Lenny Rush and James Buckley discuss Finding Father Christmas, the heartwarming festive drama from Channel 4 with a magical Christmas message and an all-star cast.
Chris (Lenny Rush) is a 16-year-old who still believes in Father Christmas. His concerned father (James Buckley) decides it’s finally time to tell him ‘the truth’. Chris refuses to believe his father and embarks on a quest with his conspiracy-theorist cousin, Holly (Ele McKenzie), to prove him wrong. Knowing that his dad idolises Stephen Fry and would take his word for anything, Chris tracks down the great polymath to ask for his help.
At first, Stephen seems to pour cold water on Chris’s quest. But a mysterious gift leads Chris and Holly to a group of scientists and experts – Professor Hannah Fry, Dame Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock and Jason Fox – who seem to have unlocked the science and secrets of Father Christmas. Chris follows the clues and his own instincts to find the (Greg-Davies’-shaped) proof he desperately needs.
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Q: What appealed to you both about Finding Father Christmas?
Lenny – I remember reading the script and thinking that it’s so rare to find a script that is so funny, yet has so much heart.
James – Loads of reasons. I really liked the story and thought it was really sweet. I do like Christmas. I have two boys, and Christmas is a big deal in our house, so making something my children can actually watch is very appealing to me. My friend Spencer Millman was also producing it, and when I heard that Lenny was in it, I really wanted to work with him.
Q: Do you have any festive traditions you would like to share with us?
Lenny – I LOVE Christmas! I’ve always loved it and think it’s a special time of year. Our family tradition is to have a big get-together and celebrate together! Also, on Christmas Eve, we HAVE to watch a Christmas film, usually Home Alone or Elf.
James – Mainly around the movies we watch. We have a list of films we watch every year: we watch Home Alone on Christmas Eve and Home Alone 2 on Christmas Day. They’re the important ones; during those days, we’ll watch The Santa Clause and a few others.
Q: James, how would you describe your character, Nick?
A guy who’s a bit down on his life, I suppose. There’s been some tragedy and sadness in the family. He’s looking at his life, professionally and romantically, and thinking that everything seems to have gone awry for him. Christmas magic is at the very bottom of his To Do List, and now it’s just him and his son Chris, who’s at an age now where Nick feels they should talk about Father Christmas. Nick’s at a point where everything’s gone wrong for him, and he’s probably the least Christmassy person on the planet. But it’s fine, because his son is perhaps the most Christmassy person on the planet. And I would genuinely say, if Christmas were a person, it would be Lenny. He’s the happiest fellow I’ve ever met in my life, and brilliant at what he does.
Q: Could you relate to that father-son relationship?
I suppose so, yeah. I’ve got two young boys – two young men, really – and trying to help them navigate that transition from childhood to getting older can be very complicated between a dad and a son. My wife and I believe it’s our responsibility to ensure these two boys grow up to be kind gentlemen, which they are, and I’m very proud of them. But it is about constant communication, talking to them and sometimes having discussions about the crushing inevitability of life! Sometimes you do have to crush a bit of hope in them, and that can be difficult. So I definitely had something to draw upon when I was doing the show.
Q: Lenny, can you tell us about your experience working on Finding Father Christmas?
It was just a dream come true working with this all-star cast! Obviously, I had the legend that is James as my dad. The Inbetweeners is a staple of British teenage culture; every teenager has seen it, so it was surreal working with him. He was so lovely as well, and hilarious! We had Asim Chaudhry, Greg Davis, and the amazing experts! I spent a lot of my time filming with Ele McKenzie, who is amazing and hilarious, and I feel so lucky to have most of my scenes with her. The overall set had a lovely atmosphere, and I like to think we all had a lot of fun!
Q: Regarding the set, it must have been unusual to film Christmas scenes out of season…
Lenny – It was strange recreating Christmas, but it’s not the strangest I’ve known! We filmed this in October, but I’ve had to film a Christmas show in July/August, which is so weird! We were all wrapped up in scarves and winter clothing, with the sun beaming down on us!
James – You feel like you’ve had Christmas twice in a year!
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Q: What do you hope people take away from watching the film?
Lenny – I hope people who watch our film have a good laugh and sense the heart of Christmas.
James – I don’t do underlying messages – I don’t want anyone to learn anything! I just want people to be present in the moment and forget about all the nonsense because, as amazing as Christmas is, it’s an incredibly stressful time of year. I want people to be able to switch off from all that for a little while and enjoy a fun film. I’ve only ever wanted to put a smile on people’s faces. I’m in the laughter business, not in the “we should think about this a bit more” business. I think lots of people are in that business, and it’s over-saturated as far as I’m concerned!
Q: What’s next for you both?
Lenny – I’m currently filming for a BBC One series, called ‘The Reluctant Vampire’, which was a book by the legendary Eric Morecambe. It has been adapted for the screen by the Gibbons brothers, who do many of the Alan Partridge shows, so it is very funny!
James – I’ve got a film coming out in the spring called Mother’s Pride, which I’m really excited about. It’s got Martin Clunes and me, and it’s a really sweet story, shot in the West Country. I loved working on it, and I can’t wait to see it.
Finding Father Christmas airs on Wednesday, 24 December at 7:30pm on Channel 4.
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