Inside Rolf’s, the New York City restaurant where every inch overflows with glistening ornaments, lights, and wreaths, all in red, green, and silver, Joey Graziadei and I are bonding over our mutual love of a criminally underrated rom-com: “I don’t think Just Go With It gets enough love,” he says of the Sandler-Aniston classic while sipping a beer. “But that was so good. That movie has lines that I still quote to this day.”When I recall the memory of seeing the movie in theaters with my mom and sister, the Bachelor, Mirrorball champion, soon-to-be Traitors contestant replies, “See, that’s the thing about rom-coms that I think are amazing. You have so many feelings during it that you actually remember who you’ve seen it with.”Now, Graziadei gets to experience that rom-com magic from the other side of the screen as he makes his acting debut in The Holiday Spark, which premiered on The Roku Channel on Nov. 2. The 31-year-old plays Dean, a work-focused, perpetually single firefighter who teams up with children’s book illustrator Laura (Jamie Chung) to plan his firehouse’s holiday party. While he’s no stranger to our screens, he’s not taking the switch from reality to scripted lightly.“I didn’t want to assume that just because I was good on reality TV that it would translate to being a good actor,” Graziadei says. “So I took acting classes. I always prepped as much as I could. I took extra time with Jamie, extra time with the director [Rhonda Baraka]. I was trying my best to do whatever I could with the time that I was given.”I was mad at Dean a lot in this movie. I was like, ‘Yo, get it together. This girl likes you.’One of the hardest parts? Trusting his character’s decisions, even when they weren’t the ones he would make himself. “Listen, I was mad at Dean a lot in this movie,” he laughs. “I was like, ‘Yo, get it together. This girl likes you.’ But I realized you have to believe what you’re doing is the right thing, or else it’s not going to be believable when people watch it.”It helped that Graziadei wasn’t navigating the transition alone. Chung had made a similar jump herself, first appearing on The Real World before building a career in film and television. “I was really, really lucky to have someone with me that understood what I was coming from,” he says. “She was the perfect co-lead to help me through this and be someone I could really lean on.”Taking the leap into acting takes major guts, and Graziadei credits that courage with winning Dancing With the Stars in 2024. “Going into that show, I was nervous. I never danced before. I never did live TV. Even watching nowadays, I’m like, ‘I don’t know how the hell I did that,’” he says. “Looking back, it gave me a new sense of confidence.”These days, he’s enjoying a much less stressful relationship with the ballroom as he watches from home. He’s of course rooting for his past partner Jenna Johnson and Harry Shum Jr., but he also shouts out Amber Glenn and her iconic Dedication Night dance: “She’s my low-key front-runner right now.”Kristin Chenoweth is a f*cking icon.And honestly, if Graziadei ever gets tired of acting, he may have a future as a DWTS analyst. During an Oct. 15 appearance on his friend Connor Wood’s podcast, Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast, he successfully predicted Connor’s rise to the Contemporary King. “I have called everything that has happened,” Joey laughs. “I saw him right after he got his lowest scores, and I said, ‘Hey man, I see eights for you next week.’ Guess what happened? He got all eights.”These crystal-ball instincts may have come in handy for Graziadei’s competitive stint on The Traitors. While his lips are tightly sealed on any spoilers for the upcoming season, he wasn’t shy to reveal the castmate he fan-girled over most: “Kristin Chenoweth is a f*cking icon,” he shares. “It’s unbelievable that she did the show.”I am manifesting Kelsey having a huge opportunity. I’ve manifested enough for me. While Graziadei was up to mischief in a Scottish castle, his fiancée Kelsey Anderson was up to some mischief of her own, running Joey’s Instagram account — and meme-fying his ~special~ Traitors cast photo. But as a die-hard stan of Anderson, he couldn’t be mad. “That girl is so funny and knows exactly what people want to see,” Graziadei says. “She still has access to my socials. She can do whatever she wants at any time.”He has a similar mantra when it comes to wedding planning. “I was very involved in the beginning, but now it’s time to let her take the reins because I don’t know the difference of what one floral decor will look like compared to another.” And while the couple has already locked in their venue, date, and key vendors, there’s one detail Graziadei is especially looking forward to: finally calling Anderson his wife. “I’m so excited to just say that,” he says. “She is wife. She is everything.” So much so that when I ask what he’s manifesting for his future, she’s the answer. “I am manifesting Kelsey having a huge opportunity. I’ve manifested enough for me. I’ve been very lucky, so I’m ready for her to get hers.”As for his own next chapter, Graziadei hopes to build on his rom-com debut. He’s especially drawn to the genre’s quick-witted exchanges and playful chemistry. “I love banter. I love quick. I love witty. I would love to riff more in scenes and be able to really challenge myself,” he says. But he’s also keen to venture into horror, particularly the kind that balances humor with something unsettling lurking in the background. After all, every leading man needs to keep audiences on their toes.
Joey Graziadei On ‘The Holiday Spark,’ Marrying Kelsey Anderson, & ‘The Traitors’
