Dolly Parton may simply play an angel in her recent Netflix holiday special, Christmas on the Square, but the legendary country queen is a real-life angel to the 9-year-old actor she saved from an oncoming car on the set of the cheery movie.
Indeed, young Talia Hill says Parton saved her life.
The youngster and her two older brothers, Tyson and Tristan, are among the several dancer-actors who enliven the titular town square in Christmas on the Square. In the film, the town’s inhabitants come under the threat of eviction from a Scrooge-like landowner portrayed by Christine Baranski.
Starring in a flick with Parton is undoubtedly a huge achievement for the siblings, but young Talia walked away from the production with a story she’ll carry for the rest of her life. The 74-year-old country singer literally pulled the young one back from a collision with a car while filming was underway.
“We were on set, and I was at the hot chocolate station,” Talia tells Inside Edition. “They said, ‘Go back to your beginning positions.’ So there is a vehicle moving, and I was walking. Then somebody grabbed me and pulled me back, and I looked up, and it was Dolly Parton. I was, like, surprised!”
The child actor continues, “She’s like, [imitates Parton] ‘Well, I am an angel, you know.’ Because she plays an angel in the movie. And I was in shock. She hugged me and took me and said, ‘I saved your life!’ And my mom’s crying, like, ‘Yes, you did, Dolly Parton. Yes, you did.'”
While Christmas on the Square debuted on Netflix last month, it was actually filmed over a year earlier. It may haven been delayed to arrive in tandem with A Holly Dolly Christmas, Parton’s 2020 holiday album.
In an Instagram post from around the time the movie was in production, Talia thanked Christmas on the Square director and choreographer Debbie Allen. She also acknowledged the talent agency and dance studio that helped facilitated her involvement in Parton’s 2020 holiday film. “Thank you @therealdebbieallen for casting me in my first film with my two big brothers, I loved spending time with you on set and working with you,” Talia said. “Thank you @cleartalentgroup LA for the audition opportunity and @inmotiondanceproject for the training, love and support!”
Parton’s driven her fair share of holiday-themed movies in the past. In 2016, the entertainer’s made-for-TV film Christmas of Many Colors: Circle of Love premiered on NBC. 1986’s festive season saw Parton star in A Smoky Mountain Christmas, another small-screen entry. And 1984 was the year that she got jolly in Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember with the late Kenny Rogers.
Now that the new movie is out, Talia and her brothers can take stock of their star turns alongside Parton. Making movies can be a rough business, but, as it turns out, having an angel by your side doesn’t hurt.
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