Karen Kingsbury Reveals the Story Behind the 102-Year-Old Veteran in ‘The Christmas Ring’ (Exclusive)
The bestselling Christian author opens up about the WWII veteran who made her military dance scene unforgettable
Key Takeaways
- Karen Kingsbury’s ‘The Christmas Ring’ is now streaming on Great American Pure Flix.
- James Daniels, a WWII veteran who has since passed away, was 102 during filming.
- Kingsbury invited real veterans to be extras in the film’s military dance scene.
Bestselling author Karen Kingsbury has built a career writing stories that celebrate faith, love and the power of second chances. Now, she’s bringing that same heart to the screen with her new holiday movie, The Christmas Ring, airing on Great American Family and streaming on Great American Pure Flix. If you’ve watched the film, you may remember a particularly moving scene between Jana Kramer’s character, Vanessa Mayfield, and a veteran.
But there’s something you might not know: The veteran, James Daniels, was actually 102 years old when he filmed his scene! And the story of how he came to be part of the movie is every bit as touching as the moment itself. In an interview with Woman’s World, Kingsbury shared the beautiful story behind James’ special cameo, and it’s one that just might leave you with a happy tear in your eye.
What is ‘The Christmas Ring’ about?
The Christmas Ring is based on the Kingsbury novel of the same name and follows military widow Vanessa Mayfield (Kramer), who has been searching for her family’s treasured Christmas ring for years. The ring was discovered by her great-grandfather in Normandy on D-Day and has been passed down for generations. As the search continues, Vanessa experiences love, loss and Christmas cheer.
“For me, the thing about The Christmas Ring is that it’s not an adaptation so much as it is a creation, because it’s from our production company,” Kingsbury tells Woman’s World. “A couple years ago we opened Karen Kingsbury Productions, and that means that the movie God gives me in my heart when I start the process of this story is now exactly what I would have wanted to see. And that’s what we’re going to have with The Christmas Ring. It’s coming to Great American and Pure Flix, and it’s going to be early enough in the season that everyone can enjoy it.”
A large part of The Christmas Ring revolves around family traditions and holiday cheer, which Kingsbury said was inspired by her actual family. And she said there is one tradition that everyone always looks forward to.
“We love doing the gingerbread house competition. We get art boards, and we’ll build the house on the art board, frost up the yard, do the house and make scenes. We’ve had some epic scenes, and usually there will be six teams. Now the grandkids are playing too—they’re little, but they’ll work with one of the adults. Then we line them up on our dining room table, and when people come and go—delivery people, or if we have our Bible study or a party—people get to vote,” the author says. “Then, not until after we hit January 1, we announce the winner, and we actually put it out there for the readers. We’ll take pictures and allow the readers to vote, too. We love that so much.”
How a World War II vet ended up in ‘The Christmas Ring’
In The Christmas Ring, there are a ton of military references. From veterans and active duty members to spouses, it truly shines a light on how important these heroes are in our lives. Knowing that, Kingsbury decided to ask real veterans to come and be extras in the film during the military dance scene. Among those extras was Daniels himself. He was 102 at the time, and his daughter encouraged him to do it.
“We had a holding area in a church for the background actors for the military dance. When James Daniels arrived, a 102-year-old WWII vet who still fits in his uniform, the whole room just stopped and looked,” Kingsbury says. “All of these men and women, they got in line to shake his hand. Not one of the actors, not my hand—they wanted to shake the hand of James Daniels.”
Since filming has wrapped, Daniels has passed away, but Kingsbury said that his friends and family are so excited that they will have this film to remember him by.
“When he was young, like in his twenties, he was like, ‘I’m gonna be an actor,’ and that dream faded away. He became a farmer instead,” the author said. “But here we go—in his waning days, before the scene was called, he got to be an actor. That was really special.”
Be sure to catch The Christmas Ring on Great American Pure Flix and Great American Family!
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