Bruce Boxleitner Talks UP Original Film 'Silver Bells'
Credit: UP TV
Bruce Boxleitner has made his name in both film and television from a wealth of roles predominantly in the sci-fi genre. From TV shows such as Babylon 5 to films such as Tron (and its sequel, Tron Legacy), Boxleitner has become a significant name in the world of science fiction programming. However, in recent years, his roles have become less bombastic in nature. He currently stars on The Hallmark Channel's Cedar Cove, in addition to his upcoming role on the UP Original film Silver Bells, which puts the veteran actor in an unfamiliar scenario: that of a Christmas movie.
The clear hints of Frank Capra in the film's DNA is evident from its heartwarming approach, and Silver Bells also distinguishes itself from similar holiday outings with a vibrant comedic sensibility that has echoes of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. Silver Bells centers on Bruce Dalt (Boxleitner), an local TV sportscaster whose competitive nature puts a strain on his family, particularly after he gets into a scuffle with a referee at his son's basketball game. But this incident starts the process that will bring about a change in Bruce, as well as his outlook on life. The film co-stars Antonio Fargas, Kenton Duty, Bridgett Newton, Laura Spencer and Kevin Downes.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Bruce Boxleitner about the film, as well as his similarities with and differences from his character, Bruce Dalt.
I saw the movie, really enjoyed it. It's a very much a throwback kind of holiday movie. How did you become involved with Silver Bells?
Bruce Boxleitner: My agent was contacted and said there's this small film being done for this network, UP TV, and they sent me the script and it kind of tickled me, you know? I noticed I was in every scene, by the way. [Laughs] But when they told me it was going to be about a two-week shoot, that was all it was, so at first I went, "Oh my gosh!" But then, after that I realized, no, I like that, because that means we'd bear down and have a good story to tell in two weeks. So I flew to Michigan, outside of Grand Rapids called Manistee, this beautiful little town that's just got all these really classic, turn of the century houses and buildings. It's right out of a Frank Capra movie, and that's what I kind of liked in this one, Silver Bells, is that it's a sort of a Capra-esque film, if you know who Frank Capra is...
Oh yes, absolutely!
[Laughs] Sort of reminds me a little of that. It has this It's A Wonderful Life type of quality to it.
It really did, I noticed. The characters too. But are you as competitive as Bruce Dalt?
I'm a competitive guy. I've always been competitive, I've always played sports. So yeah, I would say. But not to the degree that he is. [Laughs] But that's what I enjoyed about the character, being able to amp it up a bit. Certainly, I've seen fathers on sports teams when I was a boy, playing sports. Saw a lot of fathers like that. So it wasn't hard to draw from, you know?
Oh, I was about to ask if you were a big sports guy, or if that was a mindset you had to get into for the role?
Let me just say I'm overjoyed with Boston winning the world series. I'm a real baseball guy. Other than that, I don't follow sports avidly. I do entertain, and I do enjoy having a bunch of my buddies sitting around watching football games and stuff like that. But I don't really have that personality, although I know a lot of guys like that. Sports is everything to Bruce Dalt. Just not to Bruce Boxleitner. [Laughs]
Were there any challenges that you faced when making the film?
It was blistering cold! I live in California and I found myself, within 48 hours, in these snow drifts in Michigan. I mean...snow. [Laughs] But I was just thankful for what we had on a low-budget production. It was lean and mean, and very well-done, production-wise. You know, we were outside a lot. All those street scenes and everything outside their house and at night, those were all big nights in very, very cold conditions. But that's hardly anything to complain about. I enjoyed every, every minute of doing the film. Because I was so active in it. We didn't have time. It was a very short shooting schedule, so we didn't have time to suffer too much. We just went on to it.
The film is sort of like a love letter to the Salvation Army, so I wanted to ask if you got the chance to work at all with the organization in any way?
Prior to this, no. But I did serve on-the-job training right there. Antonio Vargas, in fact, he was a natural for that. [Laughs] He and I really had a good time on that show together. I so enjoyed Tony's personality and outlook on life. He was very much sort of my guardian angel there, you know? Bruce Dalt's guardian angel, certainly. We just had a wonderful cast with great actors.
Do you have any favorite holiday films, perhaps in relation to this project in some way?
I would say the one, just linking the two, is Jimmy Stewart in It's A Wonderful Life. I own it, and I still cry at the end of it. [Laughs] Also A Christmas Story. That one makes me laugh the most because it reminds me so much of my home life growing up. I remember coveting and wanting, so bad, a Daisy Air Rifle BB Gun. I think my mother could have yelled that out quite a few times, "Be careful, you'll put your eye out!" So I love that movie. There's a great spirit about it.
And lastly, what's next? Do you have any projects lined up?
Well, I'm doing a series called Cedar Cove for The Hallmark Channel. I'll be heading back up in February up to Vancouver to shoot our second season, since we've just had our first season. And I've got a project that I've got in development right now called Lantern City. It's sort of a sci-fi genre series that we're trying to produce. And that's about it right now. Cedar Cove is my day job and that's my passion job.
Thank you for taking the time to speak with me! Great job on the film.
Thank you, sir. Thank you very much. And have a great holiday coming up!
Silver Bells premieres Sunday, December 1 at 7 PM ET on UP. Check out the full trailer below: