David AR White's "Nothing is Impossible" Movie Delivers Hope for Those Needing a Second Chance

In an acting career that spans more than 30 years, David AR White has devoted his time on screen to making movies and television programs that matter. From his early work in Mercy Streets to his most notable role as Pastor Dave in the God’s Not Dead movie franchise, White is one of the most recognizable faces in faith-based film today.

White believes that his latest movie, Nothing is Impossible (now streaming on Pure Flix), just might be one of the most important films he has made to date. With the world struggling to move forward following two and half years of COVID-infused hardships, Nothing is Impossible is an inspiring movie about getting a second chance at life and love, and how our past doesn’t define our future. And perhaps most importantly, we can learn from our failures in a profound and meaningful way.

I recently sat down with the affable White to discuss the new movie, how we can learn from our failures in a profound way, and why learning how to trust again can chart the course for a very fulfilling future.

If you were trying to encourage a friend to go see the movie, Nothing is Impossible, how would you describe it to them? What would be the hook in your sales pitch to get them there?

I love this movie first and foremost, because it’s about dreams. It’s about people who are down on their luck and need a second chance. That’s what we all deserve. We deserve a second chance, but we have to take that second chance. And there’s two ways to look at it. You either curl up and die or you make that move, you take that forward step. You take that first step, even though it’s uncomfortable. This is what this movie’s about. It’s about a guy who missed his chance at the NBA and is now a janitor. His dad’s an alcoholic. He hasn’t had a romantic relationship in years. He is not on this great path by any means. However, he’s still positive. I love the themes of this movie because it’s all about dreams and second chances. It’s such a great cast in this movie, but it’s all their different struggles that they’re all going through as well (that draw you in.)

This movie has an interesting premise in that when an NBA team announces open tryouts, your character, a janitor, gets a second chance. Has this ever happened in real life? Do you think it could ever happen?

It’s fictional. This script has gone through so many different variations over the years. We’ve tried to make this since 2014. I think it’s funny how life imitates art in a lot of ways. Every time that I would try to make this thing, it would get stopped. I think in life, that’s how a lot of our situations go, and when this movie finally came around again, it was like, do I even bother doing this? I’m older now, do I really want to play a guy who’s trying out for the NBA? At my age, running suicides (sprints) is certainly not fun. Yet I felt like it was more about the theme and the heart of the film. You just need to try. We shot this in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the city got behind us. And so much sweetness came out of this film. I’m so proud of this movie.

I see that your teenage son has a small role in this film. What was the experience of acting alongside him like?

Well, he had a great part in Me Again, when he played the miniature me. He was so good at that but he’s had zero interest in acting, really. Both of my daughters have really enjoyed being in movies, and they’re truly gifted at it. They love the arts. But my son, he’s been all about sports all these years. It was just a pleasure to have him. It was a perfect fit for him. We got to do some basketball stuff, hang out, and get to know the city of Knoxville.  It was great. So, I got the California kid out of California and brought him over to Tennessee.

Speaking of cast, this film has a good one. In addition to you, the movie features Robert Amaya, Nadia Bjorlin, Harry Lennix, and Mark Christopher among others. How did such a good group come together for this?

I’ve been working on this for a long time, but the director Matt Shapira is a buddy of mine. We did Finding Love in Quarantine. We did Love on the Rock. This is our third project together. And he knows a lot of people as well. I just can’t give enough props to so many wonderful people that were involved in this cast. Harry Lennix from The Blacklist is just unbelievable. We’ve worked with Stephen Bauer a few times now. I love him. Originally, he was in Scarface and so many things. And of course, Nadia (Bjorlin) was wonderful. She’s been on Days of Our  Lives for like 20 years.

I love Mark Christopher Lawrence. I’ve worked with him many times in the past. He was on my show, Malibu Dan. And then, ever since the writers have been writing this, I always just saw Robert Amaya playing my best friend in this movie. I love his character. He’s a guy who wants to be a pastor but has an anger management problem.

I confess that I laughed out loud when I saw that in the movie

He’s failing his anger management courses. It’s just so ironic. Tommy Blaze penned the (final version) of the script. Tommy’s written so many things with us. In fact, he’s leading the new Gods Not Dead project. The thing I love most about movie making is working with your friends that you worked with for so many years. It’s that camaraderie and it streams down, like when the director’s excited about something. As an actor and a producer, I get excited when other people come on board and really care about something. It truly shows in the end product.

What I love about this movie is that your character, Scott Beck, has gone through several failures in his life. He never made the NBA and has just been kind of floating along through life, working as a janitor for roughly 20 years. But this movie really brings out that you can learn from your failures to step forward into the future. So, how can we learn from our failures in a profound way?

Oftentimes, you don’t understand why. Like why does God allow bad things to happen in our lives? For example, we don’t understand why we haven’t been able to achieve that goal that we have set and tried so hard for, for so many years. And I think it’s in knowing that God has that special purpose and a plan for each and every one of our lives. Oftentimes, He (God) likes to put us in the waiting room to stretch us, to teach us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not yet seen. I think that’s what this film really looks into. A lot of that is dreams and how do you move forward in the midst of the disappointments. That’s so important in every area of our lives.

After people have seen Nothing is Impossible what would you like to see viewers get out of the experience? What is your greatest hope for the film?

Just that they’re uplifted. I hope they were entertained. I hope that they loved the movie, that they laughed along the way. I also hope they walk away from it with just some encouragement wherever they’re at in their lives, even if they don’t understand that they shouldn’t stop. They need to keep moving forward. And oftentimes, that’s the thing. A lot of times what we want to do is to just stop. And if we have been disappointed, we want to just give up. This movie is really about not giving up, even when you don’t see the end goal.

Watch a Trailer for Nothing is Impossible: