Stony Brook Alumnus Wins Hallmark’s “Finding Mr. Christmas”

Craig Geoghan ’13 is Hallmark’s next leading man as winner of the reality show, “Finding Mr. Christmas.” For the past few weeks, Geoghan brought holiday magic to TV screens nationwide as a contestant on the Hallmark reality show. The show followed 10 hopefuls competing for a starring role in a Hallmark holiday film.

We had an exclusive interview with Geoghan to discuss his journey from Stony Brook University to Hollywood. See him in his winning role on December 20 in A Make or Break Holiday, at 8 pm on the Hallmark Channel, or stream it free on the Roku Channel and Sling TV.

What was your major at Stony Brook University? 

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in health science with a concentration in disability studies.

Did you live on campus or commute? Which dorms were you in? 

I studied at Nassau Community College first, and then I transferred to Stony Brook, where I stayed on campus. I got to dorm with one of my best friends, still to this day, who I have known since elementary school. I was in Yang when it was new at the time.

I heard you were on the football team. Do you miss the team and the game? 

I was the quarterback on the football team but was at peace when it ended because I was ready for a new chapter in my life. Since then, I’ve gone back a few times to catch some football games.

Let’s talk about “Finding Mr. Christmas.” What was it like finding out that you were going to be on the show? 

It was pretty cool how I was chosen to be on the show. I had reached out to Hallmark on Instagram about being part of the show but never heard back. I wanted a way to stand out, so I decided to put on a nice outfit, do my hair and drive to the Hallmark building, which is about 10 minutes from where I live. I just walked in, introduced myself and told them what I was there for. And they were a little confused at first. But sure enough, they said, “We think you’d be great for ‘Finding Mr. Christmas,’” and they gave me the application. I filled it out, and a couple of auditions later, I got the call from the show’s host, Jonathan Bennett, telling me I was picked to be a contestant.

On the show, we’ve seen you posing as a reindeer for a photoshoot, building gingerbread houses and filming while riding a horse. Can you describe the experience of being on the show like this? 

You just kind of had to expect the unexpected. The very first acting challenge was to do a scene on skis. Even though we weren’t actually skiing down a mountain, we had to hit our marks, not fall and make it look like we’d skied 100 times before. On top of that, we had to remember all our lines, connect with our scene partner and not block the camera. We didn’t know what other challenges we were going to have to do — which included being harnessed 15 feet in the air doing a photo shoot as a reindeer and riding a horse. But I just went with the flow in making sure I wasn’t blocking a camera and being adaptable to whatever the horse — and the show’s producers — threw my way.

As a Hallmark leading man, it’s all about romance. Has being on a Hallmark show changed your idea of romance? 

I guess so. Throughout every Hallmark movie, you have that initial meeting, the meet-cute, as they say. Everything’s going well for a while, you run into a conflict and then at the end of the movie, they often resolve it and kind of come back together. It’s just another example that relationships aren’t always linear. They might go forward, take a few steps back and go forward again. And that goes for all relationships in life, not just significant others, but friendships and families.

What’s next for you? What’s the dream role? 

I don’t want to just be on one network doing one thing. I’d love to branch out. I want to be able to do something similar to what Mark Wahlberg does. He’s in so many of my favorite movies, which are often true stories. When you get the opportunity to tell those stories and really move people, that’s what’s so cool to me. Having people go through all the emotions — cry, laugh and be indifferent. I’d love to be able to get to that stage of my career where I’m in dramas and telling true stories and really moving people.

You’re known for making bold moves on the show. Do you have any advice for your fellow Seawolves out there who are just as daring as you? 

Take chances. The worst people can tell you is no, and then you’re in the same place you were the day prior. There’s no real setback there. I think it’s high reward and low risk to just put yourself out there.

-Written by Amanda Degnan
-Hallmark Media photos by photographer Kim Nunneley