TORONTO – Michelle Monaghan says she felt she was “witnessing greatness” shooting “Machine Gun Preacher” with co-star Gerard Butler.
The action-packed drama tells the real-life story of Sam Childers, a former biker gang member who found God and set out on a mission to help orphans in Southern Sudan.
Monaghan says Butler “completely embodies” Childers on the big screen, after getting a lot of input from the Machine Gun Preacher himself.
Childers became a preacher on his road to starting a new life and Butler sat in on some of his sermons as research.
In the film, Butler delivers impassioned sermons calling on others in his community to join his cause.
On set, some of Butler’s sermons actually went on for a good hour or so, Monaghan says, and were very convincing.
“There were moments when he was preaching … and I can tell you it was so moving and it was actually the first time it was a pleasure to be preached to,” she says.
“I was listening truly, he really lost himself in it.”