Emily Hahn thinks her generation is getting the wrong message. Culture tells us we’re supposed to put on a perfect face and pretend like the tough things in our lives don’t exist.
So for the talented young actress one of the biggest draws to the script of the brand new film Beautifully Broken was just how real her character’s journey was.
“Specifically for my generation, we’re told to cover up our pain. We’re told to cover up our flaws. We’re told to only post pictures where we were perfect and life is great. But the truth is that Andrea’s story, when it’s revealed, other people will feel related to. When I read the script, everybody’s pain is exposed, and I think it’s when we reveal the pain we carry that we actually end up building a better community. So that really attracted me to the script.”
Unfortunately, she says film scripts don’t always serve to counter that perception.
“It was one of the first spirits I saw where pain was just raw & really shown. It was just shown in a true form, and we don’t see that often anymore at all. So that, to me, was so inspiring.”
For Emily, this isn’t just another project. Her faith and some real personal pain made this effort a very meaningful one.
“For me, faith is the most fundamental part of my entire life. I was raised with a Christian mom and an atheist father. And until I was about twelve I have to say I pretty much sided with the atheist perspective. But when I was twelve years old my father passed. I was kind of just forced to turn to God. Previously, I had thought, you know, faith was this construct that people use to help themselves feel better. But then I started having these amazing encounters with God that I just couldn’t deny. Ever since I was about twelve years old, He’s been the foundation for everything I do.”
She says the timing of Beautifully Broken was an absolute blessing.
“It’s really crazy. A week before I got the audition, I thought, ‘God, please bring a project along that I can just pour my pain into in hopes of helping other people.’ And it was literally a week later. Faith is just the foundation of everything for me.”
Emily Hahn is already a veteran actress of the big and small screen, and she’s still shy of her twentieth birthday. She first came to national prominence with her role in Disney’s Toy Story 3. Now she plays Andrea in the brand new story of unlikely hope and freedom, Beautifully Broken.
On the Road with Emily Hahn
