Zachary Levi has traded in his superhero suit for a true-life story steeped in\u00a0faith and American history.<\/p>\n
The \u201cSarah\u2019s Oil\u201d star exclusively told Fox News Digital the reason this film is finally being made reveals more about Hollywood than anyone expected.<\/p>\n
When asked why Hollywood ignored it for so long, Levi didn\u2019t hesitate to answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, I think a lot of people just didn\u2019t know the story. That\u2019s why a lot of people hadn\u2019t made this movie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But he also pointed to a shift inside the industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFaith-based movies or faith-infused movies, really in the last 10 years, have started to show just how effective and lucrative they can be \u2026 which is why a lot of studios have spun up branches of the studio to focus on those types of films.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zachary Levi in the trailer for \u201cSarah\u2019s Oil.\u201d Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n
Levi added that earlier eras of Hollywood simply weren\u2019t interested until studios realized how strong the audience was.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrior to 10 years ago, I don\u2019t know that anybody would have touched it because I don\u2019t think Hollywood really cared until they saw that there was money that could be made in that world. \u2026 There\u2019s a lot of really faithful people that go to church regularly and want stories that reflect their same faith.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Levi, whose personal faith has been front and center in his public life, the spiritual lens does shape his career.<\/p>\n
Levi arrives at the Kansas City Special Screening of Amazon MGM Studios\u2019 \u201cSarah\u2019s Oil\u201d on October 29, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri. Getty Images for Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are certainly roles and projects that I have chosen to pass on because I just felt like there was no way I could see any kind of redemption in them,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But that doesn\u2019t mean only religious films make the cut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve done plenty of things that have nothing to do with faith. But they still have elements \u2026 that are redemptive. You know, good triumphant over evil, stories that embolden people, inspire people, give them courage, give them hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levi\u2019s career pivot \u2014 from the bright, explosive world of \u201cShazam!\u201c\u00a0to the gritty heartland realism of \u201cSarah\u2019s Oil\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0reflects a deliberate shift toward purpose-driven storytelling.<\/p>\n
When Fox News Digital asked what changed for Levi in the\u00a0Hollywood industry\u00a0when it comes to deciding roles, he replied, \u201cIt\u2019s always a case-by-case basis.<\/p>\n
Levi in a scene from \u201cShazam! Fury of the Gods.\u201d AP<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at the script first and foremost. Is this a good story? Is it worth telling? Is it well-written?\u201d<\/p>\n
He also examines whether the role pushes him creatively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIs that a character I would want to portray? Is it a challenge for me? \u2026 I don\u2019t want to just play the same thing over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n
But, ultimately, Levi said the real Hollywood compass \u2014 the one that has steered him from comic book hero to historical storyteller \u2014 is spiritual.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s not any particular specific type of movie that I want to do,\u201d he said. \u201cI kind of let God guide me.\u201d<\/p>\n
When asked why Hollywood ignored it for so long, Levi didn\u2019t hesitate to answer. Amazon MGM Studios<\/p>\n
Levi\u2019s latest project, \u201cSarah\u2019s Oil\u201d \u2014 produced by Amazon Studios and Kingdom Story Company \u2014 tells the astonishing true-life saga of Sarah Rector, a young Black girl born in early-1900s Oklahoma Indian Territory who defied poverty and prejudice to become one of America\u2019s first Black female millionaires at just 11 years old.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project has been years in the making, and Levi said it\u2019s been worth it every step along the way.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I read the script, I was blown away,\u201d the actor told Fox News Digital. \u201cIt was an absolutely true story about this young Black girl at the turn of the century in Tulsa, Oklahoma \u2026 who was intelligent and precocious and spirit-filled.\u201d<\/p>\n
Levi portrays Bert Smith, a friend of main character Sarah who helps tap into the oil beneath her land. He described their relationship as \u201cbusiness partners.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSarah\u2019s Oil\u201d is now playing in theaters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zachary Levi has traded in his superhero suit for a true-life story steeped in\u00a0faith and American history. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324237,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[1508,236,88,165536,473,1506],"class_list":["post-324236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-actors","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-family-movies","tag-history","tag-hollywood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324236"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324236\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}