Hallmark Channel’s upcoming Christmas movie Holiday Touchdown: The Chiefs’ Love Story it features a full line-up of sleds full of seasoned actors, but it also has a team of rookies stepping onto the Hollywood field for the first time.
Fortunately, they have Tyler Hynes and Hunter King at the starting positions to help newcomers like Donna Kelce and Kansas City Chiefs players Trey Smith and Mecole Hardman Jr. to feel relaxed.
“Donna was a little devastated,” Hynes, 38, told PEOPLE between scenes during an exclusive visit to the set at Arrowhead Stadium in July. “It’s a lot. It’s a lot of people. There’s a lot of moving parts, a lot of people talking to you in between [takes].”
“It’s like we’re making a movie between circuses, so it’s hard for anyone to get into it because they can feel that energy even if they can’t articulate it. You can just see that people are a little overwhelmed,” he says.
Tyler Hynes and Donna Kelce in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.
2024. Hallmark Media/Joshua Haines
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Hynes, who has starred in more than 20 movies for the network, did have a “trick” up his sleeve to help Kelce and others deal with those nerves.
“Sometimes I do something. I shouldn’t give that secret away, but when someone is new on the set, I’ll come and play right away, just to kind of set the tone, lower the bar,” he admits.
“Show them it’s okay to mess up,” adds King, 31.
“I always tell these people who come in like this that the only difference between them and me is that I don’t care when I mess up,” Hynes says. “I’m just looking to talk. That’s the kind of stigma I think we have to get over. Nobody cares. We’re all on your team here.”
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Richard Riehle, Christine Ebersole, KC Wolf and Donna Kelce in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.
Joshua Haines/Hallmark Media
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PEOPLE got to watch Hynes put this into action — sort of — as he filmed a party scene with Chiefs offensive lineman Smith in the Penthouse at Arrowhead Stadium.
During the scene, Hynes, who plays CEO of Fan Engagement Derrick, brings up a bunch of stats about the team to impress superfan Alan (King), and Smith briefly joins their conversation. Several times Hynes, who is Canadian and only recently started playing football after shooting a series of playoff promos for the Chiefs last year, asked for help with a verse or asked to restart his streak of impressive numbers.
“I actually struggled with that line,” he admits. “All those stats—I didn’t want to mess them up. If I miss a comma or don’t say the right part of it, that’s babbling to me.”
Donna Kelce appears in a behind-the-scenes video for Hallmark’s Kansas City Chiefs romance A festive touch
The ever-supportive King interjects, “Also, because he’s there! It’s even more pressure when he’s in front of you.”
Hynes goes on to explain, “Do you know how angry you would be if he saw the movie and said, ‘That’s not right.’ I would feel so bad!”
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Trey Smith in Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.
Trademark
Smith, 25, took the whole experience in stride. “It wasn’t as much pressure as I thought it would be,” he tells PEOPLE. “I thought I would have to memorize my lines or it would be a little harder, but I’m thankful it wasn’t. Everyone was so sweet.”
Still, it helped that Smith had home field advantage. “I’m definitely in my comfort zone,” he says with a laugh. “I’m never in this area without being stressed because I’m usually coming out of the tunnel for a game. So it’s definitely a lot more relaxing now.”
As for Smith’s performance, “He was incredible,” says Hynes. “He’s a natural.”
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Holiday Touchdown: The Chiefs’ Love Story premieres Saturday, November 30, at 8:00 PM ET/PT on the Hallmark Channel.
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Source: HIS Education