‘Finding Mr. Christmas’ Season 2 winner Craig Geoghan recalls driving to the Hallmark building with “no appointment” ahead of competing on the network’s reality competition show

Remember the name Craig Geoghan, otherwise known as the winner of Hallmark Channel’s Finding Mr. Christmas Season 2.

With credits on shows like Hulu‘s How I Met Your Mother spin-off How I Met Your Father and FOX‘s Rescue: HI-Surf already under his belt, as well as starring in Carrie Underwood‘s “Ghost Story” music video, Geoghan entered Hallmark’s holiday reality competition series with 10 years of acting under his belt. However, Geoghan cited frustration with the audition process that drove him to knock on Hallmark’s door—literally.

“You send it out, and you don’t hear back so often,” he told DECIDER of auditions. “So I decided, what can I do? How can I stand out? So I drove down to the Hallmark building. No appointment, no nothing. I just knocked on the door, introduced myself, said who I am and why I’m here. I didn’t even know why I was there. I was like, just someone help me.”

Geoghan was told he’d “be great for Finding Mr. Christmas,” which debuted its first season on Hallmark+ before moving over to Hallmark Channel’s linear Monday night lineup for its sophomore season. Though this was the “first time” he’d heard of the series hosted by Jonathan Bennett and judged by Melissa Peterman, which enlists aspiring leading men to compete for a role in a Hallmark Christmas movie, Geoghan did his homework and filled out the application.

“I thought I could definitely see myself on this,” he recalled. “And lo and behold, here I am with you.”

Since being the first to step into the holly-decked halls of the Utah abode where he and his fellow contestants would reside throughout the competition, Geoghan said he and the other contestants “built a real brotherhood, very quickly.”

“I did not expect them to become nine of my closest friends, and so quickly too,” he shared. “So that was definitely a pleasant surprise.”

The next you’ll see of Geoghan is in A Make or Break Holiday, premiering on Dec. 20, in which he stars alongside Hallmark’s very own Hunter King. Following the new Christmas film is the Finding Mr. Christmas Season 2 reunion special. For more on Geoghan’s risk-taking throughout the season, his ideal next career move, and which reality competition shows he could envision himself competing on, check out our conversation below—and watch Geoghan try his hand at building a gingerbread house, too.

DECIDER: First of all, congrats on being crowned Mr. Christmas!

CRAIG GEOGHAN: Thank you!

How does it feel?

It feels awesome. I can tell you I did not know what to expect. All of the guys were really, really bringing it. So the fact that I was chosen to be Mr. Christmas, it’s kind of surreal. But also, I feel like I earned it at the same time, and I’m happy to be now really established as part of the Hallmark family.

Had you watched the first season? What led you to competing on the show?

What led me to competing on the show was me kind of getting frustrated, for lack of a better word, at the audition process. Just in LA in general. Not necessarily Hallmark, just all auditions. You send it out, and you don’t hear back so often. So I decided, what can I do? How can I stand out? So I drove down to the Hallmark building. No appointment, no nothing. I just knocked on the door, introduced myself, said who I am and why I’m here. I didn’t even know why I was there. I was like, just someone help me. And sure enough, they said, “We think you’d be great for Finding Mr. Christmas.” That was the first time I’d heard about it. So I went home, filled out the application, and at that point, I had gotten much more familiar with Season 1. I thought I could definitely see myself on this. And lo and behold, here I am with you [laughs].

We actually chatted a couple weeks ago. I was on the virtual junket for Finding Mr. Christmas. You had obviously kept it a secret. You did a great job of hiding the news. Have you had to keep it a secret from any friends and family? What has that been like?

Yeah, well, I had to keep it a secret for a long time from most people in my life. My mom actually got the opportunity to be on the show, so obviously she knew. That was really, really cool. Super special episode. I think everyone’s going to really connect with that one. But I was a good boy. I kept my lips sealed and I let everybody find out on the finale episode.

What did you do to celebrate the show’s premiere?

I had my immediate family there. My sister’s husband, he’s immediate family now, as well. Their baby. He was upstairs sleeping. His name is Ronan. So he didn’t have any pizza or anything like that. But my aunt and uncle [were also there]. It was seven of us down there in the den. Big old 65-inch TV, volume all the way up. It was really cool. The moment the episode ended, there was a knock on the door with a champagne delivery for a little toast. So it was really, really awesome.

You take a lot of risks throughout the season, whether it be trying out a New York version of Santa Claus or rapping to present your gingerbread house. Do you think that this risk-taking was your secret weapon throughout the competition?

Yeah, definitely. It’s funny, though, because I didn’t necessarily look at it as taking a risk in the moment. That New York version is something I’ve done with my friends, just [being a] goofball, since I was 10 years old, probably. So it finally came in handy and I was able to pull it out of my back pocket. Then rapping is something that I used to do in high school, just like again, goofing around with friends. But sure enough, I was like wow, I actually got pretty good. I haven’t used those skills in 15 years. But again, perfect time, perfect place. We had to choose our talent, so we weren’t given anything specific to do for that episode. So what could I do? [Snaps] A Christmas rap. And it worked out.

As the winner of Finding Mr. Christmas Season 2, you get to star in a Hallmark holiday movie. Can you tell us at all about the movie and when we can expect to see it?

The movie is called A Make or Break Holiday, and it comes out on December 20th, right before Christmas. So it’s an awesome build-up. All the Hallmark movies leading up to mine. I mean, that’s kinda cool that it’s one of the last ones that will air. I guess a little 10,000-foot overview is [it’s about] a lovely couple. They run into problems around the time of the holidays when both families are actually going to come visit, so they kind of pretend like everything is okay. I’m the sibling of one of the people in the relationship who starts to catch on.So it’s my job to kind of do everything I can to get them back together and make Christmas what it’s supposed to be.

Who did you co-star in it with?

Hunter King, which is amazing because she was in one of the episodes of Finding Mr. Christmas. She actually played my sister in the show. So clearly we did something right because it circled back around and we were brother and sister again. It’s funny because we took a selfie on set and we were looking at it and we were like, this is kind of convincing. We actually do kind of look alike. So that was really fun to be able to work with her again.

That’s awesome.

Yeah, she’s great.

After both your time on the show and getting to film this movie, how has your experience working with Hallmark been like? Would you like to continue this collaboration in the future?

Yeah, I mean Hallmark has such a reputable name. Everybody loves Hallmark, and so going into it, I knew it was going to be a cool experience. It even exceeded those expectations, which I did not expect. It was from top to bottom, from start to finish, the coolest thing that I’ve done in my acting career now, which has been 10 years. So that’s a long time. Just the kindness from Jonathan and Melissa. It starts at the top and it trickles down. So they lead the way by example. I would absolutely love to continue working [with Hallmark]. I’m hoping I can do a movie with Melissa, with Jonathan, with all these Hallmark stars because it’s definitely a really, really nice place to be.

Something so heartwarming about this show is seeing the camaraderie between the contestants, which I feel like is fairly unique for a reality competition show. Have you kept in touch with the other contestants since filming the show?

100%. I saw literally all of them just a couple days ago. We all got the opportunity to get back together. We built a real brotherhood, and it was very quickly, too. From the moment we entered the house, within 20 minutes, we’re already bros cracking jokes on each other, like little shots in the arm. Just like bro things. It was a lot of fun to connect with those guys. Jonathan had said coming in that that was going to be the best part of the show. We were all like yeah, I’m sure they’re going to be great guys. I did not expect them to become nine of my closest friends, and so quickly too. So that was definitely a pleasant surprise.

I just have to ask about this house. It’s beautiful, stunning, so festive.

Gigantic.

Take me through your first reactions to walking into this house and your experience living alongside these contestants.

