Emmy-nominated actor Zach Braff (“Scrubs”) chatted with #Powerjournalist Markos Papadatos about starring in “Clean Hands” as real-life narcotics officer Kevin Simmers and serving as executive producer.
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 (Esther 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.
On starring in “Clean Hands,” Braff remarked, “It was an incredible project to work on. I felt so lucky to be telling this true story of these incredible people. Jake Allyn, our director and writer, really just embedded with this family and got to know them in such an intimate way.”
“I just think he did a fabulous job of telling their story and telling a really eye-opening version of the drug war and people fighting on both sides of it,” he added.
Lessons learned from the screenplay
On the lessons learned from the screenplay, he reflected, “I guess it taught me that I wish I was half the man Kevin is. He is just such an incredible person. He doesn’t talk the talk, he walks the walk. He is dedicated. This happened to him and he changed his entire life.
“He gave up the Sisyphean task of trying to battle the drug war from a cop car and said, ‘I’m going to make a difference and build this recovery home for women.’ He dedicated his life and has graduated hundreds of women now. So, it just taught me the power of how someone can make a difference if they commit themselves,” Braff explained.
Stage of his life
On the title of the current chapter of his life, he said, “The title is praying that people hear and find out about ‘Clean Hands’ because I think it’s a really special story.”
“There are so many things that people can watch out there. So, we really hope people give this movie a shot and check it out,” he acknowledged.
Closing thoughts on the new film
I just I want them to see how addiction ravages families. I want for people who have Kevin’s point of view at the beginning of the film to gain the empathy that Kevin gains throughout the telling of the story.
I think that would be if the movie could make any difference, it would be for those that have Kevin’s perspective on the drug war to have their eyes opened to what it would be like if it came home to you like it did to him.
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