Actor Eric Close on Coach Joe Kennedy's Fight for Religious Freedom in 'Average Joe'

LOS ANGELES -- When former Marine Joe Kennedy took a job with his local high school as an assistant football coach, he had no idea that someday he would be fighting for the rights of all Americans when it came to the battle for freedom of speech.

What began as a simple ritual of praying after every football game at midfield eventually turned into his dismissal from the school. Why? Because he was allegedly forcing his players to join him in giving thanks to God in a very public fashion.

Rather than walk away quietly from this severe case of public scrutiny, Coach Kennedy chose instead to fight for the right to stand for God publicly. His decision, fueled by an abusive childhood in foster care and 20 years in the Marine Corps fighting for the liberty of his fellow man, was to take his case as far as the public court system would allow. In this particular situation … the Supreme Court.

Coach Kennedy’s story of fighting for the rights of all Americans for religious freedom, is the subject of a new movie opening this Friday called Average Joe. The film that stars Eric Close (Without a Trace), Amy Acker (Person of Interest), and is directed by Harold Cronk (God’s Not Dead, God’s Not Dead 2), illustrates the power of perseverance in the face of the reduction of public liberty.

I recently sat down with the engaging Close to discuss Coach Kennedy’s valiant fight for freedom of speech, what fueled him to never back down, and what valuable lessons we can learn from his case.

Generally speaking, what are you looking for in a project to be willing to devote large chunks of your life to it? What moves the needle for you in finding projects that you want to be part of?

I like stories that get people to think about their own life. I always look for an element in stories where there is some sort of redemption. I've played some pretty nefarious characters over the years, and let's say that character I'm playing gets what's coming to them. I look at that and say, okay, there's some redemption there because that character I'm playing didn't get away with what they thought they were going to get away with. And so it still turns out that it was worth playing that character because in the end I felt like “good” won out. 

I also look for whether you are going to be entertained? Are you going to be moved? Is there an emotional through line that varies? That's not so linear that you're going to laugh and you're going to cry. That's what I loved about this movie. I'm sitting in this movie and I'm laughing out loud, and then other minutes I have tears in my eyes. And then I’m pumping my fist. It's kind of a Rocky story about an underdog. I remember when I first went to see that movie and everybody stood up in the theater and was chanting, “Rocky, Rocky.” I love that. I love when these kinds of stories can just move people. When I read the script for “Average Joe”, I thought this was a super inspiring story. I think people are going to absolutely love it. And I'm grateful to be a part of it. I'm grateful that Harold Cronk, the director, chose me, and that the producers signed off on me to play Joe.

Did you have any hesitation in taking this role due to the subject matter?

It's interesting. There's been other projects that I've worked on where there's other subject matters that some people might take issue with. And there's nothing in life that you're not going to find someone who may have an opposing opinion about something. That's what I love about healthy dialogue. What I really love about our country is, at the end of the day, that's why we have freedom of speech. It’s so that people can express their opinions and be passionate about these things and wrestle to try to hopefully make our country better. So, to answer your question, no, I wasn't hesitant about it. I was intrigued by it, actually. And just the story as a whole, not just Joe's fight and battle to go all the way to the Supreme Court and first get rejected and then go back again, and never giving up, that was very intriguing to me.

That takes a lot of fortitude and faith to just be willing to stay and to stick with it. That aspect of Joe and Denise is carried over into a lot of other aspects of their life, their marriage, their work environment, their friendships, and even their early childhood with all the obstacles and challenges they faced as young people. You can see why both of them are who they are because of all those challenges they faced in life and their deeply held convictions that they weren't willing to waiver on.

Let’s dive into the film a bit. As we have alluded, Average Joe tells the story of Joe Kennedy, a retired Marine and high school football coach who fought for religious freedom when all odds were stacked against him. From your perspective, what fueled this man to never back down?

