Actor David Henrie, who recently played former President Ronald Reagan in the new eponymous film, “Reagan,” spoke about his time in the spotlight and how he's grown throughout the years.
“As I grew up, I became more humbled by life,” Henry, who found huge success in 2007 on the Disney Channel's “Wizards of Waverly Place,” told CBN News. Interview“When I was younger… I had a lot of fans and everything, but I thought, 'I have no responsibility to them. I'm just an actor. I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do.'”
However, as Henry grew older, he realized his ideas were “foolish” and that he could use his fame and influence for good.
“People care about you, so you should try to use your fame to do something good,” he said. “Like Spider-Man says, 'With power comes responsibility,' right? So as I've gotten older, I've been like, 'I have to do something with this fame. This life is a gift.'”
The actor felt guided to acknowledge the “blessings” he has received throughout his life and career. Face Wire I will report.
“Who am I? I'm just a grain of sand in the tapestry of life and I just do what I can with what I've been given,” he continued. “So… that's what I do… I just try to use my platform to do good, to spread the beauty of family life, to create good content and to be involved in projects where I can make an impact.”
During the interview, Henley spoke about what it was like playing the 40th president of the United States.
“What I loved about this project is that it's not about a president or a politician, it's about a human being,” Henry says, “so you get to see behind the scenes and understand what motivates him.”
“Reagan” not only chronicles the former president's time in the White House, but also his upbringing, childhood and early performing career.
“Watching his speeches later in life, I understood why he was called a great communicator,” Henry said, “because I think people saw him as someone who had suffered, who had been through something, and who was compassionate.”
Henry also noted that one of the biggest challenges in making the film was playing President Reagan justice.
“Everybody knows Reagan,” he said. “So that comes with a lot of burden, but a lot of people don't know the young Reagan the way they know the old Reagan. And the young Reagan is very different from the old Reagan. So the challenge is, [to] Make it authentic, but don’t have your SNL characters doing the old Reagan thing.”
“Reagan,” which was released in theaters on August 30, grossed more than $10 million.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Amy Sussman/staff
