Hallmark’s Christmas movie lineup continues with A Homecoming for the Holidays, which will at 9 p.m. on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Stephen Huszar, who plays Matt in the film, all about what we can expect from this latest holiday movie. “A Homecoming for the Holidays is a gorgeous little film about a budding country music star who is just starting off in her career when we first meet her. She has a lot of high aspirations to be a star, but she’s just sort of getting her feet wet and that’s when my character, Matt, meets her,” Stephen told HollywoodLife. “Charlotte is played by Laura Osnes. Matt is just about to be deployed to Afghanistan. It’s his third deployment and he’s having a little bit of hesitation with it. It’s sort of taking a toll on him and he’s a little bit unsure of his future. However, this chance encounter with her really puts a spark in both of their eyes so there’s something to look forward to there when he returns.”
Stephen revealed that the movie flashes forward three years later and a lot has changed for Matt and Charlotte. “In that time, we find out that Charlotte has now become a big country music star,” Stephen continued. “She’s super famous and our characters end up meeting in the actual small town where we initially met just before my character got deployed. The majority of the movie is really building our relationship during her stardom and Matt being an army vet now. He’s now heading up a large non-profit organization called Operation Homefront, which basically supplies ex-military people with shelter and really integrates them back into the community. It’s a really heartwarming film that actually incorporates a real charitable organization.”
The actor wanted to take on the role of Matt because he’d never played a military character like this before. “I ave played a military character in a different way and it was in a TV show called Fringe and that whetted my appetite, but I’ve never taken a character all the way through from being in the military to ex-military and giving back to the community. I thought that it would be interesting to explore that and see how that felt.” He gushed that he loved working with Laura whom he called an “incredible actor and one of the most amazing human beings I’ve ever met. She’s so generous and such a beautiful soul.”
Laura sings in the film and Stephen admitted that he got a little emotional listening to her. “I literally cried listening to Laura sing during a couple of the takes,” he said. “It really touched me deeply and I really hope the music is going to do the same for the audience. It’s just such a heartwarming experience to have such great musicians in the movie. I think it really brings a lot to these kinds of productions.”
A Homecoming for the Holidays isn’t Stephen’s first holiday movie. He’s starred in other holiday films like Mistletoe Magic, Return to Christmas Creek, Hometown Holiday, and more. “I feel that at the root of it all, I just really love Christmas,” Stephen said about doing holiday movies. “I love family. Family is the most important thing that’s in my life. Christmas is an inspirational time of year and these films really represent that. It really brings people together and brings people back to core values as humans. I just really enjoy doing that and to have an opportunity to do comedy, which I do often in these movies. I love to make people laugh and be more lighthearted. I think people get a lot out of that. There’s a lot of content these days that’s darker and deals with serious issues, which we need. But it’s important for people to hear these kinds of stories, too.”
There have been so many holiday movies over the years and Stephen actually has an idea for one he’d love to do. “I actually grew up racing sailboats and there’s one thing I’ve always wanted to do in a film and I know it’s going to happen,” Stephen told HollywoodLife. “I would love to do something about sailing a boat and having a story based around that. Of course, there would have to be a love story. I’m just putting that out there. That would be a dream come true for me.”