Exclusive Interview
Tyler Hynes & Hunter King Break Down ‘Holiday Touchdown’s Most Romantic Scenes (VIDEO)
[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.]
Hallmark and football go together like soulmates. Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story made us want to grab a Hallmark jersey and cheer on the romance between Alana (Hunter King) and Derrick (Tyler Hynes). Over the course of the holiday movie, Alana and Derrick’s relationship featured some pretty epic moments. Who gets Arrowhead Stadium all to themselves? Not even Taylor Swift!
Swooon spoke with King and Hynes about Holiday Touchdown’s swoonworthy moments. Alana and Derrick’s paths cross when Alana tries to win the Chiefs’ Fan of the Year contest for her family, and Derrick’s the deciding vote. Alana and Derrick fall in love leading up to the big Chiefs game. For King, the moment Derrick gifts her family two cherished seats from Municipal Stadium (the former home of the Chiefs) touched her the most.
Hallmark Media / Matt Hoover
“I think that was just the most thoughtful gift that you could have ever given them, and to see how much it meant to Grandpapa and that you were willing to do something like that and go out of your way for Alana, and not only her, but her entire family, and to see what joy it brought them was just such a moving moment,” King said. “All of us were in tears during that scene. It was very, very sweet.”
Hynes added, “There really isn’t much to compare to that. The family element to this movie is so lovely, and I think this gentleman is in awe of not only her character but the warmth of this family, and I think he very much wants to be a part of that. He seems like a putz before he meets them, and he becomes something reasonable once they get to know each other.”
Earlier in the film, Alana and Derrick share an intimate moment in Arrowhead Stadium, the home of the Kansas City Chiefs and so many memories for Alana’s family. Filming in the massive stadium — which can hold over 76,000 people — was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the costars.
“It was the hottest day of the year in Kansas City, and everyone’s in winter coats and hats,” King revealed. “It was a moment that you’ll forget how hot you were, but you’re never going to forget how you felt in that moment and how grateful we were to be there and to experience that. With an amazing costar like Tyler, too, to get to share that moment with someone like him was really amazing.”
Hallmark Media / Joshua Haines
While the stadium is usually filled with screaming Chiefs fans (or Swifties), it was just King and Hynes for that key Holiday Touchdown scene. “That place when it is empty at night, it’s got a feeling to it that you can’t really compare to anything else,” Hynes reflected. “The fact that it was captured on camera that way, and for us being there, we didn’t look around and see a bunch of shenanigans. It was an empty stadium. It was fun to really just be there and be in that moment.”
The Three Wiser Men and a Boy star said that stepping foot inside Arrowhead Stadium “awoke a football player inside of me I wasn’t aware of. I started clapping a lot and getting people hyped up.” He quipped, “I’ll be curious to see what happens on the next if I go back to my old quiet ways, or if I will be the same sort of like Travis Kelce-type character, who’s sort of trying to get everybody in a good state. It was fun.”
For the Hallmark fans out there, a familiar face popped up in Holiday Touchdown: Wes Brown! He played a friendly bartender who served Alana and Derrick some tasty holiday-themed drinks.
“He is so funny, and he was the perfect cameo for that scene. Being the funny bartender, he just brought so much personality and so much life to that role,” King gushed.
What did you think of Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
