‘Prancer’ Star Rebecca Harrell Tickell Recalls How Sam Elliott Became Her Dad on Set – ‘He Was Really Tough on Me’ [Exclusive]

Prancer star Rebecca Harrell Tickell forged a bond with actor Sam Elliott who played her dad in the 1989 Christmas film, both onscreen and on set.

Tickell played Jessica Riggs, a plucky young girl whose family faces financial hardships and sadness over the death of her mother. The relationship between Jessica and her grieving father John (Elliott) is put to the test when she finds a magical reindeer named Prancer.

The often heartbreaking film follows Jessica’s determination to save Prancer. But it also focuses on how John faces his grief and anger. Tickell told Showbiz Cheat Sheet her onscreen relationship with Elliott directly mirrored their interactions on set. And he was just as tough on Tickell as John was on Jessica in Prancer.

Sam Elliott and Rebecca Harrell Tickell’s ‘Prancer’ relationship was authentic

Elliott is a method actor so the gruff, frustrated character of John didn’t vanish when director John D. Hancock yelled cut.

“He and my character have a really tense relationship and it’s a very authentic relationship about a family who’s down on their luck,” Tickell shared. “They are grieving the loss of their mother and wife and are struggling with the family farm. I mean, it’s a really dark premise for a holiday Christmas movie. And the relationship that people saw on the screen between Sam and I was authentic.”

“Because from day one, he acted like my dad, who was really tough on me,” she shared. “And if I messed up, he was relentless as somebody who was supporting me to rise to the occasion in that role.”

Rebecca said in a ‘Prancer’ interview that Sam Elliott was ‘kind of gruff’

Tickell turned 9 while making the film. During press interviews, she was honest about her working relationship with Elliott – often to her mother’s horror.

“I remember after the fact I was doing some media and somebody asked me what it was like working with Sam Elliott, and it was on a late-night show,” she recalled. “And I think I said something like, ‘He was really tough on me and he was kind of gruff.'”

“My mom was like, ‘Don’t say that! We don’t want people to think that you were abused!’ But the truth is definitely the child labor laws were super lax on the set because I was working all hours of the day, but I also loved every second of it.”

The ‘Prancer’ dad definitely turned heads on set

Tickell said that the parental relationship that began with Elliott on the set of Prancer continues today. “I loved Sam,” she said. “And I loved working on the set. I turned 9 on the set of Prancer. I’ll never forget it. Actually, Sam Elliott gave me a pair of heart ruby earrings, and I still have them.”

She laughed thinking about how Elliott’s appeal turned plenty of heads on set. “I mean, Sam Elliott in my family, for sure. I mean, my [grandmother] loved Sam Elliott. My mom, too,” she said. “Whenever Sam Elliott was around, all of the women had their makeup on and their hair done. And as a kid, I definitely noticed that he had a real appeal to all of the women on the set, for sure. And, I think I had a sense that I was working with these Hollywood legends.”

“I was the perfect person for that job because I felt like that character was me,” Tickell said about Jessica. “And I have to this day such love for the people that I had the chance to work with in the film, including Abe Vigoda, and Cloris Leachman, who passed away recently. And I get to talk to Sam every now and then. It really is like coming home.”

Prancer is currently streaming on HBO Max and Amazon.