The Santa Clauses Star Eric Stonestreet Opens Up About Bringing the Mad Santa to Life

The second season of Disney’s got a little bit mad, bringing in an outcast Santa from the Dark Ages as its main antagonist. Eric Stonestreet, best known for his Emmy-winning role on Modern Family, joined the cast of The Santa Clauses Season 2 as Magnus Antas, also known as the Mad Santa. After spending centuries trapped in a nutcracker as part of a curse, the Mad Santa returns in the modern day to discover how much Christmas has changed, and that’s not something he’s happy about.

Following the debut of The Santa Clauses Season 2 earlier this month, ComicBook.com sat down to talk with Stonestreet about bringing his turkey leg-wielding Mad Santa to life.

“It was fun because I know where we’re headed,” Stonestreet said. “So I get to make people hopefully love Christmas even more by making them nervous about it potentially being taken away, or something like that. What’s that saying? In order to love something more, you’ve got to let it go to appreciate it. The Mad Santa, that’s the threat, the looming threat that he is going to wreck the Calvin family, wreck Christmas. And for the viewer, what’s going to happen to this beautiful family and this beautiful set? So I love getting the opportunity to be that person knowing where it’s headed.”

Stonestreet went on to give a little more background to the Mad Santa’s actions, explaining why he has become such an antagonist in the time since he served at the North Pole.

“He deserved what happened to him, obviously, but being in a nutcracker for so many years would have a way of making you not very fun and friendly,” he explained. “The gnomes turned his heart dark and he’s paid the price. Now he’s back to take his rightful place.”

What Is The Santa Clauses Season 2 About?

The second season of The Santa Clauses is all about the family, as Scott/Santa decides that the business of Christmas should be kept in his actual family. you can check out the synopsis below!

“In the series’ sophomore season, the Calvin family is back at the North Pole, as Scott Calvin (Tim Allen) continues his role as Santa Claus after his retirement plans were thwarted when he failed to find a worthy successor in season one. Now that Scott and his family have successfully saved Christmas, Scott turns his focus towards training his son Cal (Austin Kane) to eventually take over the ‘family business’ as Santa Claus.”

New episodes of The Santa Clauses debut on Disney+ every Wednesday.