And so it was special for me also because you do not think of an elf being a person of color but that’s something that I get to bring. 

Devin Bright is one of Santa’s two top elves in The Santa Clauses on Disney+. The series is a follow-up to the holiday movie franchise. 

If you’re a 90s kid, then you remember the Santa Clause movie. The touching, holiday story about a cranky, divorced toy designer named Scott Calvin, played by Tim Allen, who accidentally scares the original Santa Claus off his roof to his permanent retirement. From there, he ends up taking up the job, involuntarily at first, but it grew on him literally and included finding a wife in The Santa Clause 2 and defeating Jack Frost in The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. 

In the latest installment, Scott Calvin is considering retirement after “realizing that he can’t be Santa forever” and sets out to find a replacement. 

Bright, 14, joins Santa’s workshop as the head elf Noel, a position preciously held by Bernard (spoiler alert).  The teen actor, who is best known for his roles in The Unicorn, Hap and Leonard, Misfits and Monsters and Underground, spoke with RoyalTee Magazine about working with Allen, scoring his first-holiday role,  representation and when did he stop believing in Santa?

Tell us about your character Noel, what is he like? 

My character Noel is just in love with Santa. He is Santa’s best friend. He’s his right-hand guy. He’s fun. He’s loving, he’s very energetic. He basically makes sure that Santa has everything he needs.

(Not to mention to report if he is sleeping on the job, but that’s another spoiler alert!)

What was it like being on the set with Tim Allen? 

He’s so funny off camera and it was just really a pleasure to spend so much time with him and learn from him. My favorite thing that I learned was how he operates and how he treats everyone, and how he interacts with the directors and everybody else. He really cares about the story. And he wants to make sure that every scene makes sense. So, for example, if there’s some dialogue in a scene, he makes sure that it relates back to the movies, or it makes sense in terms of the overall story. And it’s really cool to see him care for the story and treat it with so much respect.

Representation is a big topic, especially among young people of color in the industry. How important were diversity and inclusion for you in this movie? 

I’m very happy at the amount of inclusion and diversity of the cast and crew. People from different areas, people different people of color, it was just really cool to see the diversity around, the cast, and the set. And so it was special for me also because you do not think of an elf being a person of color but that’s something that I get to bring. 

Did you believe in Santa Claus growing up?

 I think I was like eight or nine. But there’s always still that little part of me. Right? That still believes and hopes that Santa is real, so it doesn’t really ever completely die, that hope and that belief in Santa?

Do you have any holiday traditions that you do with your family? 

I always look forward to spending time with my family and especially watching football with my grandpa. It’s just a lot of fun to spend time with family, especially as an actor, you’re moving around so much. 

What message do you hope audiences will get from watching this series? 

I think the main message that I want people to take away is just to remember the real reason for Christmas; to give and to spend time with the people around you. It’s not all about just getting presents, spending time with family is one of the more important parts of it.

What makes Devin Bright RoyalTee? 

 I think just my personality, I always want to lift people up. I always want to help people around me. I just want to lift everyone up and hope that everyone has a good time when they’re with me. Or even when they’re not.  If I can send a text message to someone to help or lighten up their day,  just always trying to help someone around me. I think that’s what makes me RoyalTee.

 

Watch Devin Bright in The Santa Clause series on Disney+.  New episodes premiere every Wednesday.