Travis Kelce’s mom, Donna, was a real pro shooting “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” But what about the Chiefs’ football players? “You couldn’t get a camera on them fast enough,” actress Megyn Price says.
And their improvisations? “It felt like they thought about them that morning,” adds Diedrich Bader.
The film – in case you haven’t heard – takes place at Arrowhead Stadium where many of the scenes were shot. A marketing director (played by Hallmark regular Tyler Hynes) is looking for the Chiefs’ superfan and happens upon a family that has a lucky hat and a store that sells memorabilia.
Tyler Hynes and Hunter King get to hang out at Arrowhead Stadium for "Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story."
The daughter – played by Hunter King – happens to be single. In a flash, she’s paired with Hynes and expected to bring home the win for her parents, played by Price and Diedrich.
Because the family is supposed to be at a game (along with thousands of Chiefs fans), scenes were shot in the stands. The only problem? “It was 103 degrees,” Price says.
“It was like being in the bottom of an egg cup,” Bader says.
“We had three layers of winter clothing and wool hats,” says Ed Begley Jr., who plays King’s grandfather.
They sweat it out with the crowds while King and Hynes got to do scenes with no one in the stadium. “It was a magical moment,” King says. “We’d come off a full day of shooting but that gave us like a second wind.”
A family is nominated as the Kansas City Chiefs superfans in "Holiday Touchdown." Among the relatives, from left, Megyn Price, Diedrich Bader, Hunter King and Ed Begley Jr.
“We ended the day with this drone shot,” Hynes says. “And it was sort of nice. We just sat out there and it was beautiful.”
Hynes sprained his thumb during the making of “The Groomsmen” (another Hallmark project) and injured it again kicking and passing balls at the stadium. Wide receiver Mecole Hardman Jr. saw the hand “and started rehabilitating it in front of my eyes,” Hynes says. “I had been trying to heal it for like two months and after he (took charge), it healed within a week.”
Hynes’ mistake? “I was being a dainty little actor, trying not to move my thumb, and he was like, ‘Nah, man, you gotta go to town on it.’ So, I started doing all the things he said and it healed.”
The Chiefs, he adds, were great costars.
“They knew their lines very, very well,” King says. “I think they wanted to come in and do a good job and they delivered. They were always prepared.”
The idea that the Chiefs would be featured in a Hallmark movie was common knowledge in Kansas City.
“I’ve never been in a town that so embraced shooting something,” Bader says. “Everyone assumed I was there for that. Usually, they’re like, ‘You’re the guy from “Veep”’ or ‘you’re the blah blah blah.’ But it was 100 percent, ‘Oh, you’re here to shoot the Chiefs movie.’”
All those extras, he says, were more than willing to welcome the Hollywood types. Kelce, who’s often seen in the stands cheering on her son, “was fantastic. Her attitude was amazing.”
Price was worried she might be thrown by the atmosphere. “I said, ‘Don’t be nervous,’ and she goes, ‘I’m not nervous’” and forged ahead as a waitress in a barbecue restaurant.
While the visiting actors weren’t big Chiefs fans initially (Hynes isn’t even into football), they became ones after they saw how enthusiastic residents were.
Hunter King and Tyler Hynes play a couple falling in love in "Holiday Touchdown."
“You can’t do this movie and walk away not feeling like you’re a Chiefs fan,” King says.
“It feels something kindred to the Hallmark audience,” Hynes says. “There’s like a sincerity that touches everybody from all walks of life. Everybody was incredibly warm and very genuine.”
For the film, Catrick Mahomes (a cat with a Patrick Mahomes-like hairdo) made an appearance; tailgaters showed up in their big rigs.
Naturally, the actors loaded up with Chiefs T-shirts, ornaments and hats.
Hallmark calling: Tyler Hynes reigns as king of Hallmark Channel's Christmas movies
Hynes, however, was so excited about the swag he acquired, “I gave it to my friends right after the movie. I got excited.”
If there’s a sequel, he’ll know better to save it for Christmas gifts.
And the cap that figures into the story? It should be available wherever Chiefs memorabilia is sold.
“If you buy the hat, there’s probably going to be magic,” Bader says. “We don’t guarantee it, but there just might be.”
“Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story” airs on the Hallmark channel.
