Who Is John Ducey, Star of ‘I Believe In Santa’ on Netflix?

You’ll be left with a number of questions after watching Netflix’s new holiday film I Believe in Santa. Unfortunately we can’t help you if your questions are along the lines of “… what?” — but we can help you if you just want to know who’s responsible for this instant holiday classic.

To back up a sec: I Believe in Santa is a new holiday film on Netflix about a man who believes in Santa Claus. Not just the idea of Santa, either; he believes that a corporeal being with a jelly-like belly lives at the North Pole and delivers presents all around the world. The problem: his girlfriend of five months doesn’t believe in Santa and she doesn’t even like Christmas. How will their relationship survive this mismatch of ideologies? You’ll have to watch the film to find out!

But if you’re here, odds are you’ve already watched the film and are keen on knowing more about the man who plays Tom, the man who believes in Santa. His name is John Ducey, and he’s more than just the film’s star.

Who is John Ducey?

John Ducey plays Tom in I Believe in Santa, a movie that he also wrote. Yeah — I Believe in Santa sprang forth from the mind of Tom himself. What’s even more surprising is how many holiday movies Ducey is responsible for in the 2022 season alone. John Ducey also wrote A Hollywood Christmas and A Christmas Mystery, two of HBO Max’s original holiday movies. Director Alex Ranarivelo directed all three movies.

The connections don’t stop there. Ducey’s wife is Christina Moore, the actor who plays Lisa in I Believe in Santa. Moore also produced A Hollywood Christmas and is another frequent collaborator with her husband and director Ranarivelo. And on top of that, Missi Pyle — who plays a singer in I Believe in Santa — has a larger role in A Hollywood Christmas. Pyle also appeared in a number of Ducey’s other projects, including the 2017 film Pray for Rain, which was directed by Ranarivelo and co-written by Moore.

Where else have you seen John Ducey?

If you’ve watched television at all in the last 30 years, you’ve probably seen Ducey in something. He had regular or recurring roles on Bad Judge, Jonas (where he also played a guy named Tom), Will & Grace (where he played Jack’s boss Jamie), and Sabrina the Teenage Witch (where he played Leonard).

Beyond that, he’s had guest spots on American Housewife, Feud (where he played Jack Paar), Castle, iCarly, Bones, Rules of Engagement, Damages, Desperate Housewives, How I Met Your Mother, Malcolm in the Middle, Ally McBeal, Wings, Party of Five — the IMDb goes way back.

When he’s not guesting on other people’s shows, he’s making his own movies with his wife, a crew of collaborators, and Ali Afshar’s ESX Entertainment. One of those projects was, of course, I Believe in Santa. Christmas will never be the same again.