Devale Ellis isn’t just the love interest in Netflix’s hit new holiday romance, “Meet Me Next Christmas,” he is also a huge lover of Christmastime.
By the time Ellis’ holiday film hit the streaming platform, he already had seven Christmas trees up around his house in Fulton County, Georgia.
“Don’t judge me, but after Halloween on November 1st, that’s when all of the Christmas lights, the trees, the movies, and the music starts in my house. Like the minute November 1st hits,” he told theGrio weeks after his holiday romance debuted in the top spot on Netflix.
Some of his holiday traditions include jamming to “Let It Snow” by Boys II Men and throwing “Home Alone” on for family movie night. This year, the 40-year-old husband and father of four said his sons added his movie to the holiday watch list.
“This year, for the first time, they were like, ‘I want to watch daddy’s movie,’” the actor explained.
His four sons aren’t the only ones who have enjoyed his latest film. The holiday movie dominated Netflix charts throughout November and has received acclaim from critics and fans.
“The reception has been great,” Ellis said, adding how many fans have expressed they’ve watched the movie more than once since it dropped.
He initially thought that with the film’s release on the day after the 2024 US presidential election, it wouldn’t really take off until at least the middle of December.
“People may be feeling a way about the election,” he figured, adding, “And then November 7th comes around and it’s like, ‘Y’all the number one movie on Netflix.’ It was kind of crazy.”
In the film, Ellis plays a personal concierge who is assigned to help a woman (Christina Milian) desperate to find concert tickets to a sold-out holiday Pentatonix show. The film involves the cold holiday scapes of New York City, Christmas-time meet-cutes, unrequited love, and unforgettable, almost show-stealing, cameos by the legendary acapella group Pentatonix.
As it joins the list of beloved made-for-TV or streaming holiday films, Ellis has ideas as to why this genre of film has taken off the way it has.
“Escapism is important for people,” he explained. “So many people have challenges every day. Whether it’s work, a spouse, family members– there are things that sometimes you can’t really get rid of because these are things we need to deal with every day, but for an hour and a half, two hours, if I can escape and think about nothing but love and positivity, I can find that in a hallmark or a Netflix or a Christmas movie, that’s what people want.”
He added, “I’m guilty of it as well.”
Now that Ellis is a reigning holiday season love interest, he also has thoughts on how one can harness the holiday season to have their most romantic Christmas. He said it’s much easier than one might think.
“The best way to have the most romantic Christmas ever is to listen to your partner,” he said. “Don’t try to give him or her what you think is the best thing for them. Listen to them. And when I say listen, I don’t say listen the day before Christmas. Listen the entire year. Listen to what they’re saying, listen to the hints they’re giving and the things they maybe want, and surprise them with something that they didn’t even have to ask you for.”
The actor and family YouTuber recalled one of the most romantic Christmases he experienced to date with Khadeen Ellis, his wife of 14 years. The first Christmas after he left the NFL, things were tighter around his household. The year before, he treated his wife to a shopping spree at the fancy, expensive mall flanked by designer brands. When he told her he couldn’t give her that same kind of Christmas again, she told him she already had everything she wanted in him and their growing family.
“When I tell you that made me as a man feel whole because you know what it’s like as a man to feel like I have to provide or give something in order for my wife to feel special,” he said.
Ellis’s own holiday romantic realization isn’t that far off from the conclusion Milian’s character ends up with; it’s not about what and who you don’t have.
If it wasn’t obvious before, Ellis said, “I am definitely not a Grinch.”
“I think all people need to dedicate some time to enjoying Christmas, even if you’re not a religious person, “ he continued. “To me, Christmas isn’t just about the religious aspect. It’s the season of giving. It’s about celebrating the entire year. It’s about paying it forward, sharing with family and friends.”
After the holidays, Ellis is particularly excited to put on his producer hat as one of the producers behind Broadway’s upcoming revival of Shakespeare’s “Othello,” starring Denzel Washington as the titular role. The production, which may be one of Washington’s final roles, is set to begin in March 2025.
“Co-producing “Othello” on Broadway with Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington is like the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” he said. “I get an opportunity to watch and learn from, in my opinion, the greatest leading man of my generation, Denzel. There’s nothing Denzel hasn’t done, and to be able to watch him on Broadway live is something I’m always going to hang my hat on.”
