Francine Rivers’ timeless love story is coming to life on the big screen. The film adaptation of her bestselling book, Redeeming Love, is now in theaters. HollywoodLife spoke EXCLUSIVELY with Tom Lewis about taking on the beloved Michael Hosea in the film. He revealed what he loved most about Michael’s love for Angel.
“I think the patience that he really has for her,” Tom told HollywoodLife. “Angel’s a character that has gone through tons of self-hatred and self-loathing and the things that she really feels for herself. Michael just sees this beautiful girl. It’s love at first sight. He sees her and he thinks, oh, I’m never going to settle for less. I’m just going to wait for this girl to finally realize that she should be with me. I’m a romantic at heart so I kind of love that. It’s a beautiful thing, especially those early scenes between them when they first meet. The chemistry was just so evident from reading it on the script. It was what I auditioned with, those earlier scenes between them. As soon as I read those scenes, I was like, ‘This is a movie I have to be involved with because it just lifts off the page.’ It was beautiful to read.”
Before he auditioned for the role of Michael Hosea, Tom had never heard of Redeeming Love. He admitted that he read the book “in one sitting because I loved it so much. I love historical fiction and that kind of world, so it was right up my street.”
The film is set against the backdrop of the California Gold Rush of 1850. The story centers on Angel, who was sold into prostitution as a child. She has survived through hatred and self-loathing until she meets Michael Hosea and discovers there is no brokenness that love can’t heal.
The book was released in 1991, and fans cherish the story that Francine created. Tom noted that the film is “incredibly faithful to the book. I mean, not every book can be adapted into a film. There are changes that just need to be made because it’s a new medium, but because Francine was so involved in the making of the movie and writing th script and everything, it keeps the throughline and message of hope that the book really has. I think the book fans are going to be very, very, very excited to see it. There’s nothing they should worry about. It’s a faithful adaptation I think.”
Tom co-stars alongside Abigail Cowen, who plays Angel. They met when Tom arrived in South Africa to film the movie. He revealed that they had a lot of rehearsal time, which was “really invaluable” for both of them.
Redeeming Love marks Tom’s feature film debut. For the young actor, this role is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. “It’s an actor’s dream to kind of get your teeth into a character like this because both of them go through so many peaks and troughs the whole movie. It’s such a journey,” he said.