He has deeply held convictions. He stands on what he believes. He is deeply patriotic. He loves this country. He is willing to put his life on the line for this country. He loves his wife. He's fought passionately for his marriage. And so did Denise (Joe’s wife). They both didn't give up. They've poured everything into that to keep their marriage alive during some really challenging times, especially in this journey where everything was coming at him from every different direction. The threat of losing their employment, which did happen to Joe. A lot of personal attacks from a lot of different directions. There was just something within him that wouldn’t give up.

Do you think his growing up in foster care and then an extensive stint in the Marines fueled his outlook on the situation?

From early childhood, he was rejected. Starting at a very young age, he just didn't know where he stood in life.  And it was hard for him to know who he was. He grasped for a lot of different things in life that really are fleeting. He thought it would sort of give him meaning in his life, even being in the Marines. But then he started to develop that discipline that he had brought with him actually from a boys home that he was in for a while. But deep in his soul, he had this strength. Once he found faith in God and surrendered his life to Him, he was able to use that strength for good. He was able to channel that into this journey. He went on a long journey. I admire someone who's willing to lose it all because of what they believe in. And this guy was willing to do that. It's a pretty incredible story.

Generally speaking, the right to express our religious freedom seems to be shrinking. Joe’s desire to pray at midfield before and after football games is a prime example of this. Why is it important for Joe and others like him to not back down but to press on these issues for a fair and balanced playing field so to speak?

We addressed that issue in the film. Joe will be the first one to tell you that he was fighting for religious freedoms for all Americans, not just for one group of people. And that resonated with me, that he wasn't trying to push certain people out. He's like, ‘Hey, listen, you live in the greatest country on the planet, which allows you freedom of religious expression, freedom of speech, and, and that means all of you, not just some of you.’ That's a clear message in the movie. Joe has his own firmly held beliefs, as do I, and so do other people.

And he didn't give those up. In his own personal journey, he feels a certain way or believes a certain thing. But he took it a step further and said that the strength I have in my convictions, what I believe in, is the same and should be available to the other person, even if we have a different faith. You should have that ability and that freedom to express your faith. I remember sitting on an airplane and getting ready to take off, and the guy sitting next to me was praying. I asked him, as I assumed he was of a certain faith, and it turned out he was from a very different faith than what I thought. And we had this amazing conversation, and I got to learn about his life, his family, and there was a real connection.

And I shared my faith with him too. You see these silly videos where people are refusing to sit next to somebody on an airplane because for whatever reason, and I thought, wow, everybody's got a story. Everybody's got a journey. And this guy and I sat next to each other and had this great conversation for a couple of hours, and we share very different faiths. But he had the right and the freedom to pray right there next to me. And I didn't infringe on that right for him. And nor should he do the same for me. Both of us are Americans sitting on this airplane. That was pretty cool. But listen, the thing about this movie is it is about so much more than just Joe's battle for religious freedoms and his fight to take this to the Supreme Court.

It's also about fighting for what's important in your life, your family, your marriage, for people that are marginalized. And I think one of the messages of this movie is don't give up. I think a lot of people want to throw in the towel and it's like you matter, you're important, and God loves you. Don't give up.

What are some valuable lessons about life that people can learn from Average Joe?

The message of this movie is that no matter what's happened to you in your life, maybe some obstacles or unfair hands that have been dealt to you in life, that there is a chance for you that things can be better. That there is a chance to right the ship. And I find personally, that comes with a surrender to God and trusting that God's on this journey with you. We also need friends. We need people around us. You can't go at this alone. And it's also a reminder. Joe didn't do this alone. Neither did Denise. They had a team around them, and Joe and Denise were a team. They united together to go on this journey. And so, I think it's just a super encouraging story that shows that you are important and not to give up. You need to be willing to fight for what you feel is right and to stand firm in that. 

‘Average Joe’ opens in theaters nationwide this Friday. For more information on where to see it, please visit AverageJoeMovie.com.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR AVERAGE JOE: