Chrissy Metz says she believed in miracles well before getting the call to meet producer DeVon Franklin to discuss taking the lead in director Roxann Dawson's just-released faith-based drama "Breakthrough."
Metz was already familiar with the film's story of Joyce Smith, whose son, John, fell through ice on a lake in January 2015 and was drowning for 15 minutes before paramedics even started resuscitation efforts. By the time the boy was in the emergency room, he had gone so long without a pulse that doctors were ready to call time of death.
But Smith wouldn't accept it. She was given permission to pray at her son's feet as a last attempt at CPR was performed — and, much to everyone's surprise, John's pulse returned. And, eventually, he fully recovered from the accident.
FILE - In this Thursday, April 11, 2019 file photo, Chrissy Metz arrives at the LA Premiere of "Breakthrough" at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. While the actress scored a few minor movie roles before finding fame on TV’s “This is Us,” “Breakthrough,” which opened in theaters Wednesday, April 17, marks Metz’s feature-starring debut. (Photo by Willy SanjuanInvisionAP, File)
Metz recalled her first meeting about the film adaptation with producer Franklin and executives from distributor 20th Century Fox. "I thought we were just generally meeting, and then I ended up sharing the story of my mother's medical emergency."
In 2017, Metz's mother, Denise, suffered a massive stroke, and even in front of her mother, doctors were openly pessimistic about a return to quality life.
Metz recalled her fury. "I told those doctors, 'You might think you know my mom, but you don't know my mom. And you don't know what she's capable of ... So, if you don't have anything nice or positive to say, you need to actually leave my mother's room,'" she said. "And then, of course, we come to find out that Joyce said those things to John's doctors."
FILE - In this Thursday, April 11, 2019 file photo, Chrissy Metz, left, and Joyce Smith arrive at the LA Premiere of "Breakthrough" at the Regency Village Theatre in Los Angeles. While the actress scored a few minor movie roles before finding fame on TV’s “This is Us,” “Breakthrough,” which opened in theaters Wednesday, April 17, marks Metz’s feature-starring debut. (Photo by Willy SanjuanInvisionAP, File)
Metz's mom is home, walking, making what Metz called "a strong recovery" — and provided inspiration for her daughter's portrayal of Joyce.
"To play, wholeheartedly, a woman who believes in miracles, you have to believe in miracles to some degree, I think," explained Metz, who didn't connect with the real-life Smith until two weeks into filming.
"I felt like I already knew her," Metz noted. "I watched her on TV. I read her book, 'The Impossible.'" But making the one-on-one contact did inform her performance. "Meeting her, you can't help but realize she has been through hell and back, and is better for it."
Three years ago, the 38-year-old Metz was perhaps the least-known of the seven original "This Is Us" leads. And while each in the cast has landed extracurricular gigs since the acclaimed and popular series' 2016 debut, Metz is the first to be top-billed in a major studio theatrical release.
"It's mind-blowing to know that when I first stepped foot on 'This Is Us,' I felt like the inadequate, doesn't have a resume, can I do this girl?" Metz said. "I learned so much from the cast collectively," she continued, crediting her "This Is Us" co-stars for teaching her what it took to head up the "Breakthrough" cast.
Metz said movie scripts "aren't pouring in," but they're coming, and the big issue is whether the movie is the right thing at the right time.
She said she connected with her "Breakthrough" character and the film's message of hope, as well as the producers' eagerness to let her pursue another passion: singing. Metz performs the new Diane Warren song, "I'm Standing With You," over the film's end titles.
"For me, it's important for a movie to change me or change someone else," Metz said.
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Mike Cidoni Lennox at www.twitter.com/CidoniLennox
TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.
“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.
“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.
The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”
Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.
Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.
The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.
The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.
In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
