Jonathan Bennett On Starring In Hallmark's First LGBTQ+ Christmas Rom-Com

Can you describe The Holiday Sitter with three words?

Gay "Uncle Buck."

Interesting, okay.

Do you know what "Uncle Buck" is?

I have no idea.

Oh my God, I am so old. "Uncle Buck" is a very funny movie with John Candy from the late '80s, early '90s.

What keeps you coming back to the Christmas genre, and what are you most excited for fans to see in "The Holiday Sitter"?

What keeps me coming back to Hallmark Channel is their support and their love in the way they support their talent and help their talent tell stories. For "The Holiday Sitter," it was important for me to tell a story of a guy that felt and looked like me. My character is Sam, and he's a gay man living in New York City who doesn't come home for the holidays that much, but he ends up having to come home for the holidays [to] babysit his niece and nephew. Through doing that, he learns what it's like to have a family and be part of a family at the holidays, and [it] changes his heart and mind.

It was important to tell a story of someone that looked like me on screen doing that. I think so many people are going to watch this movie and feel the same way. What's different about "The Holiday Sitter" is that there are two men that fall in love and we make history on Hallmark Channel, because [it's] the first time there's ever been an LGBTQ+ meet cute Christmas rom-com with a leading gay storyline.

That's never happened before. We're going to make history, but it's also important that this movie is made and that the stories are told, but it's not a movie made just for the LGBTQ+ audience. It's a movie made for everybody. "The Holiday Sitter" is for everyone, just like Hallmark Channel is for everyone and Christmas is for everyone.