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Harvest Christian Fellowship pastor and ‘Jesus Revolution’ co-author Greg Laurie says the timing of the spiritual movie is crucial as the CDC reports 1 in 3 girls seriously contemplated suicide.
The star of the upcoming film "Southern Gospel" shared how portraying one man's story of turning his life around for God changed his own life as well.
Emmy-nominated actor Max Ehrich spoke with Fox News Digital ahead of the faith-based film's March 10 release, which is based on the true story of Samuel Allen, a 1960s rock star who was given a second chance to overcome his past.
"'Southern Gospel' is a story about redemption. It’s a story about someone who faces obstacles and overcomes them in a very beautiful way. This film is not just rainbows and butterflies all the time. It gets gritty at times, I think that really drew me to this character and this role," Ehrich said in a phone conversation.
Max Ehrich stars as a rock star turned preacher in "Southern Gospel." Credit: SOUTHERN GOSPEL MOVIE (SOUTHERN GOSPEL FILM)
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Ehrich's character finds himself in jail after years of struggling with "anger and blame" towards organized religion. But a moment of mercy turns his life around.
"In a moment of divine intervention, the judge dismisses drug charges against him under the pretense that Samuel speaks to local schools and churches about the dangers of drugs. Given a second chance, he follows in his father's footsteps to become a preacher, overcoming the influence of a powerful church leader with a personal vendetta against his family," the film's press release explains.
Ehrich said his faith was "deeply impacted" while preparing for and portraying the challenging role.
"I don’t think I’m the same person that I am now that I was before [I made the movie]," he revealed.
Max Ehrich and J. Alphonse Nicholson star in "Southern Gospel" (Photo credit: SOUTHERN GOSPEL FILM) (SOUTHERN GOSPEL FILM)
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The actor described how he studied the Bible and found ways to relate to his character to prepare for the role and "do [it] justice." In a separate interview, he revealed he was actually baptized on set.
"It was a very demanding role," he recalled. "My character goes through a lot, a range of emotion that really challenged me which is exactly what I love. Those are the kind of projects that I’m always keen to want to be a part of."
In "Southern Gospel," Ehrich's character's faith is tested when he struggles with drug addiction, family problems and disagreements with the church. But Ehrich said the film's message points to the grace of God and forgiveness.
"What [Allen] really stands for is we’re all sinners, we all have our flaws but the grace of God is really about forgiveness and about love towards ourselves, towards others, not judgment," he added.
Actor Max Ehrich stars in "Southern Gospel." (Credit: SOUTHERN GOSPEL FILM) (SOUTHERN GOSPEL FILM)
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Faith-based entertainment has had a revival in the culture as of late, with the massively successful Biblical drama "The Chosen" releasing its series finale in theaters and Christian film "The Jesus Revolution" winning rave reviews.
Recently "The Chosen" fans crashed a movie website while attempting to buy tickets to see the series three finale on the big screen.
"The Jesus Revolution" also performed miracles at the box office, taking in more than double the estimated amount of ticket sales its opening weekend.
Ehrich speculated audiences are flocking to these faith-based projects lately in part because they are seeking hope and light coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I feel like we’re coming out of a very interesting time in society. I think everyone’s faith and humanity was tested with the pandemic and so I feel like people are more drawn to projects that give more hope and give more light," he said.
While he said that message has always been relevant, it's become even more appealing now.
"I do think that we’re in a time right now where people want that hope and people want to be inspired. So I do think now is the perfect time for projects like ‘Southern Gospel’ and ‘Jesus Revolution’ to be coming out," he told Fox News Digital.
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