Lacey Chabert Dishes on New Movie ‘The Christmas Quest’ & Where Gretchen Wieners Would Be Today

PW: What unique elements of The Christmas Quest make it stand out, compared to the other feel-good films you've done?

Lacey Chabert: This one is completely different than any other holiday movie I've ever done. We go on a treasure hunt, and it's a true adventure through Iceland. So there's mystery, there's a little bit of suspense, and it still has that feel-good quality that you look for in a holiday movie. There's still romance.

It's also different because Kristoffer Polaha and I are playing characters who were once married. So, it's a completely different stage that we open up on finding these two characters. They're not meeting for the first time. They had this real marriage and relationship, and we find them at this fractured part of their relationship, and it gives them the space to possibly work through some of that and see each other through a new perspective and appreciate each other in a new way. And I just love this movie. It was such an adventure.

PW: I know this also marks your first collaboration with Kristoffer Polaha—what was it like to work with him?

LC: He's wonderful. He and I, we've known each other over the years, through Hallmark, through friends and just through the business. And I'd hoped that we'd get to work together one-on-one like this. And I was so happy and it finally worked out. He's collaborative, he's an incredible actor and he's kind.

PW: This also marked your first film in Iceland, how was that experience?

LC: [Polaha and I] were able to have our families in Iceland for a week over the Easter holiday, which was so much fun to be able to tour around Iceland with our families. And we just had the best time. It was such a joyful shoot.

PW: You have worked on a total of 41 Hallmark movies so far, which makes you Hallmark royalty. Did you foresee this level of success?

LC: I never could have imagined when I did the first one, called Elevator Girl, so many years ago, that I would end up doing 41 movies and counting, and I'm just so thankful for it. I'm so thankful to be working as an actress. And, you know, I've been in this business since I was seven years old, and I've had just the beautiful opportunity to see so many incredible blessings and dreams come true, and there's so much that I hope and pray happens in the future. And I'm thankful to be part of something that brings some goodness into the world. I want to create characters that people can see themselves in and hopefully find relatable.

PW: Would you say this explains why so many fans consistently come back to these feel-good films?

LC: I think so. I think whether it's a wedding movie or a drama or a mystery or Christmas or a comedy, I really appreciate how Hallmark has expanded, especially over the past few years. We're telling stories that are from different points of view. And last year, my Christmas movie with Scott Wolf was more about siblings, and it was so brilliant. I think now more than ever, life can be so stressful, and people want to turn on something and feel comforted. It's like, how do we tell stories where there'll be that goodness and that uplifting ending that audiences want, but how do we create characters that are new and...at the end of the day, how do I just want to see myself in the character and be rooting for the character and feel like and feel like, 'Oh, I could be on that journey.'

PW: Your iconic Mean Girls character, Gretchen, is still making waves today, where do you think she would be in 2024?

LC: I think we got a pretty good glimpse of it in the [Black Friday] commercial. She's running the Toaster Strudel Empire, and she's a mom to, I'm sure, many children. And I think her hair is still big and full of secrets.

PW: Can you tell me a bit about your partnership with Russell Stover?

LC: I love Russell Stover chocolate, and it's actually been a part of my family's holiday tradition since I was a kid. I can remember walking into my grandparents' house, especially during this time of year, and seeing that box of chocolate being so excited. Growing up, it was actually the first thing I ever bought from my mom. I saved my allowance and she walked me to the store, and I didn't tell her why we were going to the store, and I made her wait outside, and she allowed me to go inside and I bought her a small box of Russell Stover chocolate and a card. And I was so proud of it, because it was the first thing I'd ever bought by myself. I think I was eight years old—which is the age of my daughter now.