Exclusive Interview
‘Finding Mr. Christmas’ Season 2’s First Eliminated Hunk Speaks: ‘It Was Definitely Pretty Intense’
What To Know
- Jake Schum, a former Green Bay Packers punter, was the first contestant eliminated from Season 2 of Hallmark’s Finding Mr. Christmas.
- The Season 2 premiere episode featured guest star Janel Parrish.
- In an interview with Swooon, Schum revealed Finding Mr. Christmas was his “first time acting.”
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Finding Mr. Christmas Season 2 Episode 1 “The Search for Mr. Christmas.”]
Like Santa on December 24, the first contestant on the new season of Hallmark’s hunk hunt, Finding Mr. Christmas, was sent packing during the October 27 Season 2 premiere, but in the true spirit of the season—and the network—the ousted hopeful is optimistic about the whole thing.
“I felt like it just brought a new surge of energy for me,” Jake Schum, the former Green Bay Packers punter who got the boot, told Swooon. “I’ve been having this missing piece ever since football, and felt like I was just trying to find that thing. Just being part of this, again, having that brotherhood again and being around all those guys and really sinking my teeth into something that was fun and exciting…I can definitely see myself doing [again].”
He continued, “I’m pretty upbeat and good energy already, but that just really brought more of it out of me. And I just really wanted to show my family and everyone else, just take those chances, those opportunities. It is something way out of my comfort zone, but I’m like, you know what? Who knows what’s going to come from it? And I absolutely loved it.”
Hallmark Media / Kim Nunneley
After the 10 guys vying for a leading role in an upcoming Hallmark Christmas movie moved into their massive Utah mansion that is surrounded by open land and mountains, Jake and the gang were greeted by host Jonathan Bennett. Listing all of the assets it takes to be a Hallmark hunk, Bennett then laid out the game rules. First, the fellas would compete in a Festive Face-Off up in Santa’s Workshop, then tackle the Star-Quality Challenge screen test with an already established Hallmark star.
For the crafty Festive Face-Off, Bennett and “a special gift from Kris Kringle himself” — head judge Melissa Peterman — tasked the 10 newbies with creating their own version of Santa Claus. Being insanely jacked and genetically blessed, a sleeveless Schum opted for a “buff, tough Santa,” declaring, “Even when it’s snowing, I bring the heat” as he ripped open his fur-lined garb.
After that, it was time for the Star-Quality Challenge, which Schum admitted was his Achilles’ heel, having never acted before in his life. Making it even trickier? The guys would be performing a scene with Sugarplummed and Pretty Little Liars alum Janel Parrish. Outside. On skis. On a snow-covered slope. “They decided to just throw everything at us, and especially me, because I think it was the most ‘firsts’ I’ve ever had,” the personal trainer and dad of two confessed. “First time acting, first time on skis, first time with a Hallmark star.”
And even though he didn’t make the cut, Schum knows that it isn’t whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game. “It was definitely pretty intense, but I still had a blast doing it.”
Finding Mr. Christmas, Season 2, Mondays, 8/7c, Hallmark Channel
