Brett Varvel - Michael Sinclair / Heart
From a young age Brett loved to experiment with the camera, and was not shy in front of an audience either. Varvel wanted to pursue acting until God directed him to filmmaking. He discovered his passion for storytelling, and how movies could be used to further the Kingdom of God.
Even though he is most comfortable in the director's chair, Varvel has been given many opportunities to expand his acting abilities. He has appeared in several Subway commercials and other local TV ads, and has performed in his brother's short films. With no formal training Varvel takes on his biggest role to date in The War Within by playing Michael Sinclair and Heart while also serving as the Director.
Brett currently resides in Indianapolis with his wife Christina, and their two children.
Rebecca Reid - Amy Sinclair
Originally from Southern California, Rebecca Reid started her professional acting career on stage at the age of 9 and from that moment she knew that acting would always be a part of her life. Although stage was her main passion she also dabbled in short films and commercials.
Rebecca went on to double major in Theater and Communications at Cedarville University, a Christian Liberal Arts School, and was able to play some iconic roles including Juliet, in Romeo and Juliet. She also had the honor of being a part of a national drama tour. It was at Cedarville that Rebecca's passion for using acting as a medium to give Glory to God was deepened.
Rebecca is excited about The War Within because there aren't any other faith based movies like it. It challenges us to go deeper into our faith and surrender every part of our lives to Jesus.
Rebecca and her husband and three little boys reside in Ohio.
Gary Varvel - Will
Gary is a nationally award-winning editorial cartoonist for The Indianapolis Star and Creators Syndicate. However, his interests in filmmaking go all the way back to the 1970s when he made two films in high school. One of those films won 2nd in a State High School competition. Gary introduced his children to filmmaking at an early age which has led to a collaboration that has blossomed into House of Grace Films.
Gary not only portrays the part of Will in The War Within, but he also co-wrote the film with his son Brett and served as a producer.
Gary currently lives in Brownsburg, Indiana with his wife, Carol. They have three children and four grandchildren.
Daron Day - Conscience
Daron's acting experience began on the theatre stage in High School and continued at Cedarville University, where twice he received recognition from the DayTony Awards (Dayton, OH) for his performances. It was also his privilege to travel across the country acting with Cedarville University's Lifeline Players. Daron used these experiences to help bring to life the character of Conscience in The Board (2008) and The War Within (2014).
Daron is the pastor at Water's Edge Church in New Palestine, IN, where he resides with his wife and two kids.
Drew Varvel - Emotion
Acting has always come naturally to Drew. He is a huge fan of comedy and improv, but has recently developed a passion for drama. Drew has been a filmmaker for a few years now, and believes strongly that his pursuit of acting makes him a better director. Drew has appeared in productions such as: The Wizard of Oz, 12 Angry Jurors, and Witness for the Prosecution. He has also appeared in his brothers films.
Joining the cast of The War Within, Drew bears a striking appearance, performs his own stunts, and reaches deep into the complex character of Emotion, while also serving as co-director.
Drew currently resides in Warsaw, IN with his wife Jamie.
Terry Varvel - Mind
Terry began entertaining friends and family with comedy and impersonations. He’s best known for his Barney Fife, with uniform and bullet. Varvel started performing on stage in the Living Christmas Tree plays at Bethesda Baptist Church in Brownsburg, Indiana.
Early on, Varvel performed in his brother Gary's comedy short videos. When Gary's son, Brett, began making short films, Terry was used for a number of comedic roles, but after a couple of dramatic stage performances, that included playing Jesus at Danville First Baptist Church's Easter drama, he was cast in the role of Mr. Mind in the short film The Board. He is now in his first feature film, The War Within, portraying Mind.
Terry lives in Brownsburg, Indiana with his wife, Tonya, and their two children.
Bruce Crum - Memory
Bruce discovered how much he enjoyed entertaining when he emceed a Junior High dance in 8th grade. It was on to high school, college, and community theater productions from there. After meeting his wife in the cast of Oklahoma!, Bruce left the theater stage to enter the work-and-raise-a-family stage of life, but it didn’t take long before he was back in front of the lights in the ministry of acting in church programs and directing high school plays with his wife. (Among their students were Brett Varvel, “Heart”, and Daron Day, “Conscience”.)
Bruce counts it a blessing to portray Memory in such a compelling and soul-searching movie as The War Within.
Bruce and his wife JoAnn have three grown daughters and live in Brownsburg, IN.
Ellen Henry - Ellie Sinclair
Ellen Henry, much like her character Ellie in The War Within, enjoys life, loves her family and shares her faith in Jesus Christ with others. She likes participating in her home school co-op, various church activities, 4-H and spending time with her friends. She lives with her parents, two sisters and one brother, and thoroughly enjoys being the oldest! Ellen looks for ways to live out Matthew 5:16 by sharing blessing bags and tracts with the homeless, ministering to the elderly in a local nursing home, and visiting and helping her neighbors.
She has enjoyed public speaking in 4-H and acting when given the opportunity, but The War Within is the first project that she has worked on. The director, Brett Varvel, saw Ellen perform a small Mother’s Day skit at church, and knew then that he wanted to use Ellen in a future role.
She is currently praying about how God can use her in the future through new acting opportunities!
Reggie McGuire - Ray
According to his parents, Reggie McGuire has been a character since the day he was born. He caught the acting bug in elementary school and hasn’t found a cure.
Reggie works in the Financial Services industry and serves in the Worship Arts Ministry at his church by acting, writing and directing various productions and teaching children’s drama at Worship Arts Camp.
Auditioning and being selected as Ray, the friend of Michael Sinclair in THE WAR WITHIN, was a blessing and has inspired him to pursue additional on screen roles.
Reggie currently resides in Indianapolis with his wife Lora, and their four children.