I Should Be Dead': Actor's Miracle Survival After Near-Death Drowning Has Him Praising God

Jesse, you've got a new film, A Christmas Blessing, it's out on Great American Pure Flix. Tell us a little bit about this movie. Well, this is the first film where I am not the romantic lead. And believe it or not, that's actually pretty exciting and pretty cool. So I know most people are like, what, what do you mean? But trust me, it's a really cool film about just helping others. And every character goes through sort of a life of giving, receiving, listening. And my character, especially Otto, which is spelled the same forward as it is backwards, is a very unique character who helps usher every character along towards discovering kind of their own life and the choices that I think they want to make. You know, it's not forced, it's not pressured, but it's this really cool kind of Christmas cheer mixed with just really helping others and thinking of others and allowing yourself to be changed by that transformation. Yeah, that's awesome. That's great. And as you were saying, you're excited because it's a little different from some of the other projects that you have worked on. You've been in Hollywood a long time. You've been working in entertainment for quite a while. What was your journey into Hollywood? Yeah, you're right. I think I'm just coming into 24 years, which kind of baffles my mind because I'm like, wait, what? Wow. Okay. I mean, my journey, honestly, has been kind of a trial and error, I'd say, if I had to sort of label it. You know, one thing, if that was the book title for my career, it'd probably be trial and error. I like that. That's a good book title, actually. You should keep that one in your bank. Thank you. Yeah, it was really a mix of other people, I think, believing in me and seeing something even when I didn't. And then, eventually, there's this push-pull of me hearing what others are saying, feeling what I'm feeling, and then trying to take what I have on the inside and put it on the outside and see, does that line up? Do I even think that I'm doing what other people think I'm doing? And there's this kind of connection that happened eventually. And I just love telling stories. So the more I got into it, the more I got into it. Now I've been writing. I'm about to go into production on a film that I actually wrote. It's a Christmas comedy, and I'm going to be directing it, and I'm also starring in it. So, yes, I'm wearing a number of hats, but I'm kind of doing the Rocky Balboa. I feel like sometimes you just got to risk, and I found a bunch of other people that are willing to jump into the deep end with me. And I'm really excited to bring something that's really fun and comedic, yet heartfelt to the screens for people. So yeah, my journey has been like this, man. It's a roller coaster. There's no... Like I always joke, but it's partially true. I'm in the business where I can be completely replaced by the guy who started yesterday. So that keeps you on your toes. It keeps your head on a swivel, right? You got to stay focused. You can't just get lax and dazzle and kind of float. You got to want it. I mean, when you got to hustle, you got to work. And I like that. Yeah. Well, and one of the things about you and your story that is interesting too, is that you're a Christian, right? So you come at things in life from a faith perspective, and I would imagine that impacts what you choose to do, what you choose not to do when it comes to films and roles. Talk a little bit about that process, because I would imagine you don't just take every single thing that comes to you. You have to really be discerning in light of that faith lens. Yeah. You picked the right word, discerning, right? It's a spiritual growth, I think, that needs to appear there for all of us, no matter what we do. And I've really found that along the way, prayer and really leaning into my relationship with my wife and the two of us, really sort of spearheading that direction of career. Not just for me. It's not just my career. I mean, you try to impact others. I want to change my... I want to affect my marriage. I want to affect my children. I want to touch the community. And so there's a lot of angles that you got to think of, and so you really need direction in that. And you have to have a base. You have to have a support. Like, I can't just wing it. Although sometimes, yes, you're improvising, you're rolling with it, but a lot of the times you have a base. And as you mentioned, for me, that is faith, and that's how I view everything through. So absolutely, there's times that I'm like, man, I really love this story, but I'm not the one that... I'm not really the face of it right now. Some stories need to be told face-to-face across a coffee table, and some stories need to be told in movie theaters, and some need to be on a streaming platform. And I think that you got to figure that out along the way. And for me personally, I really want to kind of love everybody and where they're at and what they're doing, and yet at the same time, really know what I believe and stay established in that