I may have mentioned once or twice how much I love the original movies on ABC Family. They’re wonderfully cheesy, and sweet, and the kind of creations that make you revel in being female for a couple of hours without feeling too guilty about it. Their newest offering is called Desperately Seeking Santa, starring Laura Vandervoort (Smallville, V) and Nick Zano (2 Broke Girls). I had the chance to sit in on a round table interview with Laura, in which I learned more about why she loves this character, how this role differs from projects she’s done previously, and yes, what it was like to work with an up and coming cutie-pie like Mr. Zano.
When asked whether she prefers comedy to science-fiction type drama, and what drew her to the character of Jennifer Walker, Laura had plenty to say.
“I started working when I was about 13 and I started doing mainstream television on sci-fi with Smallville and V, so that’s kind of been my world for a while – the sci-fi world. But since those have ended I’ve had the chance to do some feature films and really kind of mix it up for myself with Ted and This Means War and obviously Desperately Seeking Santa, which is a romantic comedy, and I’ve never had the chance to do that. Obviously I relate more to Jennifer Walker than my other characters, which were aliens and flesh-eating lizards, but it was a lot of fun to film and it was in my hometown.”
Desperately Seeking Santa is a fun twist on the Scrooge type of money-miser Christmas theme. Jennifer enjoyed playing a character no one like, and had some insight as to what appealed to her about the script.
“Honestly, the fact that she was human was a small portion of the reason I chose the role…she’s a bit of a workaholic, like myself, and I tend to forget to have fun sometimes because I am so serious like Jennifer. In the film she learns that it’s not all about working hard and being focused. You can actually have fun and relax. It was the first role where I enjoyed the process. We were laughing. We were being silly. The smiles in the film are all real.”
And working with Nick Zano?
“It was great. We got along really well and I think the producers were happy with our chemistry. It was pretty easy. We have similar personalities – joking around on set. I was lucky. The whole cast was fantastic, and since I’m from Toronto, where we shot the film, a lot of the actors are my friends.”
The movie, in addition to being a romance, is really about the importance of family and friends. What was your favorite part about developing the friendships?
“I enjoyed working with Paula (Brancati), who plays Marissa in the film. I knew her beforehand. She was on Degrassi and I was on Instant Star so we sort of shared the same crew and set. We get a long really well so a lot of the scenes that we got to do that were kind of the silly, friendship scenes were a lot of fun, and the fact that my character kind of turns on her was tough.”
Laura talked a little about what she’d love to do, as well as who she’d love to work with, in the future.
“As an actor, I have an entire list of people I’d want to work with. Definitely at the top of my list would be Meryl Streep, Rachel McAdams. I would love work with Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd, Seth Rogen, Shia LeBeouf – I mean, all for different reasons of course, but I just want to continue to work, and if I can work with great actors around me and learn from them and continue to grow then I’m happy.”
Also, the girl has great taste in television shows.
“I’m currently obsessed with The Walking Dead. It’s kind of right up my dark, morbid alley. But on the other side of that, Big Bang Theory I think is fantastic. I worked with Kaley Cuoco when we were like 13. I would love to be a part of Mad Men. I could go on, but those are the top of the list.”
We all know it’s a great time of year, being able to turn on the television and be treated to a Christmas movie. So what are some of Laura’s favorites?
“The classic White Christmas and because I’m a Tim Burton fan, The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is an off choice, but I’ve always enjoyed it. There was a clay animation film I liked growing up called The Abominable Snowman.”
Laura has been in this business since she was just a kid, and looking back, she would give her younger self some pretty good advice.
“I would probably tell myself to try to enjoy it a little more and not take it so seriously. That it will all come together and you don’t know everything yet – you’re still going to discover new things about yourself and about this world, so just hang tight.”
So why should viewers tune in and watch Desperately Seeking Santa?
“Well, if you love Christmas films and you love that warm feeling you get from watching them – your heart feels joy and you want to sit there with family, this is a great film. It’s also great if you’re a true romantic at heart, it’s a beautiful kind of love story. It has all the aspects. You’ve got the Scrooge, you’ve got Santa, you’ve got Santa’s helpers, which are all the other characters in this film, and then on top of it all, it’s a beautiful love story with a splash of comedy. It was a lot of fun to film, so I think it will be a lot of fun for people to watch.”
Desperately Seeking Santa airs at 8/7c Sunday, November 27, 2011 on ABC Family.
Comic book fans, 
