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Carole Mikita ReportingTonight meet a young actor playing one of the main characters in the highly-anticipated film, "The Work and The Glory." All of the actors spent plenty of time researching. Since the film is based on "The Work and The Glory, Volume One", it was required reading, but there was much more -- a crash course in a faith they didn't know because most of actors playing the main characters are not Latter-day Saints.
Alexander Carroll, "Nathan Steed": “I knew nothing about the Mormon faith and I knew nothing about the book series, ‘The Work and the Glory.’”
But Alexander Carroll landed the role movie goers will likely identify with, nice guy Nathan Steed, who becomes an early follower of Joseph Smith. It's his first starring role. He just moved to L.A. from Michigan, and he sees the parallels with his own life.
Alexander: "It's not on the same level as a religious epiphany, but I guess a moment for me was sitting in my college chemistry courses and one day realizing what am I doing? Finding a new place just as Nathan Steed was coming to a new place, meeting new people, making new friends."
Perhaps his most valuable contact was author Gerald Lund who traveled to Tennessee to meet the actors. He impressed upon them the historical significance of what they were recreating.
Alexander: "Geral Lund said in an interview that I saw, ‘This is a part of American history that’s widely overlooked. I think that that will find an audience outside of the Mormon Church and make people realize that, ‘Wow, this happened and I didn’t know much about it until now.’”
Tomorrow you will meet Sam Hennings, who plays the father, Ben Steed. The film's premiere is Thursday night.
