Danny Pellegrino Thinks the Inflatable Santa Trend Has Spiraled 'Out of Control'

The Hallmark star gets candid on holiday movies, traditions and fads he could do without.

Dec 20, 2024

Hi friends,

I am very pleased to feature Danny Pellegrino in today’s newsletter. Danny is the beloved host of the podcast Everything Iconic and author of two bestsellers, most recently The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories, an essay collection (and the funniest book I’ve ever read).

Danny currently stars in the hit Hallmark Christmas movie Deck the Walls, which he also co-wrote and produced. He plays Sal Demonte, who’s flipping a house for charity and recruits his sister Rose (Ashley Greene), a type-A interior designer, to help him make the project a success. Working against the clock, the siblings butt heads with their respective enemies: Rose directs her icy glare at Sal’s best friend Brysen (Wes Brown), while Sal resents snarky journalist Jake (Claybourne Elder) for intruding on his turf.

Like a glass of hot cocoa (or mulled wine), Deck the Walls delivers a soothing seasonal warmth. It’s got cozy hijinks, screwball humor and bitter misunderstandings that are happily resolved within 90 minutes.

I spoke with Danny this week about making his Hallmark debut and what yuletide traditions he’ll keep — and reject — when he becomes a father for the first time next year. Our conversation has been edited and condensed, and sadly excludes tangents on our mutual distaste for body-horror movies and that one time I fell asleep watching Maestro and woke up when Carey Mulligan was dying. Never start a prestige film at midnight! Anyway, without further ado:

Holiday guru Danny Pellegrino in his element.

How did you get the idea for Deck the Walls?

I just loved Hallmark. I always wanted to do a Hallmark Christmas movie and I wanted it to be sort of that traditional, stereotypical, trope-y Hallmark movie — big city gal, going back to her small town, falling in love with the hunky contractor from her youth — but then also to have a couple of little twists. I'm very proud of a couple of little progressive things in the movie, and it might be small, but I was really adamant about [Greene’s character] staying at her job at the end and staying in the city. I love exploring the dynamic between my character and Wes Brown's character. I feel like straight-gay friendships [among men] are very rare to see on screen, so I am really proud of that. I'm proud that the gay character is not an assistant. He owns a business, and he does construction.

I wanted those little shifts to maybe open some eyes and hearts and stuff like that, while people might be tuning into what they see as a very traditional Hallmark Christmas movie.

Historically, Hallmark has avoided gay romance plots. What were those conversations like?

I had written the script on spec and then Hallmark had acquired it and then they brought on one of their writers that they work with, the brilliant Tracy Andreen, who's written a lot of Hallmark stuff. She [polished] my script and that was fascinating. I got to work with her a little bit on that rewrite as well. I did have some input before she went off [to write], but it was so great to get the script back and see that the relationship — the gay story line — was actually expanded by the network and by Tracy.

I love an enemies-to-lovers story. Your character develops feelings for Jake, his so-called “arch-nemesis.” At one point, Sal and Jake look like they’re about to kiss — but don’t!

I love the fact that there were people who watched it and were like, “Why didn't they kiss?” Because I would've liked the kiss too. And I even recommended [a kissing scene] at different points because the script had expanded. I was like, “Wait, I think there should be a kiss here.”

I remember before we went out and shot the last scene between my character and the [Jake] character, [saying] to Clay, the other actor, “This is our moment. We need to make every audience member say, ‘Why aren't they kissing here? … They should have kissed. Why didn't they kiss? They need a sequel to kiss.’”

Twisters had a similar ending! Will there be a Sal-Jake sequel?

I would love that. I think it's up to Hallmark. I'm ready. I would just love to work with them again. It was such a dream come true. But selfishly, I think it would be fun to put a button on that relationship or to be able to explore that dynamic further. But in whatever form, if they want to have me back, I'll come back anyway.

You and Ashley Greene have real sibling chemistry. Did you write the part of Rose with her in mind?

