Hallmark’s recent Countdown To Christmas programming brought us a third film (second Christmas film) from Graceland, and it just so happens that a new face caught my attention in Christmas At Graceland Home For the Holidays. While it appears I had seen Damian Cecere in a couple of other things before this movie, his character came to my attention in this entertaining holiday tale. Recently, I was able to chat with Damian, and even though the holidays are officially over, it is my joy to share our interview with my readers today.
RH: Damian, it is so good to chat with you today. I’m glad we were able to get connected.
DC: Ruth, I am too. Thank you for reaching out.
I reached out to you mainly because of your recent Hallmark Christmas movie that we’ll talk about in a minute, but as I was looking through your credits, I recognized something else too. You were in the movie Dangerous Company, right?
Yes, I was in that movie. I had a modest role in that.
Well, I happen to know Rick Ravanello who was in that, and so I have seen the movie Dangerous Company.
Oh, yeah, I know Rick. He was there the couple of days that I was shooting. We chatted every day, and he’s a really nice guy.
I’m so glad. And I am also glad to know that I saw you in something before your Hallmark Christmas movie this past season. So, Damian, how did you get started in acting?
Well, it happened rather accidentally. I studied journalism at the University of Florida. I thought I was going to graduate and probably work at ESPN or CNN in Atlanta. I had plans to move to Atlanta and get settled there. A couple of my fraternity brothers told me they were moving to the West Coast, and they invited me to come check it out with them for a little bit before I really decided what I wanted to do. I thought that sounded pretty great because I had some family friends who had lived in Northern California since the mid-80s, and our family had gone to visit them a few times over the years. We always loved it there when we visited. My family friends were encouraging me to come out to the West Coast as well.
When I got out here, I realized I was being pulled towards other creative types and other artists. I started meeting actors, writers, directors, and people in production. I decided to take an improv class out here at The Groundlings, where a lot of Saturday Night Live people have studied. I was attending back in ’99/2000, and I made lots of friends there that I’m still in touch with to this day. So I was hooked to the point that I got my first set of headshots and my first agent. And the rest, you know how they say, is history. So I didn’t really come into the business with any kind of connections. I didn’t have an uncle who was a producer or a buddy who was a big director or something like that. I didn’t know any celebrities. It was really just starting from the ground up.
That’s interesting how you studied journalism and then ended up becoming an actor. I think I know of a couple of actors who followed a similar path.
You know, I grew up in Vermont which is kind of similar to where you are in Washington State. We lived on multiple acres, and your neighbor could be a mile away or more. Everyone was extremely friendly, and it was a great place to grow up. But I never had any ties to Hollywood or the entertainment business. People tended to stay in New England. It was a big step when I left there and went down to Florida for school and then from Florida out here to California.
What was your first professional acting job?
It was a national commercial for Rolling Rock Beer. It was a great spot. It was funny, and it actually ended up winning an award. They have a commercial division at this con they do every year. But the very strange part of that experience is that I had the dubious distinction of shooting it September 12, 2001.
Oh no!
Yeah, and it was a comedic spot. It was surreal for all of us Americans and most of the world. I had to try to get to that place where I could be funny and be on top of it, whereas everyone around us was just in mourning. I was blessed that it turned out okay, but it came during a very dark time.
When I was in New York recently, I made it a point to visit the 911 Museum. It was the only “touristy” thing I wanted to do while I was there. And it was very emotional.
I haven’t been back to New York in over ten years now, but when I was there, I walked over to the area. They hadn’t built the memorial center yet. They had the plaque with everyone’s name on it, and that was really intense. One of my fraternity’s brother’s older brothers died that day, and when I saw his name, I bent over and started to lose it. It was very powerful.
I know you’ve been on several different shows of which I’m familiar but have not necessarily seen. Some of your top credits that are listed are Fresh Off the Boat, Wisdom of the Crowd…I recognize both, but I have not followed either show. But I’m at least familiar with both.
Well, sure, you’re forgiven. {laughs} I don’t usually watch those shows either. I was just hired to be on them. As actors, we can’t watch all the stuff either. Sometimes we are hired for shows that are not typically our taste, but if they want to hire us, we take the job.
Exactly. That’s the life of a working actor. However, most Hallmark fans are now going to know you from your first Hallmark movie. And you didn’t make just any Hallmark Christmas movie, but you were in one that was filmed at Graceland. So were you aware of Hallmark before you were cast in this movie?
Oh yeah, I was totally aware. In all my years out here, I had come across a handful of actors–contemporaries of mine–that had been in a Hallmark film. They always seemed to have a really positive experience. It wasn’t necessarily a channel that I was watching on my own. I don’t think I’m really the demographic for the network. Once I booked it and started telling people that I was going to be filming a movie this summer for Hallmark, they would go, “Oh, I love that channel!! I watch that channel all the time!!” It tended to be female friends of mine who would say that. But it was funny. I told some of my guy friends, and they would say, “Oh, I gotta tell you my wife and I watch that” or “Me and the girlfriend watch that.” It’s funny how it’s a guilty pleasure for so many.
You guys filmed this movie in Graceland in the middle of the summer.
with Priscilla Presley
That’s right. And it was brutally hot! I was there two separate weeks. There was a difference in temperatures between those two weeks, but it was the difference between 103 and 92. So pick your poison; it was really hot. I remember the first week, we shot downtown where I did those office scenes with Adrian {Grenier}. Just walking from the trailer to where we ate lunch, your eyes were drying out. The heat was just getting blasted off the asphalt. It almost looked like it was deserted. There was no one else out walking. It was that hot. Of course, we had to be inside, Ruth, and we were bundled up and had to act like it was 34 degrees outside. That made for a lot of the makeup department coming over and blotting my forehead with all the shine. {laughs}
I totally get it. I interviewed a couple of people who made the first Christmas In Graceland movie back in 2018, and it was hot when they were filming too. That’s the thing. Memphis in the middle of the summer is not necessarily the most comfortable place to be as far as the temperature goes.
Well put.
But in spite of that discomfort, was it an overall positive experience?
Absolutely. I had a blast. It was really fun. And the fact that I got to go there on two separate weeks was kind of cool too. I got to feel things out a bit that first week and get to know the cast and crew. Adrian and I really hit it off. He was super generous and rehearsed lines when we were in the hair and makeup trailer. We ended up forming a nice friendship along with a couple of the other producers and the director, Eric Close, who was just the nicest guy. He’s so generous. And I hope, God willing, that I get to work on a few more of these down the road. It would be great to work with some of the same people from this movie because they all made it a great atmosphere on set. No pressure, just be yourself and have fun doing it. As opposed to running around like crazy people, which has been my experience on some of the projects I’ve done throughout my career.
That’s what I hear over and over again from the actors and crew on set. I’ve not had the opportunity to visit a Hallmark movie set as of yet, but I at least hear the same report from everyone I talk to. I know there’s work, and it’s not all fun and games. But for the most part, everyone is really nice. And I have heard excellent things about your director, Eric. I am totally impressed with him.
I was too.
I was just glad to see that Hallmark was filming another movie at Graceland. This was their third, as a matter of fact. And I thought the story for this one was really fabulous. I thought you all did a great job, and I enjoyed it. And here’s hoping that we get to see you in another Hallmark movie now that you’re part of the family.
Well, I was able to make some connections with the producers. One of them, Ryan Westheimer, is such a great guy. I really owe him a great deal of credit for this role because he told me to put myself on tape for this role. I did, and obviously, I got it. He and I have a friendship that goes back to my early days out here. We kind of ran in the same circles. And it just so happens that he’s from Florida, and I went to the University of Florida, but we didn’t know each other when we went there. But we connected out here, and so it’s that small world kind of thing.
One of the other producers, Dustin Rikehart, it turns out he grew up in Vermont. I didn’t even figure that out till the shoot was over. We didn’t really discuss our past when we were shooting. It was more about how the shoot was going and all that. Interestingly enough, he put my name in for another Hallmark movie recently. Now, I didn’t happen to get it because I wasn’t exactly who they needed for that one, so it didn’t work out. But I think that another Hallmark will hopefully be in the near future.
That’s really neat, Damian. If you’ve made those kinds of connections, Hallmark is very loyal and I have no doubt they will be back working with you again before too long.
I think so too. The feedback on this movie was fantastic. I haven’t really had much interaction with the fans as of yet, so I may have to give that a shot in the future.
Well, if you do, you’ll find how amazing the Hallmark fan base is. They are some of the best fans ever. They are a very supportive community.
That’s good to know, Ruth. I know I haven’t really done it yet, but it kind of reminds me of the people who watch soap operas. I know that’s a very dedicated, loyal crew of people who count on a certain number of episodes each year and they absolutely do not miss a single frame.
That is very true. A lot of actors and fans have come to Hallmark from the soap opera world, and yes, it’s very similar. I know that your movie Christmas At Graceland Home For the Holidays was shown many times over the season. And it has the chance to be shown again since the Hallmark Channel will be showing Christmas movies every Friday night this year. And there’s also their Christmas in July programming, so people will have many more chances to see your movie if they missed it this past season.
That’s great to hear, Ruth. I didn’t know the movie would be shown that many times.
Hallmark Christmas movies are often very accessible, and that’s another grand thing about them. And it’s that way with their other seasonal movies as well. They replay many of their movies quite regularly. I’m sure many people enjoyed that movie over the holidays. But do you have anything else upcoming that you can mention?
In the commercial world, there’s been a Domino’s Pizza ad that has been doing pretty well. It’s a funny ad because the whole thrust behind it is that the pizza is half off. I think they run that special a couple of times a year. My spot in the commercial is that I’m running out of our house and yelling back to my “wife,” “It’s fifty percent off, honey!” I’m running on the street, and then there’s a lady on a riding mower who bangs a quick u-turn and drives off the curb because she’s going to Domino’s.
I’m not sure I saw that one, but I think I might have. I don’t always catch the ads. But I know commercial work can be really profitable for actors. I know friends have told me how they have a commercial that plays every Christmas, and that always gives them extra money for the holiday season.
Oh yeah, I haven’t had one of those in a while. I used to have a Walgreen’s one that would play every February for years, and that was always great for extra money. And all those SAG dollars go towards qualifying for health insurance and pension credit. Those are important dollars to get. And if you ever get to be a spokesperson for a company…I cut my teeth going through Groundlings here in LA with the woman who plays Flo on the Progressive ads. Her name’s Stephanie Courtney, and she’s fantastic. She’s just the sweetest lady, and it’s been great to see how she’s turned this into an amazing career over the past decade.
I don’t think we viewers always think about all the financial benefits of doing these commercials, so that’s interesting to hear, Damian. And hopefully, there will be more on the horizon for you now that we’re in 2020. And it sounds like Hallmark likes you, so it wouldn’t surprise me for you to be in another movie of theirs pretty soon.
I hope so. Hope springs eternal with the new year. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Speaking of other things I do, my daughter and I do something together. We do these father-daughter videos. The whole idea behind these is about being present with your child and just enjoying the moment. So I incorporate some of my improv background with her, and we role-play. Or we might do drawings together. It’s called Silly Billy Toys. I started off doing the videos with just me, but as she got older–around five or six–she said, “Dad, you can never do a video without me again!” {laughs} Then I was like, “Okay, that’s cool. People would rather see you than me. You’re way cuter than me.” So from then on, it morphed into this father-daughter channel. It’s family-safe, entertaining, and at times, educational.
Silly Billy Toys
That’s awesome! I’m so glad you mentioned that. I bet the Hallmark fans would love it.
I think it’s a great opportunity for the two of us to have fun together. Because I work out of the house and what I do professionally, I get to do this with my daughter, but I don’t think a lot of parents get the chance to do things like this with their kids. So I’m pretty blessed that we have had all these years together to make these fun videos. These videos can be found on Amazon Prime, so if you have that, you can watch them.
filming Silly Billy Toys
That’s just great, Damian. So what did you get to do for Christmas this year? Anything fun?
We went up to see my parents in Northern California. It’s colder up there, which is nice. They have a little place in the small town where they live. There’s an ice skating rink up there, which is fun. And Santa came, of course. It’s always fun to see my daughter get all excited in the days leading up to Christmas.
That sounds like a perfect Hallmark Christmas to me! So thank you, Damian, for chatting with me today, and here’s to a brilliant 2020 for you and your family.
Thank you, Ruth, for reaching out. I really appreciate it. I’m glad everyone liked our Christmas movie, and I look forward to what’s next and sharing it with everyone.
As most of my readers are aware, I have asserted many times in the past that one of my favorite things about Hallmark is the way the network regularly introduces fresh faces to the viewers while remaining loyal to the fan favorites. Because of this, I have been honored to make the acquaintance of remarkably skilled artists like Damian who espouse the values of the network in both their professional and personal lives. While I was impressed with Damian in this recent Hallmark Christmas movie role, after chatting with him, my level of respect and admiration for him intensified. Obviously, Damian is intuitive, pragmatic, gifted, kind, and definitely a team player. He recognizes, furthermore, what is required of him as a working actor in this business, and he has learned to navigate the industry well while making long-lasting associations and friendships along the way. Even though he may not be a household name (and maybe he will never be), that’s not the most important thing to him. At the heart of all he does is the overwhelming blessedness he experiences while making a living doing what he loves and using his craft to spend quality time with his daughter (I absolutely LOVE that!). If you did not have the opportunity to watch Christmas At Graceland Home For the Holidays, be sure to keep an eye out for it throughout this year (Friday nights on the Hallmark Channel and Christmas In July). Additionally, while you are awaiting the replay of his Christmas movie, be sure to visit his links below and consider following him via social media and/or watching his Amazon Prime Show Silly Billy Toys. I greatly anticipate his next Hallmark work (I have no doubt it is just a matter of time before we see him in one of their movies again), and I hope that the Hallmark community will join together to support this generous, capable man in all his future endeavors.
FOLLOW DAMIAN
Silly Billy Toys on Amazon Prime
