Bishop Barron Presents | David Henrie - Seeking Beauty

Well, I am delighted to be here with

David Henry, star of um stage and screen

and small screen and big screen and

writer, producer, director, great

Catholic gentleman, someone I've wanted

to talk to in this program for a long

time, but we've known each other for a

long time. In fact, I remember vividly

when we met. I had just been named

auxiliary bishop out in LA and I can't

remember it was even before I was

ordained or it was it was right after

maybe but very early on.

>> Yes. And I remember I I my brother and I

picked you up outside of the cathedral.

>> Exactly.

>> And we went to dinner with Father Steve.

>> Yes.

>> And just had a great conversation.

>> You and Lorenzo came by and I was very

grateful to you cuz I was brand new. I

mean I knew nothing about it. I'd been

to LA a couple times before, but I knew

nothing about the dascese and I was just

kind of lost. And you two came and very

graciously, you know, kind of welcomed

me into that world. So, we know each

other for a long time.

>> And you gave me I remember that dinner

particularly because you gave me a

significant amount of hope. I was at a

point in my faith and in my conversion.

I was still early on in my conversion

where I was just I I was struggling with

how I came into the faith, the types of

books I was reading. I was reading a lot

of the saints and I was reading a lot of

St. Thomas and studying philosophy at

the time. That was what fueled my

conversion. And I was I was not I was

looking for that in Catholicism. I was

like, where is this? I And I wasn't

finding it in where I was going to

church and just the daily masses that I

was going to. I was like, where is this

Catholicism? And we had dinner.

>> And I remember it was just such a

wonderful dinner. And I was like, you

were totally with it. you were totally

your your uh responses to some of my

things that I was contending with were

just so wonderful and I was like okay

great

>> we we have some hope

>> and we'll come back to that because I

really want to talk to you you have a

great interest in philosophy and in

theology and kind of the higher

intellectual side of the faith which is

terrific

>> hey something about Lorenzo because met

him that night he's of course been very

successful actor too and now is actually

in this new Mel Gibson movie about the

resurrection right I'm so proud of him

He uh he had he had a I'm proud of him

because um he had came he he he had to

walk away from a big role in a big show.

Show was the offer with Miles Teller. It

was about the making of the Godfather.

It was a very very big big show. And

Lorenzo books the role of young

Alpuccino

>> and

>> Oh gosh. Wow.

>> And it was a huge role like

life-changing money

>> of course. Yeah.

>> Massive thing for him. And there was

some stuff in it. He had signed the

contract. He was ready to go. And there

was some con there was some stuff in it

that he was uncomfortable with and uh

particularly around nudity and um and he

said I I just can't we we're on fire for

our faith. We converted by the grace of

God

>> and he said you know I I he came to me

and it was just like I can't I can't do

this. I'm not going to compromise my

faith. I can't do this.

>> They end up cutting it from the show. So

it ended up getting cut later on but he

goes I can't do this. So from a moral

perspective his conscious was clean.

>> Yeah. And then Mel calls him

>> this other door open.

>> Not too long after, you know, a couple

years later, whatever, Mel calls him and

uh

>> had this opportunity uh for for my

brother. And I'm I'm

>> those are little godwink moments where I

go, you know what, Lorenzo, you did you

did the right thing. You stuck to your

guns. You walked away from

>> hu life-changing life-changing money

because you believed that it your soul

was more important. You believed that

your example as a father and husband was

more important. And um

>> another door opened up.

>> Another door opened up. Another door.

That's the way the divine providence

often works, isn't it?

>> Amen.

>> They say, "Oh, that's the thing I really

wanted and it got blocked and why is God

doing this and how come that happened?"

But then this other path, it's all

through the Bible and that story is told

over and over again in the Bible and The

Saints, right?

>> 100%.

>> So, he's there now filming uh and of

course, you know, Mel Gibson always

makes great movies. Uh if Mel is in the

movie, his acting just anchors it. If he

makes the movie, it's always compelling.

In fact, you know, just a little while

ago, I I watched again Apocalyptto,

which I think I think is a great movie.

It I think any filmmaker would want to

watch. Like, how does he produce the

mood of that movie? And it's it's so

skillfully done, you know. So, I'm, you

know, look, I'm praying that this be a

great movie as powerful as The Passion

was. I

>> I think it will be. I got to shadow him

for a day. I got to be on set with him,

and I directed him in a film called

Monster Summers. Yeah,

>> he starred uh in a movie. So, I got to

spend a lot of time with him. And you

know, his his secret sauce is he's

always telling the story.

>> Even him as an actor on set as I was

directing him, he was always looking for

ways to plus the story. He was always

looking to tell the story. You know, the

Hitchcock school of film making is like

the old joke about Alfred Hitchcock was

he'd fall asleep on set because the

movie's already shot in his head.

Storyboarding storyboard every single

scene.

>> It's all done. So, he'd fall asleep

while they're setting up the shots,

right?

Mel, while they're setting up shots,

while they're

>> setting up production, he's he's

thinking of how do I make this a little

better? And it can be small things. I'm

going to move this. I'm going move this

right here.

>> Um,

>> but he would he he was always telling

the story, and that was really

impressive to me. Like, he never went to

his trailer. We got him this gorgeous

trailer. This trailer had like a six

burner in it. I've never seen a movie

trailer with like a live stove in it. It

was unbelievable. And uh he never he

never went in his trailer. He was always

on set just sitting watching. And I

remember one of my first meetings with

him to to pitch him to be in my movie.

And who am I? You know, I'd only made

one film at the time and I'm sitting

with an Oscar winning director. How do I

convince an Oscar winning director to be

in my movie?

>> It got down to the education question.

He said, you know, how did you how did

you study? How did you learn? And I

said, well, you know, Mel, I've been

doing this for over 20 years as an

actor, been in the business for a very

long time, and uh and I just always ask

questions. I always stayed on set and I

always ask questions. He goes, "Ah,

perfect. Me too."

>> Yeah.

>> Because that's exactly how I learned.

Exactly how I learned.

>> Ron Howard said that as a young, you

know, of course, he's a child actor,