🎙️ Ep 042 | Stephen Wickham: Santa By Trade, Actor By Craft. Every Day Is Christmas
Release Date: 12/17/2024
🍿15 | 28 Years Later (2025) — Rage Reborn or Redundant Retread? • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
The Rage virus saga storms back as Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reunite for 28 Years Later (2025), a post‑apocalyptic, coming‑of‑age horror set nearly three decades after the original outbreak. Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson dive into a secluded island community where young Spike (Alfie Williams) and his scavenger father (Aaron Taylor‑Johnson) face a mission into the infected mainland to save his ailing mother (Jodie Comer). Todd savors the surreal folk‑horror tones and iPhone‑shot visuals; Robert wonders if the emotional undercurrent and cult satire elevate the franchise—or...
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🍿14 | F1 (2025) — Full Throttle or Full Flop? • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson peel back the visor on F1, the high-octane Joseph Kosinski‑directed drama starring Brad Pitt as a legendary driver battling both the track and his demons. Alongside Pitt, we’ve got Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem and—get this—our friend Pepe Balderrama (yes, the one who came on the podcast!) playing race engineer Rico Fazio, pulling double duty with Todd in the offstage driver’s seat. We dive into manic Grand Prix sequences, Hans Zimmer’s pulse‑pounding score, and question if the nostalgia and spectacle add up to more than cinematic...
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🎙️Ep 055 | Kym Jackson: How To Hustle Into Hollywood and The Secret Actor Society
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is Kym Jackson — Aussie actor, author, and co-founder of the Secret Actor Society. Kym’s journey spans continents and platforms: she launched her career onstage in Australia, made the leap to Hollywood, and hasn’t stopped working since. You’ve seen her on Criminal Minds, NCIS: LA, This Is Us, and SWAT — or in films like Snitch, Iron Sky, and We Bury the Dead. But acting is just one facet of her creative powerhouse. In this episode, Kym opens up about navigating the business with grace and grit — from managing self-tapes and raising a family to launching an...
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🍿13 | Final Destination: Bloodlines — Unlucky Sequel or Bloody Good Fun? • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
Lucky number 13? Not quite. 😱 In this spine-snapping installment of OFFstage ONscreen, Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson take on Final Destination: Bloodlines—a new chapter in the franchise that made paranoia an art form. Does this reboot have fresh life... or is it just death warmed over? We break down the kills, the thrills, and whether fate should’ve just called it quits. 🩸 #finaldestination #bloodlines #horrorreview #scarymovies #moviepodcast #toddkramer #robertnelson #offstageacting #offstageonscreen #slasherfilm
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🎙️Ep 054 | BONUSODE: Motivation for When You’ve Got None
Offstage Acting
Today’s episode is a little different — it’s just Todd and Jay, mic’d up and mood-swinging their way through one of those actor chats that starts with “I’m not feeling it” and ends with “okay, I’ve got a little fire back.” In this candid bonus conversation, Todd and Jay explore the ebb and flow of motivation in an actor’s life — why it disappears, how to rediscover it, and the tools they’ve each developed to stay (or get back) on track. From inner drive to outer community, yoga hacks to time-blocking, and even the occasional black hole of self-doubt, this is a...
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🍿12 | MI: The Final Reckoning (2025) — Is This the Final Cruise? • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
Will this actually be Ethan Hunt’s last mission? 🎬 Todd Kramer and Robert Nelson dive into the latest Mission: Impossible installment and ask the big questions: Is Tom closing out the franchise at its peak. Is this the best M:I yet... or is there still fuel left in the tank? One thing’s for sure: Tom Cruise still runs better than anyone in Hollywood! 🏃➡️
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🍿11 | Gene Hackman — A Career Like No Other • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
From The French Connection to The Royal Tenenbaums, Gene Hackman did it all—then vanished from the spotlight. 🎭 Todd and Robert celebrate the life and legacy of one of cinema’s most quietly commanding actors. A heartfelt tribute to a true screen legend.
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🎙️Ep 053 | Brendan McNamara: From Child Roles to Casting Roles
Offstage Acting
Today’s guest is the brilliant Brendan McNamara — actor, former child star, and founder of Beach Casting, a casting agency making waves across the UK and Ireland. From appearing in films like Angela’s Ashes and War of the Buttons to launching one of the most actor-friendly casting studios in the game, Brendan shares his uniquely personal journey through both sides of the audition table. We talk candidly about the transition from actor to casting director, the kind of performers he loves to work with, the shifting landscape of self-tapes, and why kindness and professionalism still matter....
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🍿10 | Last Breath (2024) — Edge-of-Your-Seat Thriller or Deep Sea Snooze? • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
A diver trapped at the bottom of the ocean—true story. 😱 Todd and Robert descend into Last Breath, a survival thriller based on real events. Does it deliver pulse-pounding tension… or just tread water?
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🍿09 | The Brutalist (2024) — Art-House Triumph or Architectural Overkill? • OFFstage ONscreen
Offstage Acting
Stark lines. Stark lives. 🏛️ Todd and Robert unpack The Brutist, a visually striking and emotionally complex film about ambition, displacement, and design. Is it a masterpiece—or just beautifully boring?
info_outlineHo ho hold on to your caps boys and girls, gather round and meet Stephen Wickham, the UK's one-and-only Real Santa. His beard is so real, so lush, so downright jolly that it has its own fan club (with Jay as the self-appointed, president).
Stephen doesn't just play Santa. He is Santa. No, really. Just don’t ask about the reindeer. The insurance premiums are enough to make an elf cry. But here's the twist. When he’s not climbing down chimneys or listening to your child ask for a the latest iPhone, Stephen is an actor. A proper actor. We’re talking 40 years of stage-and-screen credits, Christmas commercials, and roles where he wasn’t even required to say "Ho ho ho" (although we bet he did anyway).
So join Todd Kramer and Jay Reum as they dive headfirst into Stephen’s Santa-shaped life. They’ll unwrap the myths, sip the eggnog, dodge the tinsel, and discover how one man turned a casting brief into a full-blown sleigh ride of a career and find out how one man makes a living playing Father Christmas when all he ever gets paid in is milk and cookies.
⏱️ CHAPTERS
00:00 – Opening
02:00 – Santa crashes the intro
03:30 – Meet Stephen Wickham
05:10 – Becoming the UK’s real Santa
07:30 – Commercials, movies, and holiday magic
09:45 – Early acting days and first tours
12:15 – Working with Bill Kenwright
14:30 – The beard is real
15:50 – Getting cast in Mrs. Brown's Boys
17:20 – Embracing the Santa niche
19:10 – Acting versus Santa gigs
21:40 – Playing the "big guy" roles
23:00 – Childhood inspirations and early performances
25:30 – Life on the road with Joseph
28:00 – The craft of repetition and performing
30:15 – Actor grind: travel, trains, and tinsel
32:00 – Family legacy in film industry
34:20 – From Darth Vader to Father Christmas
36:30 – The real Santa’s website
38:00 – Joy in performance
40:00 – Audience reactions and holiday spirit
42:00 – Staying grounded and grateful
44:00 – Closing thoughts from Santa
💬 Join the Conversation
What resonated with you in Stephen’s story? Drop your thoughts in the comments — or tag us on socials with your takeaways!
🔗 CONNECT & FOLLOW
🎧 Full Podcast & More: https://offstageacting.com/podcast
🤩 Facebook: https://facebook.com/OffstageActing
📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/OffstageActing
🌍 Guest: https://www.therealsanta.co.uk
💫 TODD: https://linktr.ee/toddkramer
💫 JAY: https://linktr.ee/jayreum