Tim Allen's co-star Casey Wilson says Santa is rude on set

Tim Allen’s ‘Santa Clauses’ co-star Casey Wilson says he’s ho-ho-horrible on set

Two photos: Casey Wilson in bold red lipstick and sparkly earrings. Tim Allen in yellow-tinted sunglasses.

Dec. 6, 2023 8:54 PM PT

Wait, so the man behind “The Santa Clauses’” Kris Kringle, Sinterklaas, Père Noël, is actually a real-life Ebenezer Scrooge?

According to Tim Allen’s co-star Casey Wilson, the longtime “Santa Clause” star actually belongs on the naughty list. On the most recent episode of Wilson’s “Bitch Sesh” podcast, the actor did not mince words when recounting her time on the set of “The Santa Clauses,” the Disney+ spinoff series to the “Santa Clause” Christmas film franchise.

“Tim Allen was such a b—,” Wilson lamented. “It was the truly single worst experience I’ve ever had with a co-star ever.” The “Happy Endings” star added that she had previously “buried this” story because a great friend of hers was the producer, and her kids loved the movies, which is why she jumped at the chance to appear in the pilot episode. Wilson portrayed the grown-up version of Sara, the little girl Scott Calvin encountered in the original film before he transformed into Santa.

“So I’m in a scene. It’s just me and Tim Allen and I’m supposed to throw things at him,” Wilson recalled. “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, ‘Um, Tim would ask that you stop stepping on his lines.’”

Wilson said “everybody was walking on eggshells” around Allen on set, and “people just looked frantic. ... When he was done, he was so f— rude. Never made eye contact, never said anything. It was so uncomfortable.”

According to Wilson, after Allen shot his portion of the scene and it was time for her close-up, Allen announced, “Leaving!” before he took off his Santa cape, dropped it on the floor and walked out. “And they hustle in his stand-in — lovely man, who actually was much nicer to act against. People are scurrying to pick up his velvet Santa coat. He’s a b—.”

After that, a crew member breezed past her and quipped, “You’re seeing him on a good day.”

A representative for Allen did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment.

“The Santa Clauses” stars Elizabeth Mitchell as Mrs. Claus, opposite Allen, who also serves as an executive producer on the series. Elizabeth Allen-Dick, Allen’s real-life daughter, portrays Sandra Calvin-Claus, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

Last year, Allen told Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” that the only reason he wanted to do the show was because the movie had too many plot holes.

“I never understood, in the movie, why the elves when I showed up at the North Pole didn’t go, ‘What happened to the other guy?’ I just hop in the sleigh with the kid and we go up and nobody ever asked, ‘Does Mrs. Claus know that the other guy’s dead? Did the other guy die?’” Allen said on the late-night show.

“Huge holes. Why doesn’t Mrs. Claus have a name? What’s her first name? So then we came up with the script. The Clauses — I have a family now — and they fill up the holes.”

The show’s two seasons are now available to stream on Disney+.