Christmas songs, from Dean Martin to the Anders Sisters to Motown.
I’m so grateful to my dad and mom and my sister as a result of that is the place that love of eager to sing began. It was from my household, so that they performed these Christmas songs, and it might be this household ritual the place she had the music enjoying within the background. She would enhance, and then we might put up the tree collectively.
She made that point collectively as a household so magical that now, my husband laughs at me as a result of, as I mentioned, Christmas is certainly one of my favourite occasions. It is so particular to me as a result of it is a chance to meet up with mates and household and be collectively.
So, I do the identical issues my mom does, like selecting out the music for placing up the tree and guaranteeing that we now have mates and household and do it collectively. It’s simply that ritual of placing up the tree collectively and that sense of neighborhood that I like a lot and having good meals and Christmas songs enjoying within the background.
I used to be so unhappy as a result of we do not have stairs and our home is all on one degree. I can do the garlands once more with what my mother did across the fireplaces. I’m enthusiastic about that. This Christmas is barely totally different as a result of we’re simply shifting into our house. We’ve been transforming for the final 16 months.
So, I’m so unhappy as a result of these issues I advised you about, which I like doing, and I obsess over and begin doing simply earlier than Thanksgiving. I can not do it as a result of we’re not shifting into the home till after Christmas. Maybe I can get a Charlie Brown tree and simply put it on the desk right here within the visitor home, and we may have a good time that approach.
But I’m so excited to get the home prepared and wanting ahead to subsequent yr after we can do it correctly in the home.
When Christmas Was Young airs at 8:30/7:30c and 8 pm PST on Sunday, December 18, on CBS and will stream on Paramount +.
Laura Nowak is a workers author for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
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