The Santa Clauses Season 2 Interview: Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias On Joining The Holiday Franchise

Currently available to stream on Disney+, The Santa Clauses season 2 takes place after Scott’s failed attempt to find a successor. Realizing that he doesn’t want to retire anytime soon, Scott decides to train his son, Cal, to become the next Santa in a push to turn the North Pole into a family business. However, when the legendary Mad Santa is accidentally released from his magical prison, he convinces the owner of a Christmas theme park that he is the real Santa Claus.

Gabriel Iglesias plays Kris Kringle, the operator of Santopolis who winds up helping Magnus Antas reacclimate to the present day. Iglesias is most well-known for his success as a stand-up comedian, but he has also been featured in several films and shows. His recent credits include The Neighborhood, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank, and Maya and the Three. In addition to Iglesias, The Santa Clauses season 2 series stars Tim Allen, Elizabeth Mitchell, Elizabeth Allen-Dick, Devin Bright, Austin Kane, Matilda Lawler, and Eric Stonestreet.

Screen Rant interviewed Gabriel Iglesias about joining the cast of the iconic holiday franchise, working with Eric Stonestreet, and shooting Christmas scenes during the summertime.

Gabriel Iglesias Talks The Santa Clauses Season 2

Screen Rant: Are you a fan of the original The Santa Clause movies?

Gabriel Iglesias: Yes. That is an easy yes. The original The Santa Clause, 1994. I was in high school at the time, and I remember watching that movie in theaters. People forget that his character was a normal regular everyday dude before he became Santa.

If you watched the movie in theaters, I’m guessing you didn’t imagine you’d be a part of this universe someday.

Gabriel Iglesias: I don’t think anybody thought that doing something like that was possible. And then you see things like what happened with the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai and how they were able to cross that world over into a series and continue the story in a new way. I think that they were able to do that with The Santa Clauses.

What was your first reaction when you found out you were going to be able to be a part of the show?

Gabriel Iglesias: When they said it, I go, “From the movies?!” That was my reaction. And I said it just like that, and they’re like, “Yeah, from the movies,” and I’m like, “Oh, my God.” And so, of course, I went in and I started watching the first season, and I’m like, “Oh, my God, they made it work.” I thought that was really, really cool. And so, of course, a chance to work with Tim Allen and Eric—it was a great time. It really was. We shot it in June, and it was the most Christmas I’ve ever been around in the summertime.

We learn right off the bat how important Santopolis is to Kris. He’d do anything to keep it running. What it is about this place, specifically, that you feel he really connects with?

Gabriel Iglesias: The fact that he’s put his heart and soul into it. He’s done everything to keep this place afloat and nothing is working. His dad is trying to help him. Parents want to help their kids, but there comes a point where they’re like, “Look, you’re bleeding me dry here, so I think you’re on your own.” It’s one of those things where he’s just like, “I’ve done everything possible to take care of my baby. My precious.”

Kris is so excited about meeting Santa that he’s ignoring all the red flags and just going with the flow. What kind of work did you and Eric do to build that onscreen dynamic?

Gabriel Iglesias: It’s really cute because they actually make reference to the fact that this is not the first time he meets Santa. It’s the second time. He met him once as a kid. So they cut back to one of the actual clips from the original movie, and the little kid, they’re saying that that’s me back then, so I thought that was pretty cool that they made that little connection.

As far as working with Eric, he’s a very different Santa. He’s not like a Tim Allen Santa. He’s definitely a Mad Santa. He’s very grumpy. Most of the time you don’t even realize it’s Eric. The makeup is so good, and he’s such an amazing actor. He plays it very well, and he doesn’t turn it off while he’s got the beard on. He’s still in that mode, which is really funny, because we would talk about random things and he’s still in that character.

Kris is such a warm and optimistic person. Did you enjoy getting to play a character who sees the world in such a wonderful way?

Gabriel Iglesias: That character is very happy, very optimistic, and very fun and loving. There aren’t really any scenes of my character getting mad or being all over the place. He’s just very even-keeled and just chill. He’s a super chill, happy-go-lucky guy.

How was the overall experience of filming in the North Pole?

Gabriel Iglesias: The hardest thing was running in overalls in Santa boots. Trying to get to my trailer in those boots—those boots were real. They were real boots. I’m a 47-year-old who has to wear New Balance because he’s got plantar fasciitis. That was my biggest complaint out of everything, so I think I had the best time. If that’s all I had to complain about, it was a good time. It really was. Christmas is my favorite holiday. It’s 360. It’s not like a sitcom where it’s one-sided. It’s everywhere. Especially when we’re at the park. This is legit a park. We’re at a park.

About The Santa Clauses Season 2

In the second season, the Calvin family is back in the North Pole as Scott Calvin continues his role as Santa Claus after retirement plans were thwarted when failing to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Calvin to eventually take over the “family business” as Santa Claus.

Check out our other interviews with The Santa Clauses season 2 cast as well:

• Composer Ariel Rechtshaid
• Eric Stonestreet
• Production Designer Melanie Jones
• Tim Allen & Elizabeth Allen Dick