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RICHMOND, Ind. — Derek Brown does everything he can to keep busy.
He's been a professional wrestler on the independent circuit for 24 years.
He's published a book about his weight loss journey, in which he weighed 421 pounds at his heaviest before dropping to 198 pounds through a change in his lifestyle.
Brown also just got married to his wife in January and moved to Richmond a month ago, after having lived in Greens Fork and being with her for the past six years.
He attributes a lot of what's happened in his life to his faith, and now that faith will be shown on the big screen as he stars as an extra in the upcoming Christian film "Unsung Hero."
The PG-rated film is about the true story of David Smallbone, a father of seven children, including Grammy-award winning artists Rebecca St. James and Joel and Luke Smallbone, better known as Christian duo "for King + Country."
The movie, distributed by Lionsgate, follows the Smallbone family as they move from Australia to the United States for a brighter future after David's music company collapses.
"With nothing more than their six children, their suitcases, and their love of music, David (played by for King + Country's Joel Smallbone) and his pregnant wife Helen (Daisy Betts) set out to rebuild their lives from the ground up," the movie's synopsis reads. "Based on a remarkable true story, a mum's faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs."
How did Brown get the 'Unsung Hero' role?
Brown said he first found out about the movie after coming across a link online featuring the actors starring in the film, which led him to another link where he could sign up for notifications and information regarding the filming.
Eventually, he received an email that contained dates and times that extras would be needed to film scenes in Nashville, leading Brown to jump at the opportunity.
While he was originally supposed to be in three scenes, Brown only ended up being in one due to production cuts and changes that were made, though he said the scene he is in is the most important of the movie.
"It's the scene where the lead character has finally reached the pinnacle of her journey," he said. "It's the final scene where she gets to the point where she's accomplished what she goes out for."
Brown is a dispatcher for Marian University, a Roman Catholic school in Indianapolis, which he said was more than willing to let him take time off work to film the scenes.
Faith is a big part of Brown's identity
In addition to his employer, Brown also credited the man upstairs for everything that's happened to him in life.
"My faith means everything to me. Without my faith, I don't have anything," he said. "Honestly, that's probably the way I found the time is because of Jesus Christ, because he knew how bad I wanted to do this.
"I really wanted to make all three scenes I was going to be in. ... I only got to do the one scene out of the three but I felt like the good Lord above is the one that kind of made it work for me to at least to get one scene. Without him, I wouldn't be able to do half the things I do in life."
Early screening April 24 in Richmond before release
The AMC movie theater in Richmond will be showing an advance screening of the film Wednesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. Brown will be present for the screening and while there isn't a meet and greet planned, he said he's happy to meet with moviegoers.
"I'm not shy," he said. "You can come up and say hi to me and I'll say hi back and we can chat."
Tickets for the movie are $7.49 for adults, $6.49 for seniors ages 60 and up and $5.49 for children ages 2 to 12.
However, those looking to attend the advance screening or the first three days of the film's release can receive up to four free tickets by going to www.unsunghero.movie/giveaway and following the instructions provided.
"It's a great movie," Brown said. "Even if the people who want to see the movie don't really have religion or don't know what their religion is or are indecisive on what they believe in, the movie is full of real-life scenarios that all of us humans go through."
Evan Weaver is a news and sports reporter at The Palladium-Item. Contact him on X (@evan_weaver7) or email ateweaver@gannett.com.
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