A popular game show host is tackling a new genre of television and he debuts in the role on December 13. Marc Summers stars in the Hallmark film “Hanukkah on the Rocks,” his first serious movie acting role.
Summers has been in the entertainment industry for years. Many fans recognize him most from his years hosting “Unwrapped” on Food Network or “Double Dare” on Nickelodeon. Now, he’s excited to make a dream come true with his Hallmark role.
Marc Summers Worried He Couldn’t Pull It Off
Summers appeared on New York Living on December 9 to discuss the movie. He joked that he “always wanted to be in the entertainment business but I had zero talent.”
He continued, “So it took me a long time, and I was 34 when I started ‘Double Dare.'” Summers noted he is now 72 years old.
The Hallmark opportunity came when Summers did a one-man show in New York. Someone from the network went to see the show, and the two chatted briefly after the show.
A couple of weeks later, the Hallmark person called Summers and explained the network was developing a movie they thought he’d be great in. He told them, “Yeah, but I don’t act.”
The Hallmark person disagreed, pointing out she had just seen him acting in his one-man show. He read 20 pages of the movie script and decided to go for it.
Summers was surprised to learn, after signing the contract, that he would be one of the leads in the movie. “I thought, ‘What have I done?'”
He had a lot of fun filming the movie and admitted he was “Scared I was going to look like a guy pretending to be an actor, but I’m actually very pleased” with the result.
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Summers noted that “Hanukkah on the Rocks” is Hallmark’s second Hanukkah film. He loved his experience acting in his first movie and noted that “there have been conversations” about other acting roles.
He even mentioned the possibility of doing some work on Broadway.
During a December 11 interview with “New York Live,” Summers shared he took acting lessons 35 years ago, both in New York and in Los Angeles. He quipped he “wasn’t particularly good at it,” though.
“It took me to get to this point in my life to just not be inhibited about anything,” Summers explained of embracing the opportunity now.
Summers shared, “I had to do a very dramatic scene towards the end where I have to cry, and I didn’t think I could do it. And son of a gun, it kind of came pretty easy.”
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Longtime Game Show Host Makes Acting Debut in New Hallmark Movie