Thursday, March 28, 2024

Issac Ryan Brown Says God Is The ‘Reason For My Success’ [EUR Exclusive]

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Issac Ryan Brown in “Believe”

*Faith-based films are a growing and very profitable segment of the entertainment industry, and the latest to tap into the market is director Billy Dickson’s “Believe.”

The story centers on the small town of Grundy, Va., where the citizens have relied on the Peyton family to provide the highlight of the year – -the annual Christmas pageant. When Matthew Peyton (Ryan O’Quinn) inherits the family business, the responsibility of the Christmas pageant also falls on his shoulders. But as financial hardships fall on the town, Matthew finds himself overwhelmed. As his business profits plummet and his workers begin to strike, Matthew is forced to make a decision between selling the family business and cancelling the beloved pageant or sticking out hardships despite his rapidly declining popularity in the community. Through chance events, Matthew meets Clarence (Issac Ryan Brown), a boy who believes in miracles, and his mother Sharon (Danielle Nicolet). His newfound friends impact Matthew’s life in a way he never thought possible and teach him to believe and give faith a chance.

Dickson also penned the project, which features Shawnee Smith (“Anger Management,” “Grace Unplugged,”), David DeLuise (“Wizards of Waverly Place,” “3rd Rock from the Sun”), and Kevin Sizemore (“Fear The Walking Dead: Flight 462,” “Woodlawn”).

Issac Ryan Brown (“Blackish”) makes his theatrical film debut with “Believe,” and he was also recently seen on an episode of “How to get away with Murder. The young star says God is “the major reason for my success,” and credits his mother who “always taught me that the church isn’t where you are but it’s who you are, and so she taught me that the church doesn’t have to just be in a building, it’s where you are all the time.”

EUR/Electronic Urban Report chatted with the charming child actor about God and his faith, how much he relates to his character Clarence, and what he finds most challenging about the business of Hollywood.

“No matter where we are, we always wake up in the morning and give God the praise, honor and glory because if you don’t give him the praise and Glory, then he won’t give the praise and glory to you,” Brown says of his relationship with God. “I feel like, if you praise him out in the open, he’ll praise you out in the open. And I feel like that’s the major reason for my success.”

He added, “That’s why for “Believe,” before I went into the audition room, I actually prayed before I went in, and it just so happened that God blessed me with it. I gave him the praise, honor and glory. I’ve been working on that because I notice sometimes my head gets a little too big, sometimes I gotta bring myself back down, but God — he’s the reason for the season.”

Check out the rest of our Q&A with the Issac below:

READ RELATED STORY: Faith-Based Drama ‘The Reason’ Underscores Spirituality of Cast [EUR Exclusive]

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Danielle Nicolet & Issac Ryan Brown

What did you enjoy most about playing Clarence?

Issac: I loved that he was so much like me. You come across all these different types of roles — roles about smart-mouthed kids with divorced moms, and you come across the kid who plays with guns, or the kid that cusses, but you don’t really come across a gospel type of kid who really believes, and has that type of strong faith in the Lord. So when I came across Clarence I was like, this is the kid for me! My mom saw the movie and she said, ‘They cast you perfectly.’ And I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And she was like, ‘Well, you talk a lot and your character Clarence talks-talks-talks-talks-talks.’ I really like how I portrayed Clarence with the help of my wonderful cast, working with people who’ve been in the industry longer than me — helping me get a grasp on this character Clarence. It really wasn’t that hard being Clarence on set because I feel like now Clarence is me.

Is he the type of kid you would want to play with in real life?

Issac: Of course I would play with Clarence. I feel like after a while, his upbeat attitude would kind of slow me down, cause he’s energized all the time but I feel like, at the end of the day, we could be friends. Cause I mean, Clarence could make friends with anybody. It’s just that the reason he doesn’t have friends is because the neighborhood and the environment he’s in just doesn’t have a lot of kids, so he has to make do with what he has. And I feel like that kinda relates to me because I’ve always liked to use my imagination to solve things, and that’s what Clarence does. So I feel like we could both imagine things and have an awesome time together.

What’s Clarence’s biggest wish?

Issac: Clarence’s biggest wish is to become Gabriel in the pageant. In the movie, it takes place in Grundy, Virginia, and in Grundy, they host this annual Christmas pageant and in this Christmas pageant there’s always an angel. The angel Gabriel is always in that Christmas pageant, and Clarence really hopes to become the angel Gabriel someday. Another big thing Clarence always wishes to keep is that faith, and he never wants to lose faith and he hopes that he always has that faith.

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Ryan O’Quinn

Why do you think it’s important for audiences to explore themes of love, family and faith this time of the year?

Issac: You know how things are hard for people, right? No matter what time of the year, there’s people struggling, and I feel what makes this movie so important this time of year is that everyone goes through their own problems, this time of year especially. Everyone has their own troubles and everyone has their own debts that they need to pay, but I feel like if they watch “Believe,” and see that if they believe all things are possible, and give grace to God and honor him in all things that you do — and God will take you though, I think people will take that away from the movie and enjoy that this holiday season.

What do you find most challenging about being an actor?

Issac: What I find most challenging is getting in tune with those characters who really aren’t me. That’s kind of the hardest thing but it’s what I love about acting. You can always be a different character, but sometimes there’s just those roles that require you to be something different. There’s roles that aren’t you and you have to fit. My mom, she’s totally against cussing and drinking but she knows that if I ever have to cuss, it’s not me, it’s a character. So that’s what I feel like the hardest part is. And what I love so much about acting is that you can become someone else while being yourself at the same time.

“Believe” is now playing in select theaters.

 

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