Joel and Luke Smallbone Say UNSUNG HERO is About ‘Power of Family’
By Movieguide® Contributor
For KING & COUNTRY stars Joel and Luke Smallbone point to the “power of family” as the most important theme of their recent movie UNSUNG HERO.
“Luke and I were very young when we moved, but we did see miracles,” Joel explained. “To us, it was sort of this great adventure, and so that’s what we’ve really aimed to depict in this film.”
Luke added, “We struggled as a family coming here, and our faith journey kind of starts there.”
UNSUNG HERO tells the true story of the Smallbone family’s journey of moving to America from Australia with nothing to building a successful career in the music industry. A portion of Movieguide®’s review 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. UNSUNG HERO has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. The family’s Christian faith is not only clear from their repeated prayers to Jesus to guide and provide for them, but also from their infectious enthusiasm and spiritually uplifting song lyrics.
The brothers emphasized that the movie is all about uplifting their family members and hope that audiences will come away from UNSUNG HERO with a newfound appreciation for their own families.
“I believe in the power of family. I think family is more important today than it ever has been in the history of the world, but we don’t necessarily value it as much as we should,” Luke said. “My hope is that, when people watch the film, they will leave kind of looking at their families [differently].”
Joel co-wrote and co-directed UNSUNG HERO and also played his father in the movie.
“This movie is obviously the definition of a passion project for me, as you would imagine,” Smallbone shared during an episode of “The Drive-In Podcast.” “It’s my parents’ origin story, it’s a ’90s film, it’s music, it’s moms, it’s miracles, it’s all of it.”
UNSUNG HERO is already a hit with audiences. BoxOfficeReport.com reported that it “grossed an estimated $2.25M” this past weekend, adding, “Estimated total domestic gross stands at $16.79M.”
Movieguide® previously reported on UNSUNG HERO:
For KING + COUNTRY’s Joel Smallbone, who co-directed, co-wrote and starred in the movie, told Movieguide®, “I have to recognize Richard Ramsey [co-director]…[we] wouldn’t have a film without Richard’s deep passion for family, for our family, and the way he leaned in was pretty profound.”
“I had the real honor to kind of not only get behind the camera with Richard but also get in front of the camera and play our dad, and so there was a lot of honor through the whole thing,” he continued.
Joel’s brother Luke, who produced the movie, shared his hopes for UNSUNG HERO, saying it’s “virtually impossible” to make a movie that touches everyone “unless you talk about family, because when you talk about family, everyone’s got a mother, everyone’s got a father…I think what happened with this film is, people started to see their families in the film.”
“Part of the hope is that people will go home and they will value their family,” he said.
Candace Cameron Bure also starred in the movie and co-produced it with her Candy Rock Entertainment Company.
“It is such a beautiful story of family and miracles and faith at the core,” she shared. “I’m so proud of this movie…it’s all about family entertainment. This is what we want, this is what we need.”
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