I'm Warren Smith and I'd like to welcome you to this standalone special episode of Listening

In. Today you'll be listening in on my conversation with actor, writer and producer Max McLean.

It made me nervous because I didn't have film experience. You know, I had stage experience

and I knew that I had to make the adjustment one to one. I remember my first day of shooting

I was really nervous because I just said, am I doing it right? I don't know what I'm

doing, but by the second day I said, okay, I think I can do this.

Millions of people around the world hear Max McLean every day. He's the unmistakable voice

of several popular audio versions of the Bible, including the English standard version, the

new international version and the King James version. He also has a large, growing and

admiring audience for his adaptations of the works of C.S. Lewis for the stage. These adaptations

include the screw tape letters, the great divorce and surprised by joy. In fact, his stage version

of surprised by joy was recently adapted into a film. The film is called the most reluctant

convert. The untold story of C.S. Lewis. Max McLean portrays the older Lewis and it was

released in 2021. It received rave reviews from both Christian and secular movie reviewers.

Max McLean is a man of many parts, as you can see. In addition to his work on the stage

and the screen now, he's the founder of the Fellowship for Performing Arts, a New York

City-based company that produces live theater and film from a Christian worldview perspective.

In fact, Max McLean had this conversation with me from his office in New York, via Zoom.

Well, Max McLean, welcome to the program. It's a real honor to chat with you. I've been

looking forward to this for a good long time and I do want to talk about your movie, the

reluctant convert. The most reluctant convert, I should get it right. But I want to back up

if we could, maybe kind of the beginning and just talk a little about the arc of your

...