What It’s Really Like to Star in a Netflix Holiday Romcom

When actor Dan Bucatinsky—best known for his Emmy-winning role as James Novak on Scandal—landed a role alongside Lindsay Lohan in the Netflix romantic comedy Our Little Secret, he envisioned “darting off to Rome” for an extravagant shoot—and perhaps even gelato between takes. But as he flipped through the script, humility hit hard: “As it turns out, when you’re in a romantic comedy that stars Lindsay Lohan, it’s not about you,” Bucatinsky explained during an interview on this week’s episode of The Daily Beast Podcast. The part was tiny—so much so that Bucatinsky began to rethink his career trajectory. His team fed his doubts: “They said, ‘You should pass. This is too small for you,” he remembered. But advice from his former boss Shonda Rhimes gave him pause. “She wrote about the power of saying yes... and I realized this wasn’t about status; it was about doing the work.” And upon arrival in Atlanta for the shoot, he found immediate joy in collaborating with co-star Kristen Chenoweth. “We filled the empty spaces, and it became one of my most satisfying experiences,” Bucatinsky explained. His takeaway? Even the smallest roles can deliver blockbuster lessons—and laughs.