Eric Stonestreet and Gabriel Iglesias on leveling up their love of Christmas with ‘The Santa Clauses’

Eric Stonestreet plays Magnus Antas, or the Mad Santa, in Disney+’s new season of The Santa Clauses.

And while he plots to take the throne of the real Santa aka Scott Calvin aka Tim Allen, by his side is Kris Kringle, played by stand-up comedian and actor Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias. 

For both self-described Christmas fans, it was a dream gig. “Some of my favorite episodes shooting Modern Family would be the holiday episodes, because here we’d be in late August or early September and there’s Christmas trees up and Christmas lights around,” Stonestreet tells ABC Audio.

“It’s like, ‘Oh, we’re getting into the season!'” he recalls enthusing. 

For this series, “I literally went from my living room in Kansas City to the North Pole,” he continues. 

For his part, Iglesias says, “Every day on the set, it’s like it was the most Christmas I’ve ever experienced in June because that’s when we shot it. And so, of course, outside it was all toasty … And then we go inside and it’s like, ‘Brr!'”

He called the set decorations “next level, expert mode”: “It wasn’t like, you know, something you’re going to go buy at Home Depot and put on your house yourself.”

Stonestreet insists that although his character is technically the villain, he’s not too scary for kids. He expresses, “That’s a fun line to play where, you know, you’re scary and intimidating, but also somewhat approachable and lovable.” He added, “I want them to be just, like, cautiously interested in my character.” 

Disney in the parent company of ABC News.