Exclusive Interview
‘The Holiday Spark’: Joey Graziadei on His Unexpected Connection With Jamie Chung & More
Joey Graziadei has become the king of reality television, with stints on The Bachelorette, The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars, and, in 2027, The Traitors. The former tennis instructor has also expanded his entertainment career into acting, and will make his feature film debut as leading man Dean, a perpetually single firefighter, in Roku’s The Holiday Spark.
“This was my first time really stepping into a role, playing someone else, [and] really having a lot of lines to, not only memorize, but then deliver and bring in a lot of different emotions,” Graziadei, who previously played a version of himself on 9-1-1, tells Swooon. “It came kind of out of the blue. Roku reached out with an offer and an opportunity to do the movie, and I’m so grateful that they thought of me, and I had the ability to try a project like this. It was more fun than I even thought it could have been.”
Graziadei stars in the film alongside acting vet Jamie Chung, who plays children’s book illustrator Laura. While Laura is looking for that special “spark” with someone, Dean is focused on work and not interested in a serious relationship. But when Laura helps him plan the firehouse holiday party, he may not be able to resist.
During his early days on set, Graziadei says he leaned on Chung for guidance and notes that he was surprised to find out how similar their backgrounds are. “When she accepted [the movie offer], I was so excited because I had seen her in films before, but I was unaware that she was actually someone that did come from reality [TV], as well, being from The Real World,” he shares. “So that was a connection that I didn’t even expect that helped immensely … to actually see someone that’s moved into the space and is known as an actress and has really put a lot of time into it and takes the art so seriously.”
Graziadei admittedly never saw Chung on The Real World or The Challenge, but was familiar with her work in The Hangover, Grown Ups, and more. “I wish I did [watch her reality shows],” he admits. “People find this out the more I do press, but I was not a reality show kind of guy. I don’t watch reality TV that much.”
For more from our interview with Graziadei about The Holiday Spark, scroll down or check out the full video above!
Is acting something that you had considered pursuing before this, or did it really just kind of fall into your lap?
Joey Graziadei: I don’t think it was something I was thinking about actively, but when I did the 9-1-1 shoot, I saw all the different nuances and things that go into a scripted shoot, whether it was camera angles changing, someone delivering lines, how the process kind of delivered and went through, and it was so fascinating to me. I’m a nerd with this stuff.
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From reality to now scripted, I love seeing how everything is built. I like seeing the whole entire crew and the amount of people it takes to deliver and create something in the way that they do. So something about scripted has always been so interesting and exciting. But as you know, coming from reality, it’s not easy to jump into that position because people are used to seeing you in a certain way. So to get this opportunity to be a lead in a movie like this was so exciting to really jump in headfirst and be able to see how it could be something I could do.
When you got the script and got the offer, what was it that stood out to you?
Graziadei: I think it was the type of movie. Holiday movies are always feel-good movies for me, and it’s something that I think anyone can resonate with and connect with because everyone has a special connection to the holidays. But then, on top of it being a romance-type of film, it also has a little bit of a comedic element to it at moments. When I saw the script, I read it, I went through it, and I was like, “I can see myself playing this character.”
I resonate with Dean. It has some aspects that I think people would be used to seeing me in. I had flashbacks in some of the moments when I was on a date with Jamie. I’m like, “This is a one-on-one from The Bachelor. I know how to do this.” So yeah, I think there was some resonating that it was a genre I love, but then also something that I think people would feel comfortable seeing me in and hopefully feel like it was a natural fit.
You played a firefighter in the movie. Did you have to do any specific training for that? I know you weren’t really out there fighting fires or anything…
Graziadei: I wish I was fighting fires. That’d be awesome. No, I didn’t do any type of crazy training. Funny enough, we live across the street from a firehouse. So my fiancée, Kelsey [Anderson], gave me the idea to go on over there and ask them like, “Hey, can you give me some tips?” And it’s like, yeah, that’s what a volunteer firefighter wants at the time is me walking over being like, “I’m going to be in a movie. Do you guys want to give me some tips?” But no, it was really fun to step into that situation and just try to be a firefighter as much as you can. Maybe I should have done some training before, but hopefully it’s believable.
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How was the photo shoot for the calendar that you had to pose on?
Graziadei: Very uncomfortable. I mean, anyone dreams, I guess, at some point, [that] maybe they could be a Mr. December as a firefighter. I did not think that was in my cards. Just a lot of pushups and ab wheels as much as possible before doing that because I was definitely afraid to not look good in it. So I hope people like me in the calendar shoot.
Aside from Kelsey pushing you to go to the firehouse, how has she supported this acting journey for you?
Graziadei: She has been everything you can imagine and more in terms of support. It was a little daunting getting into this because I think I had confidence that I would do the best I could, but it is so out of my comfort zone. And I think she just gave me the level of confidence I needed coming in to just tell me that no matter what you do, everything you put your mind to, you have the ability to succeed in. And she just made me feel like it was something that I could do because I think everyone needs that partner by their side that’s supportive and believes in you almost more than you do yourself at moments. So I don’t think I could have done it without her support and the pep talks and the long days on set when you need to FaceTime and say, “Oh, I thought I messed this up or that up.” And she was always my safe space to kind of get my thoughts out and make me feel good about what’s going to come from all of this.
Was she able to visit you on set at all?
Graziadei: She was, yeah. It was a quick shoot in Atlanta. We did it for about a month. And as people know, we both have very busy schedules, individually and together usually, but that was the first time I think we had a long stint away from each other since coming off The Bachelor because we do so much together. So I think the first two weeks I was by myself without her there, and it sucked. I was so ready for her to come visit, but it was really cool for her to be able to meet everyone in the crew and come see me after I got my feet wet and kind of got a little bit more comfortable in it.
Do you think that acting is something she could potentially pursue in the future? Could you do a project together?
Graziadei: I will start the train right now that people need to jump on: Kelsey should be an actress. She would be so good. I always think that not only is she extremely creative, but [she is] witty and has the ability to take, I think, any role that she would want. I can see her being the funny, cute girl that someone would be interested in in a romantic way. She also could be the quirky girl in any way she wants. She just has so many comedic traits to her that I know she would be amazing. And yeah, if someone wants to cast both of us in something, I would love to work with her in a role.
The Holiday Spark, Monday, November 2, Roku Channel
