Armin Shimerman

Until recently, elfhood eluded Armin Shimerman.

"Because I’m a short person, I have for years wanted to play an elf," says the actor, whom the Internet Movie Database lists as being 5-foot-6. "I auditioned for commercials, auditioned for elves in other projects, never got it. I was always a little disturbed. I’m not saying it was a life goal to play an elf, but it was actually something on my wish list of things to play one day."

Shimerman, best known as the avaricious alien Quark on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and as the malevolent Principal Snyder on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, got his wish from the Hallmark Channel. He plays Ernest, Santa’s right-hand elf and manager of his vast North Pole operation, in last year’s Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus and this year’s sequel, Meet the Santas.

Steve Guttenberg returns as Nicholas "Nick" Claus, who’s ready to take over the "family business." Crystal Bernard again stars as Beth Marshall, the woman who captured his heart, and Dominic Scott Kay reprises his role as Jake, her 9-year-old son.

While the first tale — Hallmark’s highest-rated original movie — was about the courtship of Santa and his intended, this movie focuses on the wedding, or lack thereof. As fate tosses monkey wrenches into Beth’s vision of an ideal nuptial, time is fast running out. Apparently, if Santa doesn’t have a Mrs. Claus by Christmas Eve, the whole endeavor might just go sideways.

Reluctantly, Beth calls in the aid of her prim society mother (Mariette Hartley), a plan that dissolves into chaos as Nick’s parents, the retired Clauses, are thrown into the mix.

It all gives Ernest a bad case of the jitters.

"He is an elf," Shimerman says, "but that isn’t the core of the character. The core of the character is that he is the chair of operations and makes sure that all the gifts get out on time, and the sleigh is off at the right time. It was really about being rather anal-retentive and being sure that Santa did everything he was supposed to do.

"One of the nice moments in the film, towards the end, was his sudden realization of, `My God, it’s all worked out just the way I hoped it would.’ There’s a lovely scene at the end of the picture where I jump up and down in glee that we’ve actually done it."

As in the first film, when Guttenberg’s Nick laughs, it’s not a normal laugh exactly, but a Santa-esque "Ho, ho, ho."

"When he first started doing it on the set," Shimerman says, "I went, `Uh-huh, that’s an interesting choice.’ Then I began to love it."

If Meet the Santas turns out to be as successful as its predecessor, it’s not a stretch to think there might be a third film.

"The actor in me says, `I hope so,’" Shimerman says. "It’s always nice to work, and it’s always nice to work with these people. I cannot tell you what a lovefest it is. I know that sounds really cheesy and syrupy, but I really adore [director] Harvey Frost, and I adore working with Steve and Crystal."

on tv

Program: Meet the Santas

Airs: 9 p.m. Thursday on Hallmark Channel; also 7 p.m. Sunday, preceded at 5 p.m. by Single Santa Seeks Mrs. Claus