'The Unbreakable Boy' a Remarkable Example of Faith, Family, and Fatherhood

NEW YORK – The cinematic world came together Wednesday evening to celebrate the movie premiere for The Unbreakable Boy. Opening in theaters this weekend, the film starring Zachary Levi (Shazam), Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond), Meghann Fahy (One Life to Live), and Jacob Laval was originally slated to release in 2022 but got pushed back due to the COVID pandemic. But despite the logistical hurdles it has had to overcome to find its eventual release day, its studio, Kingdom Story Company, and distributor, Lionsgate believe this movie is quite special, significant, and well worth the wait.

Directed by Jon Gunn (Ordinary Angels), The Unbreakable Boy tells the story of a young boy named Austin (Laval) with both a rare brittle-bone disease and autism. His parents initially worry about his future but soon discover their child has an undeniably positive spirit, one that uplifts all who come in contact with him. It is his father’s (Levi) growing faith coupled with Austin’s exuberance for life that make this pair “unbreakable” as they find joy, gratitude, and courage, even in the most difficult of times.

It is in the spirit of being “unbreakable” that makes one wonder what that actually means. It’s easy to say it is someone or something that is durable, unshakable, or unyielding, but when applied to the emotional and physical bonds of a relationship does that definition still hold up?

Several actors and influencers who walked the red carpet at the premiere stopped to share their thoughts with Crossmap on what they thought it meant to truly be unbreakable. Here are their responses:

Jacob Laval (stars as Austin in The Unbreakable Boy): 

I think to be unbreakable means to not let anything stop you from accomplishing what you should want to accomplish. 

Amy Acker (co-stars as Lori in The Unbreakable Boy:

To be unbreakable means to persevere, to kind of spread love wherever you go, and have faith that it's going to come back to you and right in the way that it should. 

Joel Smallbone (lead singer, for KING & COUNTRY):

It's about coming together. I think where we break is when we separate. We break when we become individualistic. We break when we think we can do it all on our own. We were never designed to be individualists. And yet so much of the western culture pushes us towards doing it yourself, or having it your way. And I would say to find the unbreakable spirit is to pull people close, to love well, and to rise together.

Drew Powell (co-stars as Joe in The Unbreakable Boy:

To me, it means to have that resilience of when you feel like you can't go on, you find that little bit extra. And that's what it is about. Austin has all of these things that most people would say are a detriment. Brittle bones, being on the autism spectrum, but he rises above and therefore everybody else around him, you're forced to rise above too.

Jon Gunn (Director of The Unbreakable Boy):

I think it's about being able to stand up when we fail and to celebrate our scars, because we're all going to get hurt. We're all going to make mistakes, we're all going to break. But the way that we heal from that and the way we celebrate the wounds along the way, I think is what defines us as people. So to be unbreakable means to be able to have joy and gratitude, even in the midst of our struggles.

Zachary Levi (stars Scott in The Unbreakable Boy):

I think it’s to be unwavering in one's resolve for who they know themselves to be, what they know the truth to be, and standing on that no matter what. And I think in order to do that, a lot of that starts with loving yourself, really valuing yourself. And unfortunately, a lot of people struggle with that. I struggled with that for a long time in my life. That's what I would love more people to come to. That is recognizing that they are so worthy  of that love. They are worthy of God's love. They are extensions of God's love. Yes, we are faltered. Yes, we are broken. Yes, we need to work on ourselves. Yes, we will screw up all the time, but may we carry ourselves in each other through grace, forgiveness, patience, kindness, and softness, holding each other accountable in love. And in that we can continue to make people stronger and stronger with greater fortitude. 

The Unbreakable Boy is playing in theaters nationwide now. For more more information please visit https://theunbreakableboy.movie/.

WATCH A TRAILER FOR THE UNBREAKABLE BOY: