Kristoffer Polaha is drawn to the redeemable failure story, and his character Calvin in the new film, "Where Hope Grows," certainly fits that description. A former professional baseball player, Calvin mainly drinks to excess these days while neglecting his parental duties to teenage daughter Katie.
"I don't know where it fits in our culture. I guess it's essentially human," Polaha tells Headlines & Global News in an exclusive interview. "Some points in our life feel rocky or you feel like this guy Calvin is done. When you see that they get a second chance, it gives you hope."
Fortunately for Calvin, he finds a new friend in, of all places, the produce section at his local grocery store. Customers and employees refer to him as Produce, a young man with Down syndrome who bikes everywhere carrying his most prized possession, his Bible.
An open casting call went out to a number of Down syndrome organizations across the country to find an actor to play Produce. Casting eventually landed on David DeSanctis from Louisville, Ky., where the film was shot. DeSanctis makes his acting debut in the film, but Polaha says he immediately had a gift for the craft.
"He has a lot of charisma, and he's open. There's just something about him. It pops. So when they found him, it was like striking gold," the 38-year-old actor says, adding that DeSanctis was even easier to work with than some of his previous co-stars.
"These things all have budgets. So if you get a low budget, or an indie budget, you go, 'OK, well this is going to be time out of my year? Can I afford to take this time?' When a script is really great, you make exceptions for it," Polaha says.
A strong script and great writing is what brought Polaha to the Fox series "Backstrom," which was recently cancelled. He credited the show's creator Hart Hanson and the writing staff for giving him a type of character he had yet to play and for exploring the idea of different faiths through several characters.
"Dennis Haysbert's character was a pastor on Sundays and there were a couple episodes where they prayed. My character was a Buddhist with a new age philosophy but spiritual like joyful. He loves humanity and optimist for the human race," he says. "These themes kept coming through the episodes. So while it was broadcasting on television, I felt like it had a higher aim than just mere entertainment."
Although he had hoped to return to "Backstrom" for a second season, Polaha will move on and continue to ride the highs and lows of the Hollywood career.
"I'm humbly moving forward," he says. "One foot in front of the other."
"Where Hope Grows" opens in theaters today.
