From beloved series like Matlock and Lost to The Fugitive, actor Daniel Roebuck has had a prolific career in film and television. However his is first effort as a director was a surprise to many. He chose to make the movie not in Hollywood, but in his hometown Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. The story he chose to tell in the just-released Getting Grace is a tale of grace and redemption.
“It really is about a teenage girl dying of cancer who goes into a funeral home to find out what’s going to happen after she dies. And she ends up teaching the funeral director how to celebrate life.”
At the core of the film’s uplifting message is the greatest truth there is.
“Ultimately, Getting Grace is an allegory for God’s grace and its availability to all. I’m a Christian. I was raised Catholic, and I’m a Catholic Christian. I appreciate all of the grace that God has given to me in my life that’s brought me to this moment where I’m talking about this thing that I made. So I know it’s real! I can tell you that God’s grace is real, and I got to make a movie to say that’s true.”
The title of the film captures the spirit of the story. It’s a journey of multiple characters battling in a way against receiving grace.
“I chose to to make this film an allegory, and not to directly teach. I chose to teach in a parable. So yes, the movie is about taking these characters – who do seem immovable – and moving them. It’s not about works righteousness. It’s about grace. It is available, and that character goes in and people fight against it in their own way, but ultimately they get a perspective that’s different than the one they had in the beginning of the movie.”
Daniel Roebuck is a prolific actor from beloved television and film staples like Matlock, and Lost & The Fugitive. His directorial debut is now in theaters across America – Getting Grace.
On the Road with Daniel Roebuck