so that I don't just fall over when someone has an idea or opinion. Yeah. Well, Scripture says you should not be like a reed in the ocean going to and fro. And so you really need to run the rap for reason before you take that leap of faith. I mean, if you say you believe something, then live that out. Live it out in your marriage, live it out at your workplace, live it out in your community, live it out in your finances, your parenting, like how you handle strangers. I mean, just live that out. You won't be perfect, but by no means is believing in God means you're perfect. I mean, if anything, it means you really recognize how messed up you are. And yeah, you've got to get a hundred percent, make some changes. Well, you know, it's got to be tough too, because in an industry where you really are, like you were saying before, you can get replaced by the new guy who just started yesterday. You know, that is challenging because there's fame, there's money, there's notoriety, you know, Hollywood entertainment, a lot of things come along with it that, you know, sort of play to our human inclinations. And that can be really difficult, especially I would imagine when there are things you say, you know what, I love that story, but I'm not going to do a sex scene or I love that story. I'm not going to do something that's that violent. I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I, you know, things that may cross a faith line for you where, you know, if you did those things, maybe your career would look totally different or maybe you would have more money coming in or more notoriety. How hard is it to continue on that path? Because again, 24 years is a long time to be making those concerted decisions. I think it's a mix of as I get older, perhaps I can play the older stubborn card yet at the same time, that's not really what it's all made up of, right? It is, it is growing in experience. It's having a career that's taken seriously because of time put in and, and sort of both tried, tested and proven experience. So earlier in my career, that was difficult because it was like, well, who's Jesse Hutch like who's he to say no. I mean, just take the role or don't like, who are you like, Oh, you're a big, you know, Holderwood actor. And you can say no, like, no, you don't have that right. And that would come up a lot more in the beginning of my career. And I even then would still have to find ways to push forward, get in the room, audition, get to know the casting directors, really have a shot at a big project. But you know how many roles I've auditioned for that I'm like, please don't book this, please don't book this, but just allow it to go so well that they want to see me again, go so well that they want to bring me back, right. There's different angles to this that you got to play. Sometimes you got to be that, that wolf, you know, you, you got to be the sheep amongst wolf and you got to, you got to just put that on. And I'm not saying, you know, give up what you believe or go down a path of sketchiness. I'm just saying, sometimes you've got to, you got to go, you know what, I don't want to play this character, but the writing's good and the casting director's phenomenal and she's casted, you know, gladiator in this movie and like, man, let's get in the room. And if this is my opportunity to get in the room, let's, let's go crush that thing. Say yes to, you got to say no, because sometimes that's the best approach. Sometimes you get too caught up. And I think it comes across as like Christianese when you're like, no, I'm, I'm Christian and I say no to all that. Again, I'm not saying don't have your morals and your boundaries set. There's times when absolutely, I just know that that's not for me. I'm not going to be able to be the lead in that series right now. There's just too much stuff going on. But some opportunities you've got to, you just say yes and, you know, get your foot in the door. And hey, if God opens the door, then, then he wants you to go there for some reason. And it might not be what you think it is. It might not be. So you book the role. It might not be. So you actually play that part. It could be. So you meet somebody along the way and, and you invest some time in their life or you have a conversation. Who knows? I mean, God, you know, Jesus is my agent. He figures it out. Yeah. Well, that's where the discernment comes in, right? That's where the discernment is that like that word again, coming back to it, making sure you're in prayer, you're, you're asking those questions consistently, not just once in your life and then never again, right? Every role, everything you're doing. And you're right. And you know, you got to get to know your father in heaven so well so that you don't constantly go and ask that, Hey dad, can I do this? Hey, Hey King, can I do this? Hey father, can I do that? It should just be like, you keep working on that personal relationship so that when it comes up, you're like, ah, dad wouldn't be happy with that one. You know what I mean? Nope. My King would not want me to serve that. Yeah. There's a, there's an experience