Steven Grayhm, Matt Dallas and Charlie Bewley were in Detroit this week as part of a cross-country journey to research their film project about soldiers who've served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The three actors are developing a feature film called "Thunder Road" about vets grappling with difficulties after their time overseas.
They're also filming footage during their travels for a future DVD of the movie.
Grayhm, who played young Eddie in the Mitch Albom TV movie "The Five People You Meet in Heaven," wrote the script for "Thunder Road." He says the basic idea hit him in 2003, when he was glued to the coverage of the start of the Iraq war.
The three friends, who plan to produce the feature, are all busy with their acting careers, but they decided this year to research the movie, with British actor Bewley, who plays Demetri in several "Twilight" films, taking occasional breaks to return to London.
"The three of us forged ahead and decided we would take this on very seriously, we would take the time to go meet the soldiers face-to-face," says Grayhm.
The experience has prompted Grayhm to change the script quite a bit, a process that's deepening the story's psychological aspects.
Dallas, who played Kyle on the TV series "Kyle XY," says one of his biggest fears was that they'd have trouble finding veterans who would open up to them."But as we've met people, we've found they want to get their stories out. We've heard this from so many veterans who've come back. They get the attitude of 'You chose to go over there.' I think they just want people to know what they've been through," he says.
The trip, which launched in mid-July, has included stops in Los Angeles, Arizona, Texas, New England, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Michigan. Their next stop is Minnesota. They plan to return to L.A. by Sept. 15.
During their time in Detroit, they met with veterans and were scheduled to visit a Veterans Administration office.
They also went to a Detroit Tigers game. The Tigers donated a dozen baseballs, which they plan to sell online to raise money for veterans-related foundations.
The trip is being done on a shoestring budget in a Prius donated by Toyota Santa Monica. Puma has donated activewear for the vets they meet. While in town, the Hyatt Regency Dearborn put them up and Trader Joe's Grosse Pointe location donated food.
Grayhm hopes to return here next year to film "Thunder Road." He and Dallas will play childhood friends from the Motor City.
To find out more about the trip, go to the "Into The Heart of America: A Soldier's Story" page on Facebook.
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xoxo
Carrie
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