Two years after going into cardiac arrest in the middle of an NFL game, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is thriving. As of September 15, 2025, the 27-year-old’s team is undefeated in the first two games of the season, and off the field, he’s excited to launch his acting career with Hallmark Channel.
In March, Hamlin starred in a social media video announcing that Hallmark would soon start filming its second “Holiday Touchdown” movie, with him making a cameo alongside several of his teammates. After the first movie centered around the Kansas City Chiefs in 2024, the 2025 movie — with a star-studded cast including Holland Roden and Matthew Daddario — will focus on the Buffalo Bills and their rabid fanbase, the Bills Mafia.
But in addition to Hamlin’s cameo in “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story,” it’s been revealed that he will also appear in a second Hallmark Christmas movie called “The More The Merrier,” with a storyline that’s close to his heart.
Damar Hamlin Will Appear in Christmas Movie With Hallmark Fan Favorites Rachel Boston & Brendan Penny
GettyHamlin went through a terrifying incident during a “Monday Night Football” game in January 2023. Following a blow to the chest, he collapsed and nearly died when his heart stopped due to a rare health crisis called commotio cordis, according to the American Heart Association.
Incredibly, he worked his way back to being healthy enough to play again with the Bills, and he’s become a vocal advocate for heart health. He’s an ambassador for Abbott’s HeartMates program, a community of people impacted by a variety of heart conditions.
Hallmark has teamed up with Abbott for a new Christmas movie, according to a press release from the global healthcare company. “The More the Merrier” will star fan favorites Rachel Boston and Brendan Penny, along with Hamlin and five kids he’s previously met and bonded with through HeartMates.
The movie is a celebration of community and resilience, per Abbott, and takes place in a small, rural hospital. Per the logline, “Dr. Alice (Boston) and Dr. Brian (Penny) find themselves — along with other hospital visitors and staff — snowed in on Christmas Eve. While the hospital experiences an unexpected baby boom, a 14-year-old heart patient named David brings unexpected joy, connection and a few surprises to everyone around him.”
Damar Hamlin’s New Hallmark Movie is Inspired by Kids He’s Bonded With Through HeartMates
According to Abbott, the 14-year-old character David in “The More the Merrier” was inspired by one of the boys Hamlin has gotten to know through the HeartMates program. Dallas teen Zeke Mankins, who’s now 17 and a star on his high school track team, underwent open-heart surgery at age 12 and received a mechanical heart valve made by Abbott to repair his leaking mitral valve.
Mankins was the first person drafted onto the Abbott HeartMates team by Hamlin, per Abbott.
Other young patients who will appear in the movie include 10-year-old Tony Daly, who underwent a life-saving heart procedure after he was born premature at 26 weeks and six days; 16-year-old Jaden Hartley, who went into heart failure during a 2024 family vacation to Hawaii; 19-year-old Mackenzie Maddry, who went into heart failure caused by intense chemo for the osteosarcoma she was diagnosed with at age 14; and Minneapolis nine-year-old Rian Krauth, who underwent a special procedure when doctors found she had an enlarged heart and a hole in her heart at age two.
“The More the Merrier” will be the first time real-life individuals who have overcome serious health challenges will be featured in a Hallmark movie, according to Abbott.
The movie will air as part of Hallmark Channel’s 16th annual Countdown to Christmas; the specific premiere date will be announced later this week. Meanwhile, “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story” is set to premiere on November 22.
