This is the 10th anniversary of the filming of the award winning Christian film Polycarp in which I play the title character. The experience of making that film proved to be far more momentous and impactful in my life than I ever anticipated. To celebrate this anniversary I am re-publishing my diary from those days which I wrote on the back of the daily sides, including never-before published passages.

Saturday, July 27, 2013 - Day 6 of shooting, Day 5 for me, was one of my favorite days of the shoot because I got to work basically all day with the young lady pictured above, Eliya Hurt—our Anna. What a delight! 

One of the scenes we shot today (which was also one of my audition scenes) is one of my favorite scenes in the film. Now, I think the casting for our movie was expertly done and that each actor is playing the role right for him or her. But I literally cannot imagine Anna being played by anyone else. It is as though this part were written specifically for Eliya—even though she was one of the last actors (if not THE last) to be chosen.

Eliya is a remarkable girl and a remarkable actress, and I have much more to say about her...but I shall save it for later.

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Another long day—mostly waiting for set-ups or shots that didn’t include me to be completed.

After working under Joe Henline's direction for a week I'm understanding his approach more and more. His confidence and quiet leadership belie his young age. He does not dictate to the actors how to play their parts, but expects us each to know our characters and our lines and to be prepared when we walk onto the set. He'll tell us what he wants, and discuss it at length with us beforehand if it is a crucial scene, as much to find out how we want to play it as to tell us how he wants it played. Then with cameras rolling we'll do a take, and afterward he'll come out and say, "That was really great. Now, can we do it this way?" 

His most common direction, especially to me, is to bring it down or slow it down. Rarely is it to give him more. He has a clear vision of what he wants to see, and an internal sense of volume, timing, and tempo. I trust him, and judging by the responses of people who are viewing the rushes, my confidence is well-rewarded.

I have yet to watch any of the [dailies], and do not foresee that I will—not that I have a “thing” about it, but I really don’t want to be influenced for a future scene by having seen what I did in a previous.

Jerica said I made her cry today as she watched my scene with Eliya [Anna]. I spontaneously reached up and brushed her cheek before comforting her with the words, “It is well.” Jerica is not a cry-er, but the gesture struck her in a poignant way. (That scene got cut from the final edit but can be seen in the Deleted Scenes feature on the Polycarp DVD.)

We completed scene 45, Polycarp and Anna talk about God’s love—one of my favorites, a tender, grandfatherly moment. Loved doing this scene with Eliya and sad that it’s over and done. Curt [Cloninger] had a good insight into Polycarp and Anna’s relationship: The key is that Polycarp mustn’t try to give Anna too much info, too much truth, even too much of himself at one time, but draw her out carefully. I said, “Like making friends with a deer."

Making this movie and performing this role reminds me of a kid playing out the days of summer, excited about doing the next day’s activity or going to camp or being on a trip, yet sad because no day can be retrieved and re-lived once it’s over, and soon all will be past as school starts again. 

Top Left: Eliya Hurt, grabbing a snack while in the makeup chair.  Top Right: Director Joe Henline showed up every day wearing a vest and tie. Center: Screen shot, Polycarp and Anna have a chat

Polycarpmovie.com