By Michaela Gordoni
Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone of For King + King Country are opening up about how their family inspires them.
The story of how their family lost great wealth in Australia, came to America and worked together amid poverty is told in the movie UNSUNG HERO. Joel portrayed his father in the movie. Movieguide® awarded him with the Grace Prize® for Most Inspiring Performance at this year’s Awards Gala.
“We were backed so far into a corner as a family that it was war. We realized that if we don’t band together — if we don’t find a way to collaborate, to compromise, to create — we won’t exist,” Joel told Forbes last year. “The building blocks of what it takes to be entrepreneurial, to think outside the box, to have a dream and chase it, were formed during that times.”
The Smallbones’ father, David, said their eldest child, Rebecca St. James, worked as a babysitter and cleaner to help their family make ends meet.
“Our eldest son Daniel, at 12, was mowing and raking peoples’ lawns as well as he was working in flea markets. And the funny thing is that they knew when they earned their 20, 40, 60 dollars, whatever it was, they brought it home, put it on the kitchen table,” David said.
Luke took inspiration from their father, who was a very determined man.
“I had the privilege of living in a household of a father who was a risk taker,” he said. “It was clear that when you invest in something and believe in it, you owe it to the exploration of what can be.”
Luke and Joel struggled at the start of their career, but they never gave up “Because it was so clearly demonstrated to us as children that you go out and see what can be, it gave me the confidence to do it,” Luke said.
Even though they disagree, they always work things out.
Related: For King + Country Talk UNSUNG HERO, Relationships and the Struggle to Success
“If you don’t have incredible debate and intense disagreement, you’ll never get to the next level of excellence,” he said. “The gift of family is that Joel and I can have that disagreement, but here’s the truth: I still have to do Christmas and Thanksgiving with this guy.”
Joel believes the way he grew up helped him understand himself better.
“The economics of being an immigrant, of growing up in poverty, of being homeschooled, of never going to college — you actually spend a lot of your life understanding your weaknesses very well,” Joel said. “Understanding my weaknesses has actually been one of my great strengths, because it forced me to adapt.”
“I may not be as great a musician as the next person, so I focus on presenting and performing. I don’t have the voice that I might need to carry the whole thing but my brother does, so we collaborate and do it together,” he said.
Part of Movieguide®’s review of UNSUNG HERO reads, “UNSUNG HERO is a powerful, compelling story of faith and family, told with lots of sincerity and heart. The acting and writing is very good and convincing.”
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