Danica McKellar Stars in A ROYAL DATE FOR CHRISTMAS for Great American Family

Published: November 23, 2023

Danica McKellar Stars in A ROYAL DATE FOR CHRISTMAS for Great American Family

By Movieguide Staff

Actress Danica McKellar, who stars in the upcoming Great American Family movie A ROYAL DATE FOR CHRISTMAS, recently discussed how she hopes her new movie will encourage viewers this Christmas season, and how her new relationship with Christ will impact future projects.

A ROYAL DATE FOR CHRISTMAS releases on Great American Family on Nov. 25 at 8 p.m. ET and 5 p.m. PT and is “a beautiful, beautiful story of a second-chance-fairytale coming true,” McKellar told Movieguide® in a recent interview.

The synopsis reads: “Bella Sparks (McKellar), owner of Bella Sparks Couture, takes on a demanding new client ‘Stefan’ (Runyan) to outfit for a week of high stakes meetings and events after his luggage goes missing. Stefan asks Bella to be his ‘official plus one’ for many of the formal soirees, a request Bella accepts with good humor. Imagine Bella’s reaction when she accidentally discovers ‘Stefan’ is Stefan William Francis Brown, the Duke of Tangford.”

“I really relate to the story because I got my second chance fairytale come true in my second marriage, which we just celebrated our nine year anniversary,” McKellar said of her husband, Scott Sveslosky.

McKellar said that she is more involved in the movie-making process, casting and directing as a part of Great American Family. For A ROYAL DATE FOR CHRISTMAS, McKellar casted Damon Runyan as her co-star who said was a gift to work alongside.

“I had worked with him before and I knew that he had the ability to truly make his heart is available,” she said. “And this character, I felt, really required someone who could be that vulnerable and be that emotional. He was wonderful. We have some beautiful scenes together. They are so life-affirming, and just really touching. I can’t wait for audiences to get to see our journey of finding each other and mending each other’s hearts.”

The WONDER YEARS star, TV host, and former Hallmark star joined fellow actress Candace Cameron Bure in making the switch to Great American Family in 2021. Founded by Bill Abbott, Great American Family became the fastest growing network in television.

However, McKellar’s greatest change came when she found a relationship with Christ.

“I found my faith a year and a half ago in April of 2022,” McKellar reflected. “I feel like a new person, well reborn. It’s been the most magical, amazing, comforting journey for me.”

McKellar added that her misconceptions of Christian faith came from people misusing the truth of the gospel.

“It’s about the relationship with God,” she said. “It’s not about religious practices. When I realized that it became very easy to have my faith just bloom and blossom and let the Holy Spirit in. It’s been incredible.”

As the Great American Family network grows, so does its community. This birthed the Great American Community, a place where viewers can see a personal side of the actors from their favorite movies.

For McKellar, she uses Great American Community to share about her life and what God is teaching her through her study of His word.

“I’ve been reading the Bible all the way through this year, [and] I’m excited to incorporate more faith into my projects next year,” she said. “I love sharing love and comfort, and then also helping people to maybe embrace this incredible gift. It’s available to anybody at any time, which is that connection with God that I found.”

“I love the Great American Community,” she added. “I feel like it’s a great way to connect directly with the fans outside of social media, and just give you a more in depth perspective on whatever the topic is.”

In a recent series of videos, McKellar opened up about forgiveness, and how her view changed after she became a Christian.

“The Lord’s Prayer has been a tool that I have really embraced,” she explained. “And it’s funny, because the Lord’s Prayer is actually one of the things that I had remembered from before I found my faith because I went to Catholic school for a few years when I was in elementary school. What I love about it is that forgiveness is there as something that we are pledging to do in exchange for all these things we’re asking for, and it gives you something active to do… it also gives us a worldly goal. That’s not easy. Because to forgive people who have done something against us is difficult.”

“We’re supposed to be striving to live more like Jesus,” she added. “We’ll never get there, but we’re supposed to strive for it. And that’s just a wonderful reminder in the Lord’s Prayer that we have something we can do actively.”

Don’t miss McKellar’s latest movie, A ROYAL DATE FOR CHRISTMAS, airing on the Great American Family channel on Nov. 25!