Francia Raisa and Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin Talk 'Christmas Bounty'

The countdown to ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas has begun! The annual lineup begins on December 1st but viewers can get in the Christmas spirit beforehand. Tonight, November 26th, ABC Family premieres "Christmas Bounty" their latest original holiday movie.

"Christmas Bounty" stars Francia Raisa of The Secret Life of the American Teenager and WWE Superstar Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin of also of The Real World fame. The duo star in the action-comedy as a bounty hunter and an ex-boyfriend that complicates things.

Former bounty hunter turned elementary school teacher Tory Bell (Raisa) was ready for a new life when she left the family business behind and moved to Manhattan. But when an old enemy is released from jail and vows retribution on Tory and her loved ones, she returns to New Jersey to take care of him once and for all. When Tory’s upper-class fiancé, James, follows her home for Christmas, she tries to keep her bounty hunting ways a secret, but the plan backfires when James unwittingly becomes involved in the Bells’ mission. Further complicating matters, Tory must work closely with her ex-boyfriend, Mike (Mizanin) to bring down their target and keep James out of certain danger. But as Tory becomes further entrenched in her old life, she finds herself torn between whom she once was and her plans for the future. Will Tory choose her new life with James, or will the thrill of bounty hunting and unresolved feelings for Mike prove too powerful to ignore?

We recently spoke with both of them about their roles in the movie and what viewers can expect when they tune in. Check out the interview: What was it that initially drew you to this role?

Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin: With WWE it’s theater, it’s live, you’re in front of a live audience, you only get one take.  If you mess up the entire world is going to see it and are either going to boo you or cheer you at that moment.

However, acting in a movie — you don’t get that initial reaction and you don’t get that live audience feel. Doing a movie is a lot nicer on my body. I just got back from Europe for WWE — we did a European tour for 14 days of constant wrestling, so my body’s tired, my mind’s tired. When you’re shooting a movie it’s exhausting in a different way, where you’re mentally going at it and you don’t get that much sleep.  But I do enjoy movies.  I do enjoy WWE.  I enjoy them both the same.  They’re a lot different, and they’re also very similar.

I’m really excited about Christmas Bounty premiering on November 26, because the cast just got along so well.  It’s not every day that you get to enjoy such a close-knit cast.  Every time we were done with a shoot we would all go sit and just talk.  I think you’ll see that closeness and that bond that we all had and that love for each other in Christmas Bounty.  I think when a cast becomes close you can really see that they enjoy working with each other, and I think we all really had a pleasure working on Christmas Bounty.

Francia Raisa: I agree!  Coming off of The Secret Life of the American Teenager I am not used to doing any sort of action.  This was my first time doing action scenes on camera.  I did grow up doing martial arts.  So, I was intimated to work with Mike, because he is a wrestler and has done this for a long time. But he was really welcoming and really encouraging. In Secret Life it was very “go, go, go, go”, because TV tends to have more time. It was a lot of fun and we were able to pick it up really well.

Like Mike said, we all really enjoyed working with each other; we became a family, we definitely bonded.  We are genuine friends, so it’s definitely going to show on camera.  I’m just as excited, because we just watched the movie and you could just tell that there was so much chemistry between all of us!

It was definitely a transition, just because I hadn’t done film in a while, but I was really happy to know that this was the first project that I was going to do outside of Secret Life and TV.

Also revealed on the conference call:

What should fans expect while tuning in to Christmas Bounty?

Mike: It’s one of those feel good movies!  I think everyone watches their special Christmastime movies. This is a movie that’s going to be right up there with all the other ones.  I think people are going to really watch, and when they’re done watching this movie they’re going to come away with a smile on their face, they’re going to cuddle with their loved ones a little closer.  I think it’s just one of those movies that will stand the test of time, and I think people will be shocked to see how great it truly is.

Francia: I agree! It’s just one of those feel good movies that you enjoy watching, and you take yourself away from reality a bit and you tap into someone else’s happiness, and you’re around your loved ones and you’re cozied up in your house. It’s one of those movies that’s a perfect ending to your night.

Mike: Here’s what I want everyone to do on Tuesday night.  I want you to get some popcorn, I want you to get your most comfy clothes on, I want you to snuggle with one another, and I guarantee you by the end of that movie you guys are going to look in each other’s eyes and say, “I love you.”

Read the full interview here.

"Christmas Bounty" premieres tonight, November 26th, at 7/6c on ABC Family. Be sure to tune in!