Ludacris isn’t exactly thrilled to meet Lil Rel Howery‘s Santa in Us Weekly‘s exclusive sneak peek from the new Disney+ holiday movie Dashing Through the Snow.
The clip starts with Eddie Garrick (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) confronting Nick Sinterclaus (Howery) in his home. Nick isn’t exactly the breaking and entering criminal that Eddie is prepared for. He’s simply here to drop off some Christmas presents.
“My man, you gotta stop,” Eddie says. “I’m gonna frisk you, just to be safe.”
Nick has no problem with that. “You know something? Have at it,” he says. “Frisk away! Now watch out, though — I’m ticklish!”
As Eddie pats down Nick’s red suit, the festive trespasser giggles. Eddie questions what he finds in Nick’s pockets.
“Those are carrots. Those are, apparently, my snacks,” Nick says. “The Mrs. said I needed to eat healthier so she decided to give me some carrots. She thinks this will wean me off the cookies. Hasn’t worked so far.”
Eddie says, “This is sad. What’s your name?”
“My name is Nicholas Sinterclaus,” he replies, but Nick doesn’t get the reaction he wants from Eddie. “I’ll slow it down for you Sinter … claus. Sinter … claus.”
It finally clicks. “Like Santa Claus, that’s cute,” Eddie says flatly.
“Yes! Wow, that was like pulling teeth,” Nick says.
Eddie isn’t quite in the mood for a visit from Santa. He is a social worker for the Atlanta police department who doesn’t enjoy Christmas after a traumatic childhood experience. His wife, Allison Garrick (Teyonah Parris), from whom he is separated, asks Eddie to take his estranged 9-year-old daughter, Charlotte (Madison Skye Validum), to work with him on Christmas Eve.
That’s where they first meet Nick. Eddie initially thinks the man is delusional and needs professional help, but he might be just what Eddie needs to restore his holiday spirit.
Dashing Through the Snow, directed by Tim Story and written by Scott Rosenberg, also stars Oscar Nuñez, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Ravi V. Patel, Gina Brillon, Kevin Connolly and Zulay Henao. It debuts Friday, November 17 on Disney+.
While Ludacris, 46, plays a man who is estranged from his daughter in the holiday film, the Fast and Furious star is close with his four real-life daughters, Karma, 22, Cai, 9, Cadence, 7, and Chance, 2. “They all have me wrapped around their little fingers, and [I] just can’t wait to get home from tour and doing shows so that I can put them in my arms,” the rapper exclusively told Us in May.
“The hardest thing is just thinking about the future when they started dating and how overprotective of a person I am … I told [Karma] she had to wait till she’s 18 and she’s 21 now and she hasn’t introduced me to a boy yet,” Ludacris told Us at the time. “So, either she’s really good at hiding it or she’s really taking her time trying to find the right person to bring home to Dad.”
