‘Growing Pains’ & ‘Peanuts’ Star Jeremy Miller Remembers Christmas on Set (Exclusive)

Mike Pingel December 22, 2024

Jeremy Miller at Hollywood Museum holiday event — Mike Pingel

Jeremy Miller, who is most famous for having played Ben Seaver on Growing Pains, also has another credit that people might be less familiar with: he voiced Linus van Pelt in three Peanuts specials! Miller was too young to have appeared in the classic A Charlie Brown Christmas, but as he told Remind’s Mike Pingel during the Hollywood Museum’s holiday tree trimming event, he has a deep connection with the special. Read on to learn more about his memories of Growing Pains‘ first Christmas episode, how he was a Peanuts fan before he joined the series, and why he doesn’t want anything for Christmas this year.

Mike Pingel

Remind: What is your favorite Christmas special?
Jeremy: A Charlie Brown Christmas is still probably the most iconic.

R: But you were not in the original special.
Jeremy: No, no. I was much, much too young. I wasn’t there until Happy New Year, Charlie Brown! But the Christmas one, I’m very partial to Peanuts. Even before I was on the show, Peanuts specials were always my favorite.

R: Do you have a holiday memory from Growing Pains?
Jeremy: Probably my favorite Christmas memory from doing the show was our original Christmas episode. The first Christmas episode was actually a little dramatic, and one of Jason Seaver’s patients climbs on our roof, threatening to throw himself off because he’s depressed for Christmas. I was the one who ended up talking him down with just simple kindness. It was kind of a lesson. Jason’s [Alan Thicke] up there as a psychiatrist trying to analyze him and trying to help and do his job. And the little kid who just showed him a little basic kindness is the one who got him off the roof, and I really enjoyed that. It was a very special episode we got to do. All our families were there [on the show set] at Christmastime when we filmed it, so it was really cool.

R: What do you hope for this year?
Jeremy: This year I have a lot of projects that are in the works. I’m hoping we can just bring some of them to fruition. So, a lot of fun projects, a couple of horror movies, a couple of comedies, a possible game show, and I’m also directing a children’s show. There are a lot of very cool things in the works. Hopefully at least a few of them move to completion this year.

R: What’s on your Christmas list?
Jeremy: Actually, just a little time with my family.

R: What gift are you hoping for?
Jermey: No, honestly, I told everybody I don’t want a single thing this year. I just want to be able to see everybody.