in our, in a feeling that just comes with that. How did you, how did you come to faith? I know that's a loaded question, but I'm curious, you know, how long have you been a Christian? What was sort of that process and journey for you? Yeah. I mean, I originally started when I was five years old, believe it or not. I asked the Lord into my heart, you know, I said something called the sinner's prayer that people have sort of labeled that, uh, that was with my grandmother when I was five years old at the foot of my, my bed, it had the four wooden posts. You know, I remember that she gave me a children's Bible. I still have it to this day. It's got all the pictures in it. Right. And that's how it started. And even at a young age, you know, eventually when I was 11, my parents divorced that really impressed upon me some, some new perspective on life, which allowed me to explore my faith even deeper. I think as you age and you grow in life too, you start, you know, whether it's, you get a driver's license, you start dating, you, you get a job, you know, eventually you're, you get married, you know, you start having kids. I mean, I feel like faith has this built in, God made it so we have this natural progression in life that if you pay attention, there's lessons just built in there and there's, there's love in there, you know, God loves you and it comes out in all these life circumstances that just come at you if, if you're still and you listen. And I didn't always hear it, but when I look back on my life, there was a definite hand that kept me out of trouble in, in many ways. And in some ways allowed me to get in just enough trouble to learn the lesson, but not, not walk away completely busted. And you know, I, I drowned when I was 21 years old. That was another miracle in my life that, I mean, I should be completely honestly dead or I, I shouldn't have lived. I, and if I did, I shouldn't be able to speak. I shouldn't be able to hear. I shouldn't be able to talk. Like I was underwater. So now I need to ask, I, now I need to, I need, I need to know the details of this because that's a big, you just dropped a big piece of information there. So what in the world happened? I was a professional whitewater raft guide at the time. I was in the right place at the right time and I was five years in. So, you know, I, I was a professional at this. It wasn't anything new and it just, circumstances all lined up and I ended up underwater. They guesstimate anywhere from 11 to 22 minutes and yeah, eventually somebody found me. They brought me back. They got me to the hospital. They put me in a pressure chamber and I mean, I'm, you know, an actor. I walk and talk and breathe and chew bubble gum and that shouldn't be happening. So again, just another reminder that God has his hand on my life and there's a reason for it. And, and when I had this tough days, I got to go, man, God's got a purpose here. Well, I mean, what was your recovery? Like you were without air, obviously during this time, like how long did it take you to recover after that? It was an absolute miracle, man. Like weeks, like I was, I was fine. My eardrums didn't completely explode. They should have. They did, you know, they, they should have been wrecked. My vocal cords still have a few, you know, my voice will get really deep sometimes and people are like, well, but I can't hear you. Like, what are you doing? And I'm like, man, my vocal cords just, they just rub together. They have a bit of a shift, you know, I've had some, there's a lot of pressure that, that happens. So, uh, but Hey, it's, it's a blessing in my life and it's part of the, part of my ministry, you know, part of me sharing, Hey, there's something out there that's beyond, you know, science fiction here. This is supernatural. I mean, that's a movie. I feel like you've got a movie there. I mean, you may already know that I'm actually working on it. I'm working on developing it into a, a partial movie. It's not like completely based on my life, but I do want to inject that experience, man, that faith, that like the most peaceful experience of my life mixed with the most serious place of my life, all within a span of 22 minutes, you know what I mean? Wow. Well, this has been, this has been an amazing conversation that I want to do a whole other interview now just on that, because it's, it's so, that's so wild and crazy. And here you are. You're inspiring people, sharing your story, your faith journey, the miracle you experienced and your storytelling and the film, A Christmas Blessing is one opportunity for people to get to see you do just that. I really appreciate your time. I dare people to watch it on, you know, great American pure flex, great American channel. And my character, okay, if you don't laugh or smile or crack a chuckle or anything like I'll buy you dinner because something's going to happen. Trust me. My character is that quirky and different and fun. So I challenge everyone to just go have fun. Well, I appreciate you taking the time joining us today. Again, the film is A Christmas Blessing. Thanks for your time. Thank you for having me.