Faith under Fire: Actor Mena Massoud on 'Daniel and the Fiery Furnace'

Mena Massoud in 'Daniel and the Fiery Furnace' | Photo image courtesy of Unveil Studios
Inspired by the Old Testament prophet Daniel and his unwavering faith in the face of persecution, rising actor Mena Massoud takes on the powerful Biblical story in the new movie Daniel and the Fiery Furnace.

The film follows Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as their faith is put to the ultimate test when they are cast into a fiery furnace. At its heart, this time-tested story conveys a highly important message to contemporary audiences: standing up for the right thing can never be wrong.

Alongside Massoud (Daniel), Daniel and the Fiery Furnace stars Elijah Alexander (King Nebuchadnezzar) and is written and directed by brothers Matthew and Daniel Kooman.

I recently sat down with Massoud to discuss bringing Daniel’s story to the big screen, the challenges of portraying an iconic Biblical figure, and what this timeless story of faith means to him.

For everyone involved in a project like this, there always seems to be a moment where you say to yourself, “I have to be a part of this project!” For Daniel and the Fiery Furnace what was that moment for you?

It goes way back to when I was a kid. I grew up in the Coptic Orthodox Church. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but it is one of the oldest churches in the world, and very proud of its history and tradition. As I was growing up, and figuring out that acting was a passion of mine, I was doing it all throughout school, and we'd always do church plays. So acting and religion were kind of an intersection that naturally came together for me. It was a way for me to practice my passion for acting. I did it through the church and through school.

And so, when I went to theater school and then started acting professionally, I never really thought that I would get an opportunity in my professional career to bring a Biblical story to life. It just wasn't something that was really done on this kind of level, or this kind of scale. We saw it very briefly with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. But other than that, there weren't really any kind of religious projects that were on that scale, until recently, of course. The Chosen and Dallas Jenkins kind of brought this genre to the forefront. And so, I'd been circling a few Biblical projects that I was really passionate about, and I met the Kooman Brothers. They talked to me about this role, and I was really just wanting to do a Biblical project on this level for a while. And when they said they were going to make a movie about Daniel, I thought that it made a lot of sense for me in a lot of different ways. I feel blessed that we got to make this one, and shoot it in India, which was an experience on its own. Everybody that they brought together for the project was fantastic.

You really don’t find this trait in most actors as for the career path they traveled to get where they are today. You studied neuroscience before pursuing acting. What made you change direction?

I was always very academic growing up, largely due to my parents and my sisters. My sisters are pharmacists, and so naturally, my parents wanted me to one-up them and become a doctor, or a surgeon, and neuroscience was the undergrad that I went into, as my pre-med major before I would apply for medical school. I went to the University of Toronto the first year for neuroscience, and I was kind of just sitting there, and it was really just a revelation I had. I decided I was going to pursue my passions and my dreams. That was acting for me. I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't at least try. And so, while I was still at U of T studying neuroscience, I auditioned for theater school, and only for one. It was a rising theater program. They only took 30 people, and I kind of did it to hold myself accountable. It was a matter of, hey, if you get in, you have to go. And if you don't get in, then maybe you continue down this path of pre-med.

Thankfully, I got in, and I held myself accountable. I ended up switching majors and going. It was really theater school that catapulted me into deciding I was going to do this professionally.

The story of Daniel represents one of the most beloved and vital stories found in the Bible’s Old Testament. Why is it important to bring this story to the big screen right now?

I think there's a lot of overlap between the story of Daniel and things that are going on right now. For one, I look to the younger generation. I'm 34, and the younger generation is coming back to faith in a big way. They seem to be wanting to grasp onto faith and grasp onto something to follow. And so, I think the Biblical stories that are being told now are important for them. And honestly, they're important for people outside of the Christian faith as well. Daniel is an Abrahamic story from the Old Testament, so people of all faiths recognize him as being a prophet. It's not just Christians. I think that's why that's more important than ever. We need to all come together and stand face to face. And for different people, that means different things.

But I do think there's a lot of overlap between the story of Daniel and what's going on today, especially with young people, because Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were all young. They were believed to be in their late teens, maybe early 20s when they left Judah. And so, I think the lesson of how to hold on to your faith is pivotal in today's world.

Since this is a story that is so firmly rooted in the Bible, faith audiences and theologians are often quick to pounce on films like this for taking liberties and adding scenes and characters that may or may not reflect what the Bible actually says. What types of things did this movie do to share the story of Daniel accurately and reliably?

I'm very comfortable with it. Like you said, this film encompasses the first three chapters of Daniel, which you can read in probably under 10 minutes. So, to make a one hour and 50 minute film, you do have to rely on other texts and scholars that have studied these things, these times in the past, and these historical moments extensively. I'm very comfortable with what the Kooman Brothers wrote down on the page in order to make a film like this.

I think we've done a good job of portraying the heart of the story. They've done an excellent job in researching the time period, the other historical figures that may have been around in that time.

We live in such a connected world, that there's going to be criticism for anything you do, and that's something that you just have to accept. But I think what is important for people to keep in mind is that we're doing this out of a good place. You want to tell these stories, and you do have to take some liberties sometimes.

Movies that are based on Biblical stories are often caught in a vicious cycle of being accused of “preaching to the choir” and sort of shutting out the general public. What types of themes does the movie tackle that would appeal to general audiences?

Christians can be very steadfast in their faith, which is amazing. But we have to find ways to let other people in. And telling a story like this does that, because it's an Abrahamic story that all three Abrahamic religions can recognize. The Kooman Brothers do a great job of treading that line of it being a Christian film, but also just being a story about the prophet Daniel, which appeals to more than one group of faith-centered people.

I think the film does that well. I think it's very subtle in its Christian-specific messaging, while still holding on to Christian values and virtues.

After audiences have had a chance to see Daniel and the Fiery Furnace, what would you like to see people take away from this movie after they see it? What is your greatest hope for the film?

That people get back to their faith, especially with their loved ones. You can be steadfast in your faith on your own, which you should be, but you can also share your faith and your love with the people around you, and I think that's important, too. Taking your loved ones to go see movies like this is important, so that it can create a discussion about certain things, and present faith in a non-threatening way. And so I hope people walk away from it feeling a little more united and feeling a little bit more courageous to stand up for their faith.

'Daniel and the Fiery Furnace' opens in theaters nationwide on Friday.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR DANIEL AND THE FIERY FURNACE: