Cedar County native makes it on the big screen

LOS ANGELES, CA — St. Helena native Justin Bruening graced the big screens again this month, starring in the movie ‘Indivisible’ which saw a nationwide debut in theaters on Friday.

Along with his aunt and uncle, Bruening went to the movie premiere in Los Angeles for his movie debut, and his favorite movie theater candy, Milk Duds.

Bruening, 39, plays the role of chaplain Darren Turner in the movie that is based off a true story. In real life, Turner was a chaplain in the U.S. Army during the Iraq War in 2007. This faith-based movie is not the average military war, highlighting on soldiers lives both while deployed and once returning home.

“Usually military movies focus on the soldiers and their time in war and the movie ends when they get home. This movie continues [after] that,” said Bruening. “It shows very much in a balanced way what is going on in the battle front and in the home front.”

Bruening went on to say this is also a special movie because it is about someone who is still active in the military.

Bruening’s IMDB page shows he has been in multiple television shows and movies over the years. He started in a remake of the TV series Knight Rider.

He also had a role in Grey’s Anatomy, a show many of his co-stars in the movie have also been involved with.

In Grey’s Anatomy, Bruening’s character was left at the altar in 2013. The bride-to-be was played by Sarah Drew, and she actually is his wife in the movie ‘Indivisible.’

Bruening says they both have had a laugh at the coincidence, but says the familiarity helped with their chemistry when filming started for the movie.

“There is a really nice comfort zone because she and I knew we had chemistry,” said Bruening “The getting to know you was out of the way so we could jump right into the drama.”

In this faith-based movie, Bruening plays the role of a chaplain looking to help soldiers and their families stay together.

Meanwhile, Bruening says Turner did not always follow his own advice, and the movie shows the struggles that a family like the Turner’s can endure both throughout the deployment and while readjusting back at home.

Turner and Bruening actually met during filming and talked about a scene that pulls back the curtain and shows the issue that has  built up.

“We were filming marriage counseling scenes near the beginning. He came, we talked about it, we talked about his emotions through it, his PTSD, and he said he got to watch the scenes we had done and that it was hard for him and his wife to watch them.”

Bruening’s and Drew’s characters highlight normal issues that impact veterans and their families in the United States.

He says he has already had many spouses of veterans come to him saying they identified with the story, even if it was from only watching the trailer.

“My best friend was in this war and he was over there for two years. He came back and had some struggles and I have seen him get through them,” Bruening said. “So this is a love letter to the families and soldiers. I am surprised how many spouses have come up to me just from the trailer.”

Currently, the closest movie theater to find the movie Indivisible is at the Promenade cinema in Sioux City.