I was the first one to walk into the house. I’m calling, “Anyone here?” No one’s there, so I’m just shouting to myself. But sure enough, they all started coming in and we kind of explored it together, picked out bedrooms, the whole thing. But the fact that there were decorations pretty much on every square inch: the arms of the couches were lined, the table was decorated. Every nook and cranny in the entire house. You have to be careful walking around because you don’t want to break stuff, but that just goes to show how decorated it was. I mean, talk about setting the stage for a festive show. They nailed it.

What is your dream role going forward? Do you see yourself more on the movie side of things or TV? What would be your ideal next move?

My ideal next move is to knock out a bunch more with Hallmark. Like I said, it’s a great place to be. But long term, I’d love to continue to make movies. I’ve always kind of steered more toward watching movies than TV shows. They’re both great. I do both, don’t get me wrong. But I’m attracted more toward movies and I’d love to get the opportunity to tell true stories. Something about those that really reel you in and can move people to tears, to joy, both. I think that’s something I would really, really love to do.

In the spirit of Finding Mr. Christmas and Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas, what is your favorite holiday tradition?

My favorite holiday tradition would be to go see my mom sing at church. There’s a local church nearby. She sings at it on Christmas, often solos. That takes a lot of guts. I was up there on stage rapping solo [in Finding Mr. Christmas] and my heart was going a mile a minute. So the fact that she’s doing it on Christmas in front of people, and then to go back to the house afterward and have a big Christmas meal or go to my aunt’s. That, to me, is what Christmas is all about.

Whether it be Hallmark or otherwise, what’s your favorite Christmas movie?

My favorite Christmas movie is probably The Grinch. That was such a classic when I was a kid. Both the original one from the ’60s and the newer one with Jim Carrey, as well. He’s an icon and that’s still to this day the funniest movie for me. I love The Grinch.

In light of a scene that you got to do in Finding Mr. Christmas with Ashley Williams, a question that comes up in the script is what Christmas cookie you would identify as or say that you are. What Christmas cookie would you say that you are?

I would say that I am a sugar cookie. Does that count as a Christmas cookie?

Yeah, I would say so.

So you just decorate it with some icing, red and green. And then it’s a Christmas cookie. Sweet, not too flashy, but all the things that you need to be a perfect cookie.

At DECIDER, we’re a site that’s dedicated to all things streaming, so what are you watching right now?

I just finished You on Netflix. A bit different than stuff you would see on the Hallmark Channel, but that’s a fun vibe. I am also watching Only Murders in the Building. I have the new [series] with Glen Powell on my list, Chad Powers, where he does the Mrs. Doubtfire to get back into playing football. I grew up playing football, so for me, that one stands out.

Is there anything else that you’d like to share about your time on Finding Mr. Christmas?

I can say thank you to Jonathan and Melissa, if you guys are watching this, hopefully you do. Like I said, it all comes from the top down and that starts with them. Also, thank you to the people behind the camera. Without them, there’s no show. And then most importantly are the fans, for sure. Because you don’t make a show if no one watches it. So without the fans that Hallmark has—they’re so loyal—this show isn’t anything. So I think that we put on a really good show for the fans, and they’ve supported us in a million different ways.

If there were one other reality competition show that you could compete on, what would it be?

Probably something like Survivor because I love being outdoors, the physical aspect. Like I said, I was an athlete and I think that I can do really, really well when it comes to the physical component mixed with problem solving. My mind works in a lot of different ways. So I think something like Survivor or The Amazing Race would be really fun.

All eight episodes of Finding Mr. Christmas Season 2 are streaming on Hallmark+.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! (At least, that’s what Andy Williams promised.) The holidays are a time to celebrate with family, friends, food, and, let’s not forget, fun things to watch. Whether you’re huddled up with the whole family in your living room or cozying up under the covers with your tablet, let Decider be your guide to all things festive this holiday season.