Inside Story of Zachary Levi Landing His Super Hero Role | Real Talk | PragerU

I was very very very unhappy and I didn't realize how unhappy I was and I got out to Austin and I had a complete mental breakdown surrounded by Darkness didn't want to live anymore didn't know why I was able to thank God surrounded by my friends and family my younger sister found a place in Connecticut that was deep intensive therapy and I went for three weeks saved my life uh as a part of that I learned for the first time that I didn't know what self Lov was and that I didn't not love myself while I was staying in this house and doing all of this therapy I had told my agency hey I'm going to be off- grid I have to go do some deep real serious healing about a week and a half into that I got an email from my agency in typical Hollywood fashion but it was also completely God because this was meant to be and a a little a little um uh not preface to the story because I'm already into the story but two months prior to this I had been offered an audition to for the role of Shazam in the movie Shazam but I turned it down because I knew that The Rock was already cast as Black Adam I knew that the characters of Black Adam and Shazam are basically like double gangers they're like twin brothers I mean they look like they're twins but they have slightly different hair haircuts and I'm like well I am not The Rock's twin they're probably looking for John Cena or something right so thanks but no thanks and I passed on it now two months later I'm at this place trying to save my own life and I get an email and they go hey don't mean it don't mean to bother you uh there's a supporting role in Shazam small little thing you want to put yourself on tape do you don't want to do it no problem that's fine uh but that day I had just had a breakthrough and I just started to see the light again and I said when do they need this buy they said by Friday and so Friday came around and I felt good enough to put myself on tape I did one take and I sent it in well that night they called back and they said not only do we love what he did here for this role but we haven't cast Shazam yet we think he could be am and I'm like what is happening right now so then one week later through finishing up my therapy there flying to Hollywood and doing a screen test I wish sham and all of that happened because I went and I started to heal myself without a doubt I would not have been able to even handle any of what came with this had I not gone and done that most important thing first loving myself so when I was promoting the film I told my publicists I cannot talk about this film I cannot promote this film without being honest about how I got this job and how I got this role and talking about my mental health journey and they were like okay so then I did a few interviews and podcast J shett and some others and I was able to talk about this whole story and um Harper Collins saw some of that and were like this is a book you should write a book so they contacted my team they brought me in their offices in New York we sat down I was like listen I barely read books let let alone write them so I and they're like don't worry we've got people that will help you with that and that's how the book came to be and to me it was a part just a part of the Journey of what God wanted me to do with all of that story which is to let people know that you are not alone you are not alone