Andy Walken: 5 Things To Know About Ralphie In ‘A Christmas Story Live!’

Lauren Cox

December 17, 2017 5:35PM EST

Curious about the adorable blonde boy portrayed Ralphie in ‘A Christmas Story Live!’? Here’s what you need to know about him!

1.) Andy Walken, 11, is originally from Seattle, Washington. Believe it or not, A Christmas Story Live! will be his big breakout role, as he was cast after a nation-wide search to find the perfect Ralphie took place. Andy reportedly beat out over 300 other little boys for the iconic role of Ralphie Parker! We’ll finally get to see Andy in action when A Christmas Story Live! goes, well, LIVE, on Sunday, December 17 at 7pm ET on FOX. So exciting!

2.) His favorite part of the original ‘A Christmas Story’ is… when Ralphie meets Santa Claus at the mall! “I love Ralphie’s face, when he realizes that Santa is just another grownup after all and he’s lost his last shot at getting that BB gun,” Ralphie told BroadwayBox.com in a recent interview. He also added that the bunny suit (aka “the pink nightmare”) is another one of his favorite moments.

3.) Andy has been acting for three years. While A Christmas Story Live! will be Andy’s biggest role yet, he’s also appeared on an episode of NCIS as well as a made for TV movie, Escaping Dad. Something tells us we’ll be seeing LOTS more of Andy once his live performance is over!

4.) He cried when he found out he would be playing Ralphie! “I was so surprised and soooo excited!!” Andy told the New York Post about being cast in A Christmas Story Live!. “Shocked! I could barely breathe and my heart was racing. I admit a few tears of joy were shed!”

5.) What does Andy want for Christmas? Thankfully, it’s not a BB gun. “I’m hoping to find an Anki Cozmo under the tree on Christmas morning! It’s a robot that looks like Wall-E, and you can train it to play games, and you can teach it tricks,” Andy told BraodwayBox.com in his interview. Hopefully Santa was listening!

Tell us, HollywoodLifers — What did YOU think of Andy’s performance during the live performance of A Christmas Story Live? Comment below, let us know!