As “This Is Us” star Chrissy Metz prepares for the release of the Christian film “Breakthrough”, the actress known best for her role as Kate is becoming more vocal than ever about her faith.
“Breakthrough”, a miracle story based on the real-life events of Joyce and John Smith, is set to premiere in [the] spring of 2019. Metz is playing the role of the mother, Joyce, who is brought through an incredibly arduous journey with her son by relying on the power of prayer.
“When I was given the gift of even reading the script, I was so moved by it, because we’re all looking for something greater than ourselves, and we’re all trying to figure it out, and do the best we can in the process,” Metz told the Christian Post. “I’ve had some hardships myself, obviously, not to this degree but things that were really trying. And the only thing that sort of kept me going was my faith.”
The movie’s plot centers around the near-death accident of Joyce’s son John when the teen breaks through a frozen lake and gets trapped underwater for 15 minutes.
The synopsis of “Breakthrough” reads:
“Even though John lies lifeless for more than an hour, his mother refuses to lose faith and prays for a miracle. To the astonishment of everyone present, her prayers are answered as John’s heart suddenly begins to beat again, defying every expert, every case history, and every scientific prediction. Mere days after the accident, he walks out of the hospital under his own power, completely healed.”
Playing the role of Joyce really dug into the depths of Metz’s own faith life as she reflected on the importance of building her foundation on God and surrendering her hardships to Him.
“We all have to have a foundation,” she shared. “A house isn’t built properly without a foundation, and whether that’s your faith, or whatever you believe in, you have to believe in something.”
“There’s [sic] times where you really feel like, it’s never going to get better, you’re down and out and we get in our heads and we build this fear around something that the only person, or the only thing that can subside that, is our faith in God,” added Metz. “I know that from a personal plight of my life.”
The 38-year-old actress elaborated that while it’s difficult to be candid about your faith in today’s society — especially in Hollywood — she simply has come to a point where she “doesn’t care” about the stigma:
“It is hard I think, now, to just be really vocal about your faith, or what you believe in because people want to think ‘it’s not cool,’ but I’m like, I don’t care! I have to do what I have to do for me, and I know that the only person that shows up for me time and time again, is God, and is that higher power that’s greater than myself. So I have to honor that. Not because I have to, because I want to, even though people might think it’s the uncool thing to do. For me, there’s no question about it.”
Before her role in “Breakthrough”, Metz was never very public about her faith as a new star in Hollywood, but now she’s bolder than ever about embracing it regardless of how “likable” her views may be.
“I know it can be a challenge because the whole problem is that we all want to fit in, we want to be liked and validated,” said Metz. “So when we’re different, we feel it, but I think that when people are strong in their convictions, it can really persuade people to think differently just as the movie’s going to do.”
Watch the trailer for “Breakthrough” below, and don’t miss it in theaters starting April 17, 2019.
