It's easy to see why casting directors seeking actresses to anchor a Christmas movie would easily gravitate towards Lacey Chabert, best known for roles in the 1990s Fox series "Party of Five" and the 2004 classic comedy "Mean Girls." She's brings ample girl-next-door sweetness and coquettish charm to the screen.
So it's not surprising the 32-year-old actress stars not just in one but two original holiday films over consecutive weekends this month. On the Hallmark Channel last Saturday, she starred in "A Royal Christmas" as a humble aspiring clothing designer ready to marry her British fiance, who she then discovers is (gasp!) a prince!
For Atlanta-based Up TV this Saturday, Chabert returns as a humble writer who returns to her tiny Vermont town to help save her family Christmas tree farm in a film titled "The Tree That Saved Christmas."
"I love watching Christmas movies," said Chabert earlier this week in a phone interview. "I watched a ton of them over the weekend. I baked, set up my Christmas tree. It's definitely a tradition. So being in both Christmas movies was great. Both are really sweet."
While many of these holiday films (and there are about 30 original TV Christmas films this year) are produced over the summer, she said "The Tree That Saved Christmas" was shot in a February in British Columbia.
"We didn't have to fake being cold," she said. "It was always freezing. I always had warming pads in my pockets and hidden in my shoes. I"m a Southern California gal. For me, if it's below 50 degrees, it's cold!"
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Sure, the film is packed with typical Christmas movie tropes (going home again, rekindling a romance with a boyfriend left behind, a mean Mr. Potter-like banker trying to take down the family business), but isn't predictability the point? The actors are engaging and the writing hits all the right sentimentality notes without veering into maudlin-ville.
The Hallmark film, shot in Romania, features Chabert's character getting married. To save wardrobe costs on a low-budget film, she volunteered to wear her actual wedding dress from her marriage a year ago to her long-time boyfriend David Neydar. "I wore it partially for selfish reasons," she said. "I really wanted to try it on one more time!"
Chabert, while not quite getting the big TV roles of some of her "Party of Five" cohorts like Matthew Fox ("Lost") and Jennifer Love-Hewitt ("The Ghost Whisperer," "Criminal Minds"), keeps plenty busy with more than a 12 credits to her name over the past two years. "I just enjoy working," she said. "I know I'm blessed to be a working actress after all these years. I always find something in my characters I love."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
And while she has no direct Atlanta connections, Chabert's character Claudia in "Party of Five" had a violin teacher played by Atlantan Mitchell Anderson, who runs MetroFresh in Midtown. "I haven't seen him in years!" she said. "He was such a great guy. It's cool he runs a restaurant!"
She said she hasn't picked up her violin in many years. "I regret I stopped playing," she said. "Music is such a big part of my life. I started out in theater. But I was in school and working. It was too much. I couldn't devote the time to the violin. I did love playing." She still has her violin: "I went to my storage unit recently and opened it up. I found a call sheet from 'Party of Five.' Such a blast from the past. Great memories!"
She said while she loved her time on the show, she did have to go through adolescence on screen. "It's like my video yearbook," she said. "It's so awkward! There's that stage where my arms were really too long. There's me when I'm really gawky! All the horrible things that girls go through during puberty and it's there! Fantastic!"
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Despite the fact she spent six years on "Party of Five," more people come up to her nowadays to reminisce about her role on "Mean Girls," which came out 10 years ago and has become a bit of a cult classic.
"We had no idea when we made it what a life it would have," Chabert said. "It was such a fun character to play [Gretchen]."
People throw Gretchen quotes at her via Twitter or face to face every day: "Last night, a waitress came over and said, 'Your jacket is so fetch!' I smiled and thanked her. It made me laugh. It's the ultimate reward. You want people to enjoy your work. It's such a compliment."
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
TV preview
"The Tree That Saved Christmas," 7 p.m. Sunday, Up TV
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