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Drake Kuyper: A shocking Hallmark elimination that is shaping his future acting journey
- Markos Papadatos
- Nov 15, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 22, 2025
Markos Papadatos interviewed Drake Kuyper about being a contestant on Season 2 of "Finding Mr. Christmas" on Hallmark.
“It was amazing. I mean, it was so much better than I could have ever expected. I met great people, and I had a fun time doing scenes. It was such a good time!”
Working with Jonathan Bennett and Melissa Peterman
On working with Jonathan Bennett and Melissa Peterman, he said, “Jonathan and Melissa are awesome! They are hilarious together, and the way they can bounce off each other is great.”
“They are just so such high-energy, and so much fun,” he admitted. “It was really awesome to do that with them. They gave me such good feedback on the show that I’m going to be taking with me throughout my whole acting process.”
‘Finding Mr. Christmas’ brotherhood
On the brotherhood he formed with the guys, he said, “It was really good! We spent so much time together, and we all created this unbreakable bond, which was awesome!”
Lessons learned from this show
On the lessons learned from doing this show, Drake reflected, “I would say the biggest thing that the show taught me was that I am capable of doing this, and that this is something that I really can do.”
“Initially, I felt I was a little nervous about it because I had never really done a speaking scene before,” he admitted. “So, getting that first scene in, and the way I was able to recover after the skis made me feel like this is something I can really do.”
Unfortunately, Drake was the second contestant eliminated from this Hallmark reality competition after former professional football star Jake Schum. “Jake was awesome,” he exclaimed. “He is a really good dude. We still text to this day, and he is an incredible guy. I am excited to see what Jake is going to do in the future.”
Daily motivations
Drake noted that his faith is his biggest motivator in life. “I would say the thing that motivates me the most is my faith,” he said.
“I love Jesus with all my heart. I feel like every single day, that’s what keeps me going. That’s what keeps me humble and honest! That is also what keeps me working hard,” he explained.
Future plans
On his future plans, he shared, “I’ve decided that I’m fully going to be pursuing acting. It’s just something that’s been weighing on my heart that I need to try to give this a go.”
“I need to do this, and I’m going to try and really give this a shot. I will move out to Los Angeles next year,” he revealed.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, he said, “It’s interesting. I feel like the new age is definitely kind of and you have to be posting on social media constantly.”
“You have to be connected on the Internet, social media, and all that good stuff. It’s certainly something a little different, but I’ve been able to adapt to it because I’ve already had a social media presence, so I’m hoping that I can keep using that to my advantage going forward in acting,” he elaborated.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “New Beginnings.” “I feel like is the new beginning of my acting journey, and I’m really excited to take a step into it,” he said.
Superpower of choice
His superpower of choice would be “teleportation.”
“It would be really cool to teleport,” he said. “That would be awesome. I would just think of a place and be able to go visit it just because I love traveling!”
“Traveling is a big part of who I am,” he said. “I would love to see new places and things. So, I feel like that would be really cool to just be able to go anywhere I want to without having to take a 24-hour flight.”
Success
On his definition of the word success, he said, “Success means being content with what you have. I feel it’s important to look around and smell the roses and be grateful with what you have, but still always be pushing for more, and always give gratitude back. I think that’s really important to me.”
Message for his Hallmark fans
For his Hallmark fans and supporters, he said, “I want to thank them so much. I want to say that their support means everything to me. Seeing all their positive DMS and comments just really makes me feel like they’re appreciated in the show.”
“That is very reassuring and it encourages me to do this even more. It is great to know that there are people with me on this journey, and that I’m not alone in it,” Kuyper expressed.
To learn more about Drake Kuyper, follow him on Instagram.