‘Just Getting Started’

Rated PG-13 — Morgan Freeman and Tommy Lee Jones play golf rivals who must put aside their differences when one receives a death threat. Ron Shelton (“Tin Cup,” “Bull Durham”) directed.

Mpart.

The Gahanna native was preparing to audition for the lead role in the movie “I Can, I Will, I Did” and decided to deviate from the script.

“If they want me to do this, I’m going to take some liberties with this,” he recalled during a recent phone interview. “The only real way to test that was in the audition room.”

Writer-director Nadine Truong marveled at his performance.

“The emotional depth he brought was impressive.” she said. “He nailed it; he really did.”

The movie will be screened Monday at the Drexel Theatre in Bexley. Faist and Truong will attend the event.

The film tells the story of Ben, a troubled high-school student. Failing in school, Ben is about to turn 18 and possibly lose his spot in his foster home when he is seriously injured while facing bullies. As he recovers, he meets a paralyzed young woman (Ellie Lee), and she and her grandfather, a martial-arts grand master (Ik Jo Kang), help Ben’s injured body and damaged spirit heal.

“It’s a kid that’s literally at rock-bottom,” said Faist, of New York City, “and he tries to climb his way out of that.”

For Faist, 25, the son of Julia and Kurt Faist of Gahanna, the role arrived at just the right time.

In 2015, he was in the new play “Dear Evan Hanson,” which was between a run in Washington, D.C., and opening off-Broadway. Kinks were being worked out, however, and Faist was afraid that his character was going to be radically altered. Then he received a script for “I Can, I Will, I Did.”

“I was in this dark, depressed place for a little while, and (the play) was in between out-of-town tryouts and off-Broadway