I had met with Sarah Ramos. Do you know Sarah? She's a fantastic actress and she's currently on Chicago Med, but originally, we were going to do this together.

Once Hallmark greenlit [Deck the Walls], of course Sarah was booked and busy. Then I found out from the network that they had hired Ashley Greene. And I'm like, “Oh, my God.” My millennial brain was excited by the Twilight connection, but I didn't get to meet her until I got on set. And she was just the best.

Wes Brown and Ashley Greene: My parents in the ‘90s.

What was it like walking onto that set for the first time? Were you nervous? After all, this was a big moment for you — an overdue moment, by the way.

I'd been trying for a while. Unfortunately, I wasn't getting hired.

I'm open and out in my real life, and so as an actor, you tend to get auditions for gay roles. [Those] are few and far between, and it feels almost like they're getting fewer and farther between. So, you're auditioning for a gay assistant role for one line against people who have been working forever. They're also trying to get those one-line roles because there's so few of these things. And so, I had always been trying, it just wasn't kind of happening for me. I was so overwhelmed to get to set, and I wanted to impress.

Understandably, I also had to go through a pretty rigorous audition process for the role, even though I wrote it for myself. It's a large role and they wanted to make sure I could handle all that stuff. I just wanted to be prepared and not let anyone down. And because the other actors have worked on so many things, I was like, “I just don't want to be the one holding everyone back or holding the scenes back or something like that.” I just felt a lot of pressure, but everybody was really nice, and they sort of eased me into it.

What did you learn from making a Hallmark movie?

It's a well-oiled machine, and I think sometimes with these movies, people can treat them [like they’re] a little bit less-than or kind of scoff them off. And it made me just really appreciate and think, “God, what they're able to pull off in 15 days to do a movie.” And so, I encourage audiences and viewers when they're watching: If you see something clunky, or you're like, “Wait, what's going on there? Did I miss something?” It's like, “Yeah, you probably did. These were made in 15 days. They might've had to cut something. Maybe there was this location they couldn't get at the last minute, or they're under such time constraints.” The fact that these crews are able to pull off what they pull off is astonishing to me. To make them look so good and feel so good in the music, the costumes, everything. It kind of blew me away.

I mean, if there was any clunky-ness, I didn't notice. It was, to my eyes, seamlessly executed. And the dialogue is all you. Especially the comic banter and pop-culture references. Of course, I loved when Sal is describing his vision for the home he’s flipping and says he wants to make it “Nancy Meyers pretty. A mix of both houses from The Holiday. When Jude Law was at his most handsome!”

There were a couple of other Nancy Meyers [references]. I think at some point they were like, “OK, enough Nancy Meyers references. We have had enough.”

You can never have too many.

I love Nancy Meyers. I follow her daughter Hallie [on social media]. I love the Meyers family. And I was devastated. I think last year, she was supposed to do something for Netflix and she couldn't get the budget she needed. And it's, like, all of her movies make money. Why aren't we giving her the budget to do it? She hasn't had a movie that hasn't made money, so give her the budget she wants.

Do you follow Nancy on Instagram? She posted a clip of Jude Law teasing a potential sequel for The Holiday. He even did Mr. Napkin Head.

I'm like, “Is this a joke or is this serious?” But I would love it. I just want Nancy to work. She’s so good at what she does, and we don't have people doing that kind of thing anymore.

She showcased middle-aged women in these romantic roles before anyone else was really doing it. I feel like she's sitting at home waiting for somebody to call her and she's posting this nostalgic stuff on Instagram. One time she posted a photo of Ina Garten's memoir and everyone in the comments was like, “Where's your memoir Nancy?” Seriously: Where is her memoir?!

I've sort of messaged her a little bit on Instagram and I wonder, “Does she realize how much we love her movies?” I sometimes think that maybe she just thinks we sort of like them or something, but I'm like, “No, we're obsessed with them. Please give us more.”

nmeyers

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In Deck the Walls, Sal jokes that he prefers “Muppets over people,” which made me laugh.

That was improvised. I only got one take. There was a different line of dialogue.

I told our director, “Please put the Muppet line in because the other line I didn't like.”

You and your partner are expecting a baby. Congratulations! You announced the good news last week in iconic fashion: On Drew Barrymore’s talk show, with Drew curled up next to you on the couch — her producers’ idea.

I had been on the show a few times, but I had always been [seated at] the desk. She has these desk segments. They told me when I was coming on this time that I was going to be on the couch with her, which I was so excited about because the couches [are where] all the infamous interviews happen when they're sort of on top of each other. And I just kept thinking, “OK, how am I going to play this? Should I lay in her lap? Are we holding hands? Are we locking arms?” I was really excited about the mechanics of that. And I'm a touchy-feely person too, so it never bothers me or makes me uncomfortable. And I know Drew a little bit. I've met her a bunch of times, and she was kind enough to write a blurb for my last book.

You are going to be an amazing dad and that kid is so, so, so lucky.

Erin, lucky is the word. We have been through a long process with this, and we just keep saying to each other, “We feel so lucky. We feel so lucky right now because it's been such a long road.”

This time next year, you’ll be a parent. It is very fun to experience the holidays with kids. At the same time, there’s pressure to make memories and lasting traditions. Do you have a tradition you want to pass on?

I'm very nervous about my kid liking Muppets. We were talking about Muppets. I'm like, “I hope they like Muppets or puppets in general.” So maybe I’ll start them watching Muppet Christmas Carol.

My mom always baked with us. She still bakes a lot, but at the holiday time, it was so fun to do the cutout cookies and all the different recipes that she does every single year. This year, I was like, “I'm going to try to do all of the recipes and see which ones I do best, or which ones I'll bring for next year or going forward with kids.” And it was the biggest fucking nightmare, Erin. I did it yesterday and I was exhausted. It made such a mess.

It was too much work. I really went into this holiday thinking, “OK, I'm going to figure out my baking schedule for kids so that when the kids are old enough, we can bake together.” And now I'm like, “Probably never going to bake. We will do one cookie, maybe pick one or two.”

Ha! I am not a baker at all. I leave the baking to my mom, who is a pro. Quick question: I’m going to a last-minute holiday party. What do I bring the host?

A bottle of wine or chocolates, I think, is the go-to. But speaking of all those cookies that I did: The most underrated gift of any holiday is a collection of homemade baked goods. Despite the fact that I just told you how awful it was to bake all that stuff, I personally love it when I get a little Tupperware, or a tin filled with some homemade goodies — stuff that I wouldn't normally make for myself.

That's my favorite kind of surprise. I don't like surprises anywhere else. I don't like other gift surprises, but I love the idea of getting a mixed tin or Tupperware of baked goods that I don't know what it's going to be.

Honestly, food gifts are the best gifts. You gave a recent interview to The Cut with your sage advice on regifting and your disdain for blow-up Christmas decorations. Can you speak more on the latter?

I think they're ugly. I hate during the daytime when they're not inflated and they just look, like, flat on the grass. I think it looks so tacky and ugly. I also think they just look like giant balloons in the yard. They're an eyesore. I don't even think they're probably good for the environment because when they are inflated, you have to keep pumping the air into it. If you walk by somebody's house, sometimes you'll hear it. And so, I get noise pollution as I'm walking past someone's house.

I feel like people get addicted to the inflatables, so they don't just put one in their front yard, they tend to start adding 10 of them. The manufacturers of these inflatables are getting way too fast and loose with the rules. We're not just getting a Santa inflatable. Now we're getting a turkey with the pilgrim hat holding a ham and you're like, “What the fuck is that?” It's like we're getting obscure holiday characters. It’s not just the Grinch, you're getting some fifth lead from the movie Prancer as an inflatable at Home Depot. It's just getting out of control.

Danny, thank you for giving me your time — and please don’t ever change.

END CREDITS

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