‘Luke Cage’ star, SC native in movie about teen’s miracle resurrection after drowning

Mike Colter may no longer star as the title character in “Marvel’s Luke Cage,” but the South Carolina native plays a different kind of hero in a movie out next month that tells the true story of a teenage boy’s death — and his miraculous resurrection — after he falls into a frozen lake and drowns. 

“Breakthrough” tells the true story of 14-year-old John Smith, a suburban St. Louis teen who was underwater for 15 minutes after falling into an icy lake in 2015. He later died at a hospital but, after his mother prays at his bedside, the teen’s heart starts beating again nearly an hour after he was declared dead.  

“I drowned for 15 minutes and I was without a pulse for an additional 45,” Smith said in a promotional clip for the movie. “So, in all, I was dead for over an hour. ... Mom came in, she prