Mara Wilson’s Favorite ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ Scenes to Film and 4 Behind-the-Scenes Details About the 1994 Christmas Classic Remake
1994’s Miracle on 34th Street is filled with magical moments. But some were more enjoyable to film than others for actor Mara Wilson. The former child star, who played young Susan Walker, counted scenes with certain cast members as her favorite. Spoiler: Not Sir Richard Attenborough’s Kriss Kringle. Plus, some behind-the-scenes details about the film.
Wilson loved filming any ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ scenes with Elizabeth Perkins and Dylan McDermott
Wilson, who no longer acts, counted her favorite scenes to film in the ‘90s remake of the classic Christmas movie as the ones with two of her cast members. Not Attenborough, or even the reindeer in the courtroom, made the cut. Rather, her movie mom and dad.
“On set, anything that I got to do with Dylan McDermott and Elizabeth Perkins [was my favorite]; they were just lovely,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “In particular, the dinner table scene during Thanksgiving was really fun.”
“Dylan was always making ridiculous jokes,” Wilson continued. “And in one of them he was teasing me about how I always wanted to go to lunch. He said, ‘Let me tell you a story about a little girl who was always asking what time it was because she wanted to go to lunch.’”
Behind the scenes of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’: Filming took in the spring
Elsewhere in the interview, Wilson shared a behind-the-scenes detail about Miracle on 34th Street: it wasn’t filmed in December, or even winter. The film, produced by John Hughes, was shot largely in Chicago, Ill., during the spring.
“I remember we had a big air conditioner that they called the Snake because it had a huge tube,” Wilson said. “And I would put my shoes and mittens in there so they would cool down before I put them on.”
“We were just constantly sweaty,” she said, noting her costumes often included “three layers all the time.”
Behind the scenes of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’: Mara Wilson doesn’t have any keepsakes from the set
Wilson didn’t leave the set of Miracle on 34th Street with a bag full of presents. In fact, she revealed she didn’t remember if she took a souvenir home.
The reason? “It was a lot of heavy coats and things that I had no use for, growing up in Southern California,” she explained.
“It’s ironic that I didn’t take anything, because there were a lot of cool presents there,” she added. “But my mom was very strict about making sure I wasn’t getting too spoiled.”
Behind the scenes of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’: Mara Wilson got cast in ‘Matilda’ during filming
She may not have gone home with toys from the Miracle on 34th Street set, but Wilson did leave with another acting job.
“I remember finding out that I got the part for Matilda while I was in Chicago filming Miracle,” she said. “So, as you can see, it just kind of snowballed. Everything was on top of each other. It was ridiculous and crazy but fun.”
Behind the scenes of ‘Miracle on 34th Street’: Signing with Sami moved Richard Attenborough
A short but memorable Miracle on 34th Street scene happened when a deaf girl, Sami, sat on Kringle’s lap at Cole’s. When asked what she wanted for Christmas, the girl’s mother informed the department store Santa she was deaf.
Kringle responded by starting a conversation with Sami in sign language. “You are a very beautiful young lady,” he told her before asking her name and signing “Jingle Bells” together.
Played by Samantha Krieger, the then-5-year-old wasn’t acting the entire time. As Attenborough told the Los Angeles Times in 1994, he asked director Les Mayfield not to rehearse the scene with Krieger.
“When I signed ‘What is your name?’ the surprise on her face was genuine,” he told the publication. “And after the scene, she signed ‘Thank you’ to me.”
“Well, I was gone, I can tell you. That got me,” he added, pointing to his heart, “right here.”
Miracle on 34th Street is streaming on Disney+, Hulu, AMC+, and Amazon Prime Video, along with the 1947 original.
