The Santa Clause movies have been cinematic staples of the festive season for a long time now, and some may even consider the first flick in particular to be one of the best Christmas movies ever. While that film series wrapped up in 2006, the saga of Tim Allen’s Scott Calvin and his family has continued on the small screen with The Santa Clauses, the TV series releasing exclusively to Disney+ subscribers. However, one of Allen’s costars on the show has slammed him for being more naughty than nice while on set, even saying that he was “so fucking rude.”
Saturday Night Live alum Casey Wilson guest-starred in The Santa Clauses Season 1 as Sara, who, as depicted in The Santa Clause, met Scott Calvin as Santa when she was a kid (played then by Melissa King), and viewers got to see her reencounter him as an adult, albeit initially thinking he was a home intruder. During an episode of her podcast Bitch Sesh (via Variety), Wilson recalled her dissatisfying experience working with Allen, starting off by calling and saying it was “the truly single worst experience I’ve ever had with a co-star ever.” She continued:
So I’m in a scene. It’s just me and Tim Allen and I’m supposed to throw things at him. I think he’s a burglar. So he’s coming down the chimney, obviously as Santa, and I am woken up thinking there’s an intruder, basically like a home invasion scene. So I’m throwing things at him. [He] goes over to the producer who is standing four feet from me and goes, and I hear him, he goes, ‘You gotta tell her to stop stepping on my lines.’ The producer turns to me with horror on his face and has to walk one foot to me and he goes, ‘Umm, Tim would ask that you stop stepping on his lines.’
Prior to saying the above, Wilson explained that she’d previously “buried this” story because one of The Santa Clauses’ producers is “a great friend” of hers and because her children “love the movies.” Now, however, she was more than willing to open up about the behavior she witnessed from Tim Allen as they were performing their scene together. The actress also noted that “everybody was walking on egg shells” around him and there were a lot of “frantic” looks. By the time Allen was done with the scene, Wilson claimed that he “he was so fucking rude. Never made eye contact, never said anything. It was so uncomfortable.” She also discussed what he allegedly did during a portion of the day when Wilson finished shooting a shot that blocked her in a close-up, saying:
It’s the end, and Tim Allen goes, ‘Leaving!’, takes his Santa cape, picks it up and drops it on the floor and walks out. And they hustle in his stand-in; lovely man, who was much nicer to act against. People are scurrying to pick up his velvet Santa coat. He’s a bitch. And this is the best… I will not say who said this. This was someone that I do not know, perhaps in the crew. [He or she] breezes past me and just goes, ‘You’re seeing him on a good day.’
In addition to starring in The Santa Clauses, Tim Allen is also one of its executive producers, giving him a leadership role in the creative process. It’s unfortunate that Casey Wilson’s time with the lead actor on this Disney+ show didn’t go well, though we’ll have to wait and see whether Allen or anyone from his camp responds to her statements. Along with her guest appearances on The Santa Clauses, Wilson’s recent credits include Harley Quinn, History of the World, Part II and The Righteous Gemstones.
The Santa Clauses’ two seasons can be streamed in their entirety on Disney+, and while the show hasn’t been renewed for Season 3, Tim Allen did share his sci-fi-leaning idea for the next batch of episodes. Be sure to also look through our 2024 TV schedule to see what small screen entertainment awaits in the coming year.