Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with 12 Dates of Christmas’ Garrett Marcantel

Audiences have fallen head over heels for Garrett Marcantel. The licensed real estate salesperson is one of three hopeless romantic leads who embarked on a journey of a lifetime to find that special someone to bring home for the holidays on HBO Max’s 12 Dates of Christmas.

We caught up with Garrett to chat about 12 Dates of Christmas, his favorite holiday traditions, and what he’s been up to since filming concluded.

PC: Tell us about 12 Dates of Christmas and how this opportunity came about.
Garrett: It’s a new reality show on HBO Max following three singles on their unique quest for love in a magical Christmas castle set in Austria.

I was living my normal day-to-day life when I received a DM in my “other” inbox about being on the show back in fall of 2019. I was hesitant and thought it was spam until I actually had a Skype with someone from casting.

PC: What were you doing prior to 12 Dates of Christmas and what are you up to now?
Garrett: I was really living my best New York City life. I was working at an incredible job for the top real estate developer in the city, lived alone in Brooklyn, worked in Manhattan, and had a strong routine set. I was experiencing the modern American dream for a gay man. The only thing missing in my life was a partner.

As for now, well, let’s just say the pandemic really uprooted my entire job, routine, and career strategy. I decided to take this time to reconnect with family, move to the West Coast, and enjoy access to mountains and the sunshine. We can all agree that this year has given us all a new perspective on life. I joined an incredibly established team with Douglas Elliman in Los Angeles, and I will be building out my own version of a Selling Sunset—watch out Chrishell. [laughs]

PC: 12 Dates of Christmas is described as a rom-com meets reality show. Are you a fan of the rom-com genre? If so, what is your favorite?
Garrett: Yes, I love to feel all the emotions in a sappy rom-com! They make me laugh and make me cry. I would probably have to say that my favorite movie is How to be Single, since it captures the 2014-to-2019 New York City culture at its finest!

PC: When casting initially approached you about being a lead, you thought they made a mistake. What has it meant to you to be a representative of the LGBTQ+ community and tell your story?
Garrett: Yeah, I thought casting made a mistake on their outreach assuming I was straight. I made sure that she knew I liked men. I really am lucky to have lived a very comfortable life as an out young gay man previously to the show, so I don’t really see myself as any different than anyone else—just happen to prefer men and I am a man. I think that is what is so special about this show. It genuinely shows that the search for love goes beyond sexual preference or someone’s race.

PC: You share some incredibly vulnerable stories on your journey to love. Was that ever nerve-wracking? How did you adjust to having your life filmed? How beneficial was it to have Faith and Chad to lean on?
Garrett: Yeah, it’s definitely nerve-wracking opening yourself up to a blind date, or the world, for that matter, also opens you up for everyone’s opinions about you and your decisions. As I mentioned before, I feel blessed to have experienced a life of freedom that I don’t believe many gay men were able to live historically. I owe it to the previous generations of gays who sacrificed everything for my freedoms today. So now, if straights can share their love stories for the past decades on reality shows, it’s only right that my community is represented too, yeah?

As for filming, we got used to it. Thankfully, sharing this experience with Faith and Chad helped normalize this in some weird way, knowing that I wasn’t the only one thrown into this overnight. We leaned on each other the whole way through.

PC: With the holidays approaching, how do you plan on celebrating? What are your favorite traditions?
Garrett: I’m going home to Louisiana to visit my family, and I plan to eat too much gumbo, boudin, and jambalaya. If you don’t know what these dishes are, add them to your bucket list of must-tries!

PC: What was your favorite part about the experience? What did you learn about yourself?
Garrett: My favorite part was episode 7: the home visit. It pulled everything together for me and focused on what’s truly important.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Garrett: How I Met Your Mother, Gossip Girl, and American Horror Story.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Garrett: Matrix.

PC: Favorite book?
Garrett: The Four Agreements.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Garrett: Rent.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Garrett: Lauren Daigle.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Garrett: The gay version of Tom Hanks in the ’90s.

To keep up with Garrett, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch 12 Dates of Christmas on HBO Max.

Photo Credit: HBO Max