Dustin Milligan opens up about the “insecurities” he experienced while filming the Netflix holiday movie Hot Frosty.
The 39-year-old actor stars in the romantic comedy as Jack, a large snowman brought to life by widow Kathy (Lacey Chabert) with the help of a magic scarf. His starring role included some shirtless scenes, which Milligan told PEOPLE pointed out to him some “body image issues.”
“Physical comedy has been a great joy for me, but putting my body on camera brings out a lot of insecurities and body image issues that I have,” Schitt’s Creek says the alum before sharing how he overcame those feelings.
“So in order to do a character like Jack, I had to let myself go in a way I never had before and just be completely physically liberated in every single scene, which at the same time caused the discomfort of being so exposed brought and allowed for a pure the joy I felt shining—I hope!”
Dustin Milligan appears shirtless in the ‘Hot Frosty’ scene.
Petr Maur / Netflix
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Chabert, 42, praised Milligan for his courage and willingness to fully commit to his character.
“He has an amazing gift for physical comedy, and he’s also very brave,” she tells PEOPLE. “He’s a wonderful actor and he was willing to give it his all and that’s what this character needed.”
She adds: “He’s just so free. He was willing to try everything, I think, in the shots and in his performance, which is a bit of a vulnerable thing, and he was just wonderful.”
While Milligan faced some discomfort playing Jack, he and the rest of the cast also enjoyed plenty of laughs on set while filming the movie, which also stars Craig Robinson, Lauren Holly, Joe Lo Truglio. Katy Mixon and Chris Shell Stause.
Both the romantic leads even broke character at some points as the giggles got to them.
“There were so many takes that turned into ejections because I couldn’t stop laughing,” Chabert recalls. “I’m the worst at not laughing when I shouldn’t be. There were a lot of shots I accidentally ruined because I cracked up and laughed.”
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Dustin Milligan and Lacey Chabert in the ‘Hot Frosty’ scene.
Netflix
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“Our director, Jerry Ciccoritti, encouraged us all to improvise during filming, and while so much of it never made it to the final cut, making each other laugh was basically the goal every day,” adds Milligan. “Everyone has broken at one point or another and it was a privilege to do it in such good company.”
Milligan previously told PEOPLE that as he prepared to step into the snowshoes of his character Jack, he looked to another holiday comedy for inspiration: Dwarf.
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“I’ve had the pleasure of playing naive buffoons many times before, but never quite like Jack, so I drew from Dwarf the most,” he said of the 2003 classic starring Will Ferrell. “I also watched 13 Continues 30, big and even some old Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin movies to help round him out.”
Hot Frosty is available to stream on Netflix.
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Source: HIS Education