Netflix’s latest family friend holiday film A Boy Called Christmas premieres November 24 on the streaming site. Based on the book of the same name by Matt Haig, the film tells the story of a young boy named Nikolas (Henry Lawfull) who sets out on an adventure in search of his father – who is on his own quest to discover Elfhelm, the fabled village of the elves. With his reindeer Blitzen and pet mouse at his side, Nikolas soon discovers his magical destiny. The film’s cast includes Jim Broadbent, Sally Hawkins, Toby Jones, Maggie Smith, Kristen Wiig, Stephen Merchant, and Michiel Huisman.

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Screen Rant spoke to stars Lawfull and Huisman, along with director and writer Gil Kenan about making A Boy Called Christmas, the joy in the film, and the legendary cast.

Screen Rant: I think this movie is so delightful, and it’s going to be a mainstay in the holiday season over the years. Gil, I’ll start with you, because you have somewhat of a horror and Halloween background. What was it like to step into the Christmas-ey world of A Boy Called Christmas?

Gil Kenan: There’s nothing scarier than Christmas. It was a pure love of character and story that brought me to this, honestly. I had a weird relationship with Christmas because I was born in London but we left here when I was three. And then we moved to Tel Aviv, and my parents brought the idea of Santa Claus over with us. I felt like that was actually a part of my identity.

I kept that part of me hidden away until I read Matt Haig’s book, and it brought all of these feelings coming back. It was like the joy and awe and a little bit of fear of The Night Before Christmas, thinking that someone is going to come and leave something for me in my room. It just gives such a mystique to the person who would actually enter your home, and what made them tick. All of that came rushing to the front when I read the book and, as I started to think about Nikolas and his adventure, it became overwhelming. I just had to make the movie.

Between writing Ghostbusters: Afterlife and A Boy Called Christmas, which holiday are you dominating next?

Gil Kenan: I mean, watch this space. What do we have left? St. Patrick’s Day is not safe for me.

Henry, you are absolutely fantastic in this movie. What does it mean for you to be part of this all-new original Christmas movie?

Henry Lawfull: It’s really special. Obviously, it’s a massive opportunity for me – my first ever role whatsoever as an actor, other than about two seconds in a TV show a couple of years ago. And to be working with a cast who I grew up watching for years in Harry Potter and other massive films is incredible and really special. 

And obviously to be playing a character who is at the center of such a special and original story, which hopefully will stick with people and become a classic for many years – maybe not seeing my face every single year for the next 40 years, but a story that people can really connect with – to be the center of that, I think, is really special.

Gil Kenan: I have to say, watching Henry work, he’s such a naturalistic performer. And one of the reasons that I knew he was the right person to bring Nikolas to life is that there’s a sort of disarming naturalness to him. It actually is one of my secret weapons in conjuring any sense of magic in this film, that there is somebody at the center of it who plays it all 100% real.

And I have to say that a huge part of the emotional underpinnings of this film is the tenderness but also the complexity of his relationship with his on-screen father, played by Michiel, and that dynamic. Watching them work together was just a real joy.

I was reading this quote from Matt Haig where he said he wrote the book as a way to cheer himself up, which I thought was lovely. What was the most cheery part of working on this film for you?

Michiel Huisman: I thought our shoot started extremely exciting. We started shooting in the high mountains of Slovakia, and I thought that was spectacular. I feel like whenever we’re doing stuff like that – running through the snow, running away from a bear – the work was all being done for me. 

What is more challenging is that there’s also moments in the film that we had to recreate on a green screen. In those moments as actors, Henry and I had to work a lot harder. Because nothing is being done for us; we’re just hanging on ropes against a green background. 

What was fantastic working on this project is that we always felt like Gil really knew what he was going to do; what he was doing. He has such an infectious imagination. Maybe if I have to name one thing, maybe that was it: working with Gil and feeling his sense of imagination and knowing, “Okay, I know somebody is now telling me that as I’m telling this story, it’s going to be animated on the wall. It’s very hard for me to imagine, but I can tell that he knows.”

Gil Kenan: That’s incredibly kind of you, Michiel. And I have to say, when you’re telling a story on an industrial scale and when you have hundreds of people coming together, really what is happening is an experiment of trust. Everyone is hoping and trusting that we’re telling the same story and that it’s pointing in the same direction. 

And so, the gift of trust in the part of a performer or a camera operator or even a background player in a scene – all of that comes together to determine whether you make something that can then connect with an audience. It means a lot to hear that.

A Boy Called Christmas premieres November 24 on Netflix.

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Ash Crossan
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Ash Crossan is a Lead Content Producer & Host for Screen Rant. With nearly a decade of experience under her belt, Ash joined Screen Rant in 2021 as a lead interviewer. Based in Los Angeles, Ash is a fan of all things Star Wars, Marvel, DC, 90s Nickelodeon and rom-coms. Follow Ash on Twitter: @AshCrossan.

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