Real life married couple and devout Christians Carlos and Alexa PenaVega star in a new PureFlix film titled, “Mr. Manhattan,” which is set to be released on May 23.
This is the PenaVegas’ 10th film together, but audiences might remember Alexa as Carmen Cortez from the “Spy Kids” franchise and Carlos from Nickelodeon’s “Big Time Rush.”
“Mr. Manhattan” tells the story of an ambitious attorney struggling to balance his career and the demands of fatherhood after he becomes the caretaker to his niece and nephew.
“This is a very complex movie that deals with life and faith, overcoming grief, and allowing God to use that grief and allowing it to be fruitful instead of something that holds me back in life,” Alexa told ChurchLeaders.
The PenaVegas shared how much they love working together. “It’s so fun. It’s so easy,” Carlos said. “I keep saying I have a wife-wife and a work-wife and I just get to be with her all day long.”
Alexa shared that this “particular project was actually probably one of our harder shoots, because the content that we were shooting, we just kind of kept coming against the enemy.”
“I feel like when you’re making something that obviously is really glorifying God and that will hopefully bring forth real change and real relationship with God, you’re gonna hit those bumps,” she added.
Alexa opened up about the recent loss of the couple’s fourth child, Indy, who was stillborn.
“A month ago, we actually lost our little girl. And that was the hardest thing we’ve ever had to walk through in our lives ever, ever, ever,” Alexa said. “That being said, God has met us so gracefully, between pain and peace.”
“Like, truly, I have never felt more pain, but also, I’ve never felt more peace at the same time,” Alexa said. “And it’s such a strange place to be, because you’re like at the center of a tornado, where it is so chaotic around you, and yet he is just holding you so dear to him.”
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She continued,
The one thing that he just kept putting on my heart was like, “My daughter, use this is pain with purpose.” And that been the slogan of our season: pain with purpose. And our God is so loving, all-knowing, and he’s already seen the attacks of the enemy. So when I look back on our lives, for even how he’s prepared us to walk through this season, and how he already knew this was going to happen, I just kind of like felt him saying, “I am hurting for you. But I already knew this was gonna happen and you just have to trust me in this. And it’s gonna hurt, but I’ve got you and I’ve prepared you and I’ve made a way for you.”
Knowing that God has a plan has been the “only thing that’s really been able to pull us through this season,” Alexa shared.
“This pain won’t go to waste,” she encouraged, sharing that God has been using the death of their daughter not only to strengthen their relationship with God but also in the lives of others.
