Actor Eddie McClintock dedicates 'Miracle at Manchester' and Canton screening to late dad

When actor Eddie McClintock took on the role of a father whose teen son was diagnosed with a life-threatening form of brain cancer in "Miracle at Manchester," the North Canton native was reminded of the special bond he shared with his dad before losing him last year.

The 55-year-old Hoover High School graduate said starring in the film was both emotionally challenging and rewarding.

The movie is based on the true story of Brycen Newman, a standout athlete at a Catholic high school in San Diego. Falling seriously ill, the boy's classmates and school rally around him with faith and prayer.

"This film was made with the best intentions," McClintock said. "And I wanted to tell a story that gave people hope and made people feel better when they were done watching it."

More:Eddie McClintock coming home for 'Miracle at Manchester' premier at Canton Palace

Eddie McClintock: 'Every success I had was basically dedicated to my dad.'

The younger McClintock said the relationship with his own father, Ted McClintock, was reinforced and strengthened through sports. Ted was an athlete at Hoover High School in football and other sports in the 1950s. Eddie was a football player and wrestler for the Vikings.

"I just always wanted to make my dad proud of me," McClintock said. "My dad raised me by himself, and, man, I wasn't an easy kid. I was a pain in the ass, and my dad never gave up on me. So every success I had was basically dedicated to my dad.

"And being a wrestler and a football player ... my dad taught me don't ever give up," he said during a recent telephone interview from his Los Angeles home. "I have always just lived with that mantra like chin up, eyes front, keep moving forward."

Similar themes are echoed in "Miracle at Manchester," which also marks McClintock's directing debut. Produced by JCFilms, the faith-based movie will receive its Northeast Ohio premier at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Canton Palace Theatre. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

A pre-movie VIP reception, presented by Walsh University, is 6 to 7 p.m. in the Palace Theatre's mezzanine. VIP tickets, $75, must be purchased in advance (4 p.m. Friday is the deadline), and they include hors d'oeuvres, open bar and admission to the movie.

McClintock and Jason Campbell, who heads JCFilms, both will participate in a question-and-answer session following Saturday's screening.

A second showing is 2 p.m. Sunday at the Palace. Tickets, $10 each for both screenings, can be purchased online at https://cantonpalacetheatre.org, by phone at 330-454-8172, or in person during box office hours 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and starting one hour before showtime.

The Palace Theatre is at 605 Market Ave. N.

McClintock, a 1985 Hoover graduate, starred in the hit SyFy Channel series “Warehouse 13,” which ran from 2009 through 2014.

McClintock's other film and television credits include "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers" and USA Network's conspiracy thriller "Shooter," as well as appearing in two episodes of "Friends" and a slew of other shows, including "Bones," "Sex and the City," "Stark Raving Mad," "Bones" and "Felicity."

'My dad was my hero.'

While preparing for the role in "Miracle at Manchester," McClintock's dad fell ill.

"My dad was my hero," he said. "And I always just looked up at him, and so he was excited about me directing this film."

"That was the strongest marker that I was pulling from was this father, despite all the things that he was hearing about his son's illness and the fact that they kept being told (the brain tumor) was coming back and coming back, his dad privately maybe was struggling, but man, he never let his son see it, and he was strong for his boy ... and that was very much the way my dad lived his life.

"So it was interesting," McClintock said. "... My dad had just died ... so it was a gift to be able to tap into that and then relate it to what (father) Rick and (son) Bryce (Newman) were going through at the same time in the film."

The film is dedicated to the memory of McClintock's father. A photo of McClintock and his dad is shown during the ending credits of the father and son at a football game after Hoover defeated McKinley High School for the first time in school history.

"The reason to bring ('Miracle at Manchester') to Canton is I just picture the look on my dad's face and how proud he would be to have people turnout and coming to see his son," said McClintock, who is married to Lynn and has two sons Jack, 17, and Max, 16. "And that just fuels me."

Co-star Dean Cain on McClintock: 'He got very emotional; it was tough.'

Dean Cain, who co-stars in "Miracle at Manchester," said the emotion of McClintock dealing with his own loss is poignantly evident in the film.

"When he was having to shoot these tough scenes, ... he got very emotional," said Cain, a longtime actor in TV and film, including starring in the '90s hit series, "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." "It was tough, so the emotion you see on Eddie in the film ... a lot of that is real stuff."

Although JCFilms is Christian-based and "Miracle at Manchester" has a clear and strong faith element woven into the story, McClintock said he's open to faith but not overtly religious.

The movie is expected to be released to streaming platforms around Easter.

During talks with his dad in the last few years of his life, the son said his father would say, "I'm praying for you, and that was kind of a new thing for my dad."

"I thought maybe this is all connective tissue," McClintock reflected. "Like I'm working in this film, and the fact these people and this family, they had strong faith, and I always say at the end, you believe what you want to believe.

"What happened to Bryce was through prayer," he said. "Or you can believe that it's coincidence; that's up to you as the viewer. I know these people firmly believe because of their strong faith they were given more years with Bryce."

McClintock is open to the idea 'there's more at work here than everything's by chance.'

McClintock said he discussed the question of faith with Campbell's wife, Heather. Campbell is president of JCFilms, which has made scores of family and faith movies, including others with McClintock and Cain.

"I said, 'Look, I'm just searching; I'm at least open-minded enough to consider it,' because when my father died, a lot of people said, 'Don't worry, Eddie, your dad is still here, you still get to talk to your dad, your dad is around you,'" he said.

"I want to believe that ... because I don't ever want to be disconnected from my father," McClintock added. "And I thought to myself, 'What can it hurt; it's not going to hurt me; it's not going to hurt anyone else to be open to the fact that there's more at work here than everything is by chance.'

"... If I'm asked about it, I'll talk about it, and working in these films with these people has certainly helped me be more open-minded to just saying, 'Hey, I'm not the most important thing in the world, I'm not the most powerful thing in the world; there has to be something bigger than me, and whatever that thing is, I'm trying every day to be closer to that, so at the end of the day, when my head hits the pillow, and I look in the mirror, I can say I did everything I could to be a good, decent human being."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ebalint@gannett.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Eddie McClintock premiers 'Miracle at Manchester' at Canton Palace