All Episodes

April 9, 2019 15 mins

What a privilege it is to be able to chat with an actress I have admired for so long! I don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm hooked on "This Is Us" and adore the character of Kate Pearson! When I heard Chrissy Metz is starring in a new movie, "Breakthrough" out on April 17, I was really eager to talk to her about it! 

We were joined by producer, DeVon Franklin, who coincidentally produced an animated Christmas movie I had a few lines in, "The Star." It was fantastic to get to connect with them both!

Join me on this episode of LOVE SOMEONE with Delilah, where I barely contain my excitement over being able to talk with these two!  "Breakthrough" based on an amazing true story,  is a moving testimony to the power of prayer and love of family and community! ~ Delilah

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mark as Played
Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, my friends, Welcome back. Welcome to another episode of
Loves Someone with Delilah. I'm so glad you are joining me.
I could not have chosen two more perfect guests to
have on this springtime I have been a huge fan
of the series. This is us. I don't know a

(00:21):
fan is the right word. I'm addicted. It's my guilty pleasure.
I love all of the characters, but I especially love
Kate Pearson. When I heard that the actress that plays
Kate Pearson was starring in a movie called Breakthrough, I
had to get in touch with her. I had to
invite her to come and chat with me. Little did

(00:44):
I know that this interview would come with a bonus guest,
because the producer of the movie Breakthrough is also joining us,
and he is also somebody that I am so geeked
to meet. I can barely contain my excitement because though
we have never met, I've actually worked for him in

(01:06):
the past. Let's meet my guests right now with me
today is Devon Franklin and Chrissie Met and in the
studio is also my little dog. I have a five
month old puppy Schnauzer, and I got to tell you too.
When my my little puppy gets excited, chief he pedals
on the floor and I'm I feel like I'm going

(01:31):
to do that any minute. I'm so excited. Well, you
should just put a puppy pad down, right, I should
right now. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, Chrissie,
I love you and de Vaughn. I love, love, love
you guys so much. Well, the feeling is so mutual.

(01:51):
I can't even tell you. I almost fell off my
chair when I was like, wait, who like Delilah. I'm like, wait,
like Delila Sila? Yeah? Yeah, And I like Christie. Oh Mike, Christie.
I love you, but I hate that you make me
cry so much. You know, I know that you love
to hate that and you hate I do get it.
I have not had television in my house for over

(02:13):
twenty years. I haven't had TV in my house, so
I have to have my teenagers show me how to
get to you. And I gotta be honest, it's my
guilty pleasure. And I save up the episodes until I'm
having a really really bad day and then I just like, okay,

(02:34):
Mom is going up to the room and they're like, oh,
here we go. She's gonna be crying and the floodgates open.
But oh my gosh, I love you and Devon. I'm
surprised upon we haven't met because you were the executive
producer in the movie that I start in The Star.
Why did we not win like an Academy for that?

(02:57):
I don't know. Well, the next one we will. My
my four lines. I delivered them with passion. Listen. We
were grateful to get you, uh you know. I know
it was unfortunate that our past, you know, didn't cross,
but I was incredibly grateful that you would spend some
time and record those lines for us, because you did

(03:17):
a great job and we needed to Well, I have
to share before we talk about Breakthrough, which I don't
know if I'm going to be able to talk about
because it's really hard to talk about. But before we
talk about that, I have to tell you this strange coincidence.
I don't know who wrote my lines, if you wrote those,
or who wrote my lines for the Star. And like

(03:40):
I said, I only had a few of them, but
the last line that I had in that cute little
movie was common. Zachariah parties over. It's time to go
home because I played Elizabeth, wife of Zachariah, who God
had shut his mouth because he was saying foolish things.

(04:02):
I went in the studio recorded the lines. I completely
forgot about it. And from the time that I recorded
the lines and the time that the movie debuted in
in during the holidays, God called my sons Zachariah home,
Oh my goodness, and I had completely forgotten that line.

(04:22):
So the movie comes out, I pack all my kids together,
we go down to see it together, and I'm like, Oh,
this is gonna be the most amazing thing, you know.
And and it was literally weeks after zach had gone
home and changed his address to have and and then
that line comes on in the whole theater because everybody
in the theater was with me. They're like parties over

(04:45):
time to go home. Who absolutely unbelievable. But let me
tell you, while he was here the eighteen years God
gave him, he partied with love and his heart for everybody.
I want to talk about breakthrough and how what brought
you two together to rip all of our hearts out again?

(05:09):
Oh wow? I mean you know, listen, uh, it was
not us. A couple of years ago when I was
promoting Miracles from Heaven, which is the film I produced.
Before I produced The Star, I was on TVN and
on that program there was a Smith family, Joyce Smith
and John Smith and uh pastor Jason Noble, and they
were telling their story. And when I heard that Joyce
prayed John back to life after he died falling through

(05:32):
a frozen lake, I said, this is unbelievable. I mean,
in the medical record it says patient dead, mother prayed
patient came back to life. And once I heard that,
I knew that I had to bring this to the
big screen. And that was just about three years ago.
And you know, there is no movie without a star,
and there was no other star that could do the
role of Joyce but for Christie Mets. And when she

(05:53):
said yes, that was the process that really allowed us
to make the film. And uh, we're just hoping that
audiences around the world are inspired by it. Our podcast
sponsor is the Home Depot. They allow their team members
to do some incredible things, some wonderful things for their
communities throughout the year. One regularly scheduled event happens to

(06:15):
be on the third Thursday of every single month. It's
called the Do It herself workshops imagine spending an hour
or two once a month learning how to use all
the tools you might need to know how to use
to keep your own home updated. Do what herself workshops
are get togethers for you and I, and they're free.

(06:37):
By the way, you learn how to make something different
each time, and in the process of doing so, you
actually learn how to use so many different tools. I've
been going myself for years to these whenever I can,
and there are a lot of fun sign up in
advance so they know you're coming at the home Depot's
website and remember to do it herself workshops are absolute

(07:00):
lea free. Now let's get back to the conversation we
were just having. So, Chrissie, what was your gut reaction
when you first heard about Joyce or or read the script?
What happened in your in your heart? You know, I thought,
oh am I capable of doing this? Um. I mean
that's always sort of the question. I don't want to
do something if I know. Of course, my ego is

(07:21):
like if you don't do it well, then don't do
it at all. Um. But also there's a lot of
growth to have have been been had, and so I
I just sort of how to sit with with myself
and my thoughts and pray about it and you know,
ask for guidance or advice from you know, my team.
And I was attached to another project at the time

(07:41):
that wasn't really going to allow me to be a
part of both. And then that fell through when I thought, okay, okay,
everything already knew was just confirmed because everything just fell
into place. Um, so, you know, trusting your gut is
it was a hard thing to do, especially in Hollywood,
I think, but yeah, it just was. It was the
right thing. It was meant to be obviously, so it

(08:05):
got to me on many levels, obviously as a mom,
but also as a mom who has adopted kids, because
that's a piece of the story. I don't know how
many people are going to talk about, but we need
to talk about that because you playing Joyce the mom,

(08:26):
are praying back your son John, who you adopted. And
I think a lot of times when well, I know,
when people talk to me about my children, they're like, well,
which ones are your real children? Of them? Yeah, and
the character, the role you play, you make it very
very clear, and and all of us adopted moms are

(08:48):
saying thank you. Yeah, that the level of love and
intimacy and commitment and and just undying love you have
for that child, it mountains. Yeah. Well that's Joyce Smith
for him. Yeah. Yeah, that is how she really is
in real life. I mean, just a powerhouse um doesn't

(09:10):
take no for an answer, but she does it with
love and the way that she loved John. I mean,
that's really one of the reasons why I wanted to
do the movie was when I found out that, you know,
she had adopted him, her and her husband Brian adopted
him when he was six months old from Guatemala, and
you know, just the idea that he struggled with, why
wasn't he wanted And you know, she would try to
affirm that, but it wasn't until he went through this

(09:30):
incident and came out on the other side of it
and saw that it was his mother's prayers and the
prayers of the community and the love of the community
and his mother that really helped save his life. That
he began to understand that he had a purpose in
a place. And I think that's just so powerful, and
we really wanted to portray it in the way that
they experienced it. And we're just grateful that Joyce and
John really feel like we got it right. So how

(09:53):
much backlash Devon did you get when you said, well,
you've been doing this for a long time. You've been
getting backlash because you have been involved with movies, powerful
movies about miraculous faith since your career began. Uh. But
when you said, Okay, Christie, let's do this, did you
guys get you know, backlash from people or are people

(10:15):
being really supportive? You know? I mean as far as
I don't really read comments and whatnot, um, but from
what I can tell you, having screened the film and
been across the country in multiple screenings with all different
types of audiences, there haven't been any any backlash. I mean,
people love Christie Mets. They love her portrayal of Joyce.
It is so emotional. No matter what your faith journey is,

(10:38):
you can find something relatable and breakthrough. I think we all,
you know, are searching for our place. We all want love,
and so there really hasn't been that kind of backlash.
And when people see breakthrough, I mean they I think
it's all worth it. So whatever conflict there may be,
or whatever backlash may come, it's all worth it because
there are lives that will be changed for the better

(10:59):
because of a like that. So, Christie, I gotta ask you,
after watching you for hundreds of hours on three seasons
of This Is Us, where your character sometimes is a
little self centered. Um, I was so happy to find
out because I after I watched the first season, I
researched you, like at nauseum and to find out that

(11:22):
that you are not that character, but you play her
very well. But the character you you play in in
the movie Breakthrough Joyce is so other focused and yet
both characters you play with such tenacity. Thank you. So
I'm guessing that tenacity is the real Chrissy Matts. Yes,

(11:43):
I mean I didn't pursue acting for twelve years eating
Ramen noodles without that finacity, you know, And I know
a hundred in one way to cook Ramen noodles by
the way, you know, let me tell you, after you've
been fired twelve times in radio, you you and Acier
raman noodle resies, right and then very delicious? Yeah? Absolutely, um,

(12:05):
but yeah, you have to be tenacious in in that pursuit. Um.
And I always was really cognizant of why was I
doing it because it wasn't about fame and fortune that
sort of just like a nice byproduct, But like, what
is it that I'm supposed to be doing? And how
do I how? How am I an instrument? And how

(12:26):
am I a conduit? And so um so answer that
question with this movie? How are you a conduit? What
do you feel gud called you to do? UM? I
think to portray Joyce and um and this Smith family,
there's their story and how you know even in the
most uncertain times, that you you can ask for what

(12:47):
it is that you want and that you need. And
I hope that is conveyed through through the message and
through the story because that's exactly what she did and
she had no qualms about it. And do you think
you'll carry that into your life? Oh? I definitely have.
I definitely have more shows than I ever have before. Devon.
What do you hope folks will be talking about once

(13:09):
they go see I'm going to tell everybody because take
your family, take your friends, everybody to go see Breakthrough.
It's so perfect, especially during you know the season of
of renewal and new life and new birth and springtime
and and Easter Sunday. What do you what are you
hoping Devon? People will be saying um as they drive

(13:31):
home and talk about breakthrough right before they turn my
radio show back on. Well, you know the lot of
I really hope that people, you know, go and see
this film and they have the experience that audiences around
the country are already having, which is, you know, we
hold so much in you know, the day to day,
and what's happening is people see this film they're able

(13:51):
to release and let go. It's very cathartic. Audiences are
walking out of the theater with their own breakthroughs, um,
you know, breakthroughs of emotional healing, breakthroughs of love, breakthroughs
of finding a feeling like they have a place in life.
And so my hoping prayers everyone who sees the film
will experience their own breakthrough in an area of their life,
so that it goes beyond just being entertainment for two hours,

(14:12):
but it becomes a callous for change in their life. Well,
thank you, thank you, thank you for spending this time
with me. I hope someday I can just squeeze you
and kiss you and telling her how much I both
love you. Cannot wait wait. Thank you, Make sure you
take the time to go see the movie Breakthrough when

(14:34):
it comes out on the sevent of this month, and
make sure you subscribe to Love Someone with de Lina.
I'll have new episodes on the second and fourth Tuesday
of each month, and sometimes more often if I find
somebody that's fascinating and I just can't wait to share
that with you, so we we sometimes surprise you and

(14:55):
have more than two episodes a month. Anyway, subscribe to
Love Someone with Delilah and tell your friends to join
us as well.
Advertise With Us

Host

Delilah

Delilah

Popular Podcasts

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Stuff You Should Know

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.