‘The Wonder Years’ star Danica McKellar says the Christmas movie boom suggests people are looking for an ‘escape’

Danica McKellar has starred in many Christmas movies, but her latest film has a special place in her heart.

During an interview with Fox News Digital, the “Wonder Years” actress shared that there are many reasons why her latest holiday film, “A Cinderella Christmas Ball,” is more special than others she has starred in.

“This is a wonderful experience for me. It was great because I got to write the script with someone else, but it’s the first time my name has been in the script for one of these films and it’s really gratifying,” she explained. “Plus, I can waltz in it! I love ballroom dancing because I think everyone knows who follows me on social media.”

The actress’ love of dance grew when she competed on Season 18 of “Dancing with the Stars” in 2014, noting, “It’s great exercise, it’s artistic, (and) it’s just wonderful exercise.”

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McKellar dated Val Chmerkovskiy during her time on the show, but it was current “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Gleb Savchenko who “choreographed the waltzes in this film.”

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“For my co-star Oliver Rice, it was actually a real ‘Dancing with the Stars’ experience because he had never done ballroom dancing before and he had three weeks in Vancouver, where he lives, working for hours with two like every other day Coaches to be able to perform these waltzes,” she said. “They’re tougher than they look, that’s what I’m saying.”

WATCH: Danica McKellar reveals why her new holiday film, A Cinderella Christmas Ball, is so special

Rice’s hard work appears to have paid off, as McKellar revealed that a dance double was hired for the actor, “but we just had to do one take of him” because Rice “turned out so good.” She added that the two “look almost identical” and that “it was actually amazing.”

A Cinderella Christmas Ball stars McKellar as Chelsea Jones, a dance teacher living in Chicago who sets out to find her birth father. On the way she travels to the small European country of Havenshire, where she meets Prince Phillip, played by Rice, and has to teach him to dance.

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McKellar has been acting in Christmas films since 2012 when she starred in Love at the Christmas Table and has since appeared in many other films including Crown for Christmas, My Christmas Dream, Coming Home for Christmas , “Christmas at Dollywood” and others.

In her opinion, the popularity of Christmas films continues to grow because “people need comfort” and a way to “escape from this crazy world” that Christmas films provide.

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WATCH: Danica McKellar praises her co-star for learning to ballroom dance

“It’s more than an escape, it’s a reminder of what human nature can be,” she told Fox News Digital. “We need that. We need this reminder. While we need the feeling of comfort, we also need ideas about how to move forward in a healthy and serious way.”

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She went on to explain that although the characters in the Christmas films are “not really portrayed dramatically,” they always struggle with problems. She cited her character’s search for her biological father as an example.

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“It’s painful, it’s scary, but what you see is a character really doing her best, pushing through and trying to make good decisions along the way,” she explained. “So that’s what we can model for people while giving them just, yeah, comfort food around the holidays, which is important to feel those warm and fuzzy feelings around the holidays.”

“A Cinderella Christmas Ball” will premiere on Great American Family on Friday, November 29th.

WATCH: Danica McKellar reveals why she thinks Christmas movies are so popular

Original source of the article: ‘The Wonder Years’ star Danica McKellar says the Christmas movie boom suggests people are looking for an ‘escape’