British actress Esther McGregor chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about starring in the new film “Clean Hands.”
Based on an unbelievable true story, Sergeant Kevin Simmers (Zach Braff) leads a taskforce waging war on drugs in Hagerstown, Maryland, a major stop on the “Heroin Highway.” At home, he’s a desperate father grappling with his 19-year-old daughter Brooke’s (McGregor) escalating addiction from pain meds to heroin. As Kevin is forced to confront the failures of the system he dedicated his life to defending, together father and daughter fight for recovery, redemption, and hope.
Following its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, Vertical acquired North American distribution rights to the latest feature from writer-director Jake Allyn (“Ride”).
Clean Hands was made in partnership with Brooke’s House, a non-profit, all-women recovery home that Simmers created and currently runs in Hagerstown. An on-set work program was created for women in recovery to learn film jobs during the production and the movie cast Brooke’s House graduates to authentically portray the world of addiction. 1/3 of the film profits will be dedicated to Brooke’s House. Founded in 2018, Brooke’s House has since saved hundreds of women struggling with addiction.
It will be released in select theaters and on-demand on October 16th.
Talent runs in her bloodline as she is the daughter of acclaimed British actor Ewan McGregor (“Moulin Rouge!”)
On being a part of “Clean Hands,” McGregor exclaimed, “It was an amazing experience. It was a beautiful, beautiful crew and very supportive and a beautiful kind of experience to witness through the eyes of the family and everybody else. Yeah, it was an amazing, amazing experience. A lot of fun amongst the perils of what we’re talking about as well.”
On the lessons learned from the screenplay, McGregor reflected, “It taught me a multitude of things, but I also think that it brought me close to beautiful people, which was really lucky. I mean, the fragility of life, I think the opportunity to talk about the realistic nature of addiction and drug use is really important.”
“So, it taught me a lot about myself, taught me a lot about the psychology of the human brain. And it also brought me to amazing people and that I still have a connection with very deeply every day. So, it taught me a lot,” she added.
Regarding her definition of the word success, McGregor said, “I think success is building relationships and having true love in your life and the opportunity to tell important stories. I think that’s the biggest part of what we do as actors and having the opportunity to tell a story like this was for me a very big success in that sense. Hopefully, we will continue to do so.”
For fans and viewers, McGregor remarked, “I hope that people understand the nature of addiction, too, and that it’s not a selfish act in the way that some people view it. I hope that people learn a lot from this. I hope that it kind of propels a want for real help and not just putting people behind bars.”
“There is a lot more to drug use and all of that than just putting somebody away. I think hopefully it’ll do a little good in that direction as well,” she concluded.
To learn more about Esther McGregor, follow her on Instagram.
