Films set in past iconic decades — like the 1970s — are reliably fun to watch, and that includes Jesus Revolution. The powerful new drama hits theaters on February 24 and features a talented ensemble cast led by Kelsey Grammer, who’s also been in the news lately amid Frasier revival buzz.

Jesus Revolution follows young Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) as he searches for all the right things in all the wrong places — that is until he meets Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a charismatic hippie-street-preacher. Together with Pastor Chuck Smith (Grammer), they open the doors of Smith’s languishing church to an unexpected revival of radical and newfound love, leading to what TIME Magazine dubbed a “Jesus Revolution.”
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We recently caught up with stars Joel Courtney (The Kissing Booth franchise) and Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen) to hear more about the film. They were joined by co-stars Anna Grace Barlow (The Big Leap), who plays Greg’s love interest, and DeVon Franklin, who plays the TIME reporter who covered the epic story.

Starting a ‘Revolution’ on the Big Screen

MW: What it was about Jesus Revolution that got you excited to join the project?

Joel Courtney: One of the initial things that caught my attention in this film, while reading the script, was the fact that it’s a faith-based film, but we don’t shy away from some of that heavy gritty — like the drug scene back in the 70s, you know, we show a pretty intense O.D. [overdose scene]. And then our tripping is like, very chaotic and drastic, and it really shows the corrosive nature of drugs that kids were going through, and just totally drowning in that culture. And so I really appreciated them showing the depth of the darkness, which allows the light to shine so much more brightly.

Anna Grace Barlow: So many things attracted me to it. I think a big thing was that John Erwin was directing with Brent McCorkle. And the Erwin brothers are from Birmingham, Alabama, which is my hometown. So I knew exactly who they were. I Still Believe is one of my favorite movies in the last few years… I loved the whole idea. I respect them so much as directors, and I loved the other movies they made. So I can’t believe I got to do it.

Related: Kelsey Grammer Credits Roseanne as Frasier Revival Inspiration

Jonathan Roumie: Of course, it starts with the script. It was an amazing script. And [my character] Lonnie was such a complex, enigmatic, mysterious, galvanizing figure in life… What’s not to interest an actor in a role like that? Plus, he was connected to his faith, which I can relate to, personally. He was just so bold and courageous, and how he went about witnessing and testifying in his life to other people, I found that encouraging and inspirational. I don’t have the boldness that he had. But I try to approach my faith similarly, in a different way, with a certain boldness in the choices I make as an actor. So yeah, that’s what drew me.

DeVon Franklin: For me, I was just drawn in by the script. I didn’t know a whole lot about the history, even though I was very familiar with the TIME Magazine article. When I read the script, I said, “Wow, this is really good.” I mean, the points that Joel [Courtney] was bringing up about, you know, [how] it didn’t shy away from the virtue and the vice struggle, the faith and the fear, the good and the bad. It really was authentically portrayed. So when I read the part of the reporter, Josiah, I felt like there was something I could bring to that part, and also to take this movie and memorialize this movie the same way the article memorialized the movement historically. We’re now memorializing the movement cinematically. That was a real phenomenal opportunity to be a part of that.

Working with Kelsey Grammer and Researching the Roles

Lionsgate

MW: Jonathan, you have some pretty intense scenes with Kelsey Grammer. What was it like working with him?

Roumie: He’s a master of his craft, and I was honored. The biggest challenge I had to get through was the idea I had in my mind about what it would be like to work with somebody of his character. Would they be approachable? Would he be amenable? Could I talk to him just as a regular person, or would I be told not to look directly in the eyes, you know? Fortunately, we met just before we started shooting, and he couldn’t have been more down-to-earth than anyone I’ve ever met, especially given his accolades. So to me, it was kind of like, “Oh, thank goodness. This is gonna be great. I have a conversation with the guy.” And he’s just lovely and charming and as witty as you would expect him to be.

Related: Best Actors Who’ve Played Jesus Christ, Ranked

MW: Joel and Anna, you have some fun scenes together as your characters are falling in love. What scene would you say was the most fun to shoot?

Courtney: One day I remember being really fun was the concert. It was a long day, but it was really fun. It was the day we went to “the happening.” And [Anna’s character is] introducing me to drugs… They had this air cannon that just launched thousands of these sheets of paper out over the entire crowd. And then, they put in the airplane later… It looks really good.

MW: DeVon, did you do any special preparations in getting to play the role of the real-life TIME Magazine reporter?

Franklin: Yeah, you know, there was one person that I reached out to that was very helpful because she came to faith in this movement. So she was very familiar with all of the players. She read the script, gave me a lot of insights on who the people were, because when I read the script, the first time I said, “OK this is interesting,” but I didn’t understand the dynamics. And so, when she was like, “No, this is why Chuck is saying this. This is why Greg is reacting this way. This is what Lonnie is really trying to do.” Getting that context, like the story behind the story, was essential for me to really understand more about what this movie meant and really even more about what these real-life people were grappling with. I mean, we see it as history, but for them, it was their life. So to get a better perspective was essential.

Jesus Revolution comes to us from Lionsgate.