Johnathan Schaech, who moved from Los Angeles to Nashville with his wife Julie Solomon and two children, never thought he would act again. In an interview with PEOPLE, the actor confessed that he “left everything behind” and regrets this decision.
He said, “Every day I woke up scared, like, what did I do? I kept trying to think that I can’t control this, letting the universe and God find my way again.” However, fate had great plans, and he landed a role in Prime Video’s brand new series, Blue Ridge.
The series in which he played Sheriff Justin Wise was inspired by his 2020 hit crime drama film. He said, “When we were making (the film), it was easy to see that it could become a series.” His enthusiasm to play the character further fuelled the fire and the film was turned into a series.
After stepping back into acting, Schaech reflected on the lessons she learned from Tom Hanks while working on his film That Thing You Do. Schaech revealed that she felt confident leading a series because Hanks instilled in her a “sense of hope” and professionalism.
“I always thought I could carry a series and that I could be a leading man like him,” the actor said, referring to Hanks. “He always gave a sense of hope, and hope is something I carried with me throughout this time.” By embracing these qualities, the Hush actor learned how to “keep up” his acting chops regardless of the level of work he was doing.
On a recent episode of Blue Ridge, Schaech’s That Thing You Do! co-star Ethan Embry made a guest appearance. “It was an honor to have him there,” he told the outlet. He recalled that he had a lot of tough, “hardcore and edgy” material to work through, but he was able to get through it thanks to his work ethic, for which he credited the Forrest Gump actor.
“We both have an incredible work ethic, and that’s only made possible by working with Tom Hanks,” said Schaech. He recalled the bond and “brotherhood” the two formed while working on That Thing You Do and praised Embry’s acting ability on Blue Ridge. “That love for each other after all these years is so strong. He was brilliant. He surprised everybody,” he said.
Blue Ridge is available to stream on Amazon Prime.
