As he continues building up his roster once again, Freddie Prinze Jr. reveals the heartwarming reason for his acting return in Netflix’s Christmas With You. The holiday rom-com centers on Angelina, a burnt out pop star about to be dropped by her label who heads to a small town to fulfill a fan’s wish, and begins catching feelings for the girl’s music teacher father. Prinze Jr. stars in Christmas With You, which has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics and audiences alike after making its debut in mid-November, alongside Lucifer alum Aimee Garcia.
While speaking with Esquire to discuss his work in Christmas With You, Freddie Prinze Jr. opened up about his near-decade-long hiatus. The actor shared the heartwarming reason for his return to the field, citing his daughter’s curiosity about getting into acting as the ultimate motivator for stepping back in front of the camera so that he and his wife, fellow actor Sarah Michelle Gellar, could show her the ropes. See what Prinze Jr. explained below:
Sarah and I deal with everything so differently, this way she could kind of cherry-pick the parts that she felt could work for her, and the crap that she didn’t agree with, she could then throw away and disregard. I mean, I’ve been offered a bunch of romantic comedies over the last 15 years, I was just never reading any of the scripts. I didn’t have any interest in doing it.
Prinze Jr.’s Acting Hiatus Explained
Having made his acting debut in ABC’s Family Matters in 1995, Prinze Jr. enjoyed a very quick rise to stardom in the latter half of the decade, starring in everything from the horror-thriller I Know What You Did Last Summer to the teen rom-com She’s All That. The actor would become primarily known for his work in the latter genre near the start of the millennium, appearing in the likes of Down to You, Boys and Girls, Head Over Heels and Summer Catch, all of which scored mostly negative reviews and underperformed at the box office. Prinze Jr. saw the tides begin to turn back in his favor as he starred in the live-action Scooby-Doo movies for Warner Bros. alongside Wing Commander and Summer Catch co-star Matthew Lillard, real wife and I Know What You Did Last Summer costar Sarah Michelle Gellar and Lind Cardellini.
The following years would see Prinze Jr. turn his attention towards television, appearing in a guest role on Friends, a recurring role on Boston Legal and even leading his own short-lived sitcom, which itself crossed over with George Lopez. After a main role in 24 season 8, on which he reportedly conflicted frequently with star Kiefer Sutherland, Prinze Jr. would find his way into voice acting as Star Wars Rebels‘ Kanan Jarrus, a role he has since reprised in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and The Bad Batch. Ultimately, though Prinze Jr. would remain largely off the screen for the 2010s, choosing instead to focus on helping raise his family with Gellar.
Considering how often headlines read of dysfunctional Hollywood families, his desire to keep his focus on his family is sure to be seen as an admirable one. Additionally, Prinze Jr. citing his reason to return to acting being to help ease his daughter into the acting sphere, rather than rush her into the industry, makes his hiatus both understandable and heartwarming. Audiences can catch up with Prinze Jr.’s latest major role with Christmas With You now streaming on Netflix.
Source: Esquire
