New film ‘Reagan’ aims to unite, Catholic actor says

CNA Staff, Aug 24, 2024 / 04:30 am

The first full-length film focusing on the life of the 40th president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, will be hitting theaters on Aug. 30. The biopic “Reagan” stars Dennis Quaid, and Catholic actor David Henrie portrays the teenage Reagan in the film.

The story takes place during the Cold War and follows Reagan’s journey from his childhood in Dixon, Illinois, all the way to the White House. The film recounts the many odds Reagan overcame and the role his wife, Nancy, played in supporting him along the way. 

Henrie spoke to CNA about his role in the film, the impact Reagan has had on him as a man of faith, and why he believes Catholics should see the film.

Born in 1989 at the end of Reagan’s second term as president, Henrie didn’t experience Reagan’s presidency. However, when he began to discuss the role with friends and family he was surprised to hear the many stories others close to him had of the 40th president. 

“It was really interesting to me when I brought up the role around family and friends to see the reaction on people’s faces,” he said. “People would immediately go into stories about him and how he touched their life in a personal way, even if they had never met him. He made such an impact on them.”

“So, for someone who literally didn’t have a living memory of it, getting to meet people who had this profound experience with him just kind of showed me the depth and breadth of his impact,” he added.

Another aspect of Reagan’s life that stood out to Henrie was the fact that Reagan was a child of alcoholism.

“That to me when I was studying him unlocked a lot because that is a very impactful thing on anybody,” Henrie emphasized. “You can go different ways with that if you’re a child of that type of environment, and he chose to turn it into a superpower — a source of empathy, compassion, understanding, mutual suffering.”

Henrie further described Reagan’s “superpower” as his “deep understanding and desire to help and fix the world around him” and suggested it was this, along with his upbringing, that “helped inform his faith, helped inform a lot of his life.”

The actor highlighted that when looking at the journey Reagan took throughout his life leading up to becoming president, it shows “that really all things are possible with God.”

“The fact that he went from being a lifeguard to a broadcaster on the radio to actor to governor to head of the Screen Actors Guild to president — literally you have to believe in God because that seems like it can’t happen.”

Adding to his point, Henrie said he hopes viewers will take away that “if you are faithful to the life God is giving you and you know that all things are possible with him, you can accomplish so much.”

He added that for Catholics, many will immediately recall the relationship Reagan had with Pope John Paul II and the “shared and common goals” that the two worked on “that changed the world.”

Henrie believes that the film will serve as a good reminder “of what can be accomplished in Christ and uniting and not necessarily dividing.”