Do Not Lose Yourself in Your Cause When the Country Is Divided | Charles Esten

Charles Esten grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, steeped in the history of the Revolution, and now plays the British antagonist Lord Balfour in Drummer Boy, the Angel Studios musical about America’s fight for independence. The film comes from the Smallbone brothers of for KING & COUNTRY, and Charles knew it was worth doing before he finished the script. He heard the songs first. The actor known for Outer Banks, Nashville, and Whose Line Is It Anyway? is also a singer-songwriter with nearly 200 Grand Ole Opry appearances and a Guinness World Record.

Drummer Boy, a divided family, and the faith that outlasts any cause: Charles shares why he loves a story where two brothers on opposite sides of the war can both be right, why a villain who loses his humanity in the service of good things is more unsettling than a cartoon bad guy, and what the film says to a country that feels more divided than ever. He also talks about growing up the class joker, how his father’s love of country music led him to the Opry stage, and why his faith, built from his mother’s church and his father’s late-in-life conversion, is the foundation under a business full of rejection.

Highlights

• How his friendship with director Ben Smallbone on two seasons of Homestead led to Drummer Boy
• Why he listened to the songs before reading the script and knew the film would be special
• Why Lord Balfour is a villain whose reasons are hard to dismiss, and how good ends do not justify wrong means
• The two brothers at the heart of the film, both with every right to their side, and the Cain and Abel echo he sees in it
• His message for the 250th anniversary: faith, family, and forgiveness can heal what divides us
• Growing up in Alexandria, Virginia, and studying at William and Mary surrounded by Revolutionary War history
• Why a childhood of making people laugh turned into acting, songwriting, and nearly 200 Grand Ole Opry performances
• The idea behind his Guinness World Record, 54 consecutive weeks of releasing an original single

Resources / Links / CTA

• 🌐 Charles Esten website: https://www.charlesesten.com
• 📱 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlesesten
• 🎬 Drummer Boy: from Angel Studios
• 📺 Homestead: streaming on Angel Studios
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• 👉 Follow, share, and subscribe for more faith-driven conversations on Lifeaudio

Click to Listen to Signs of Life: UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

Join us this Fall for Season One of "Signs of Life," an original podcast from UM News. The journey begins in Atlanta, hearing how a book from an icon of the Civil Rights movement is bringing relationship and understanding to two congregations seeking to bridge divides. Then to Belfast, learning about the Northern Ireland Peace Process and the Methodist connection that was—and is—an essential part of healing and peacemaking. Finally, at the Global Young Peoples Convocation in Dublin, explore the world of translation and interpretation through diversity, language and culture.

UM News Podcast Season One | UMNews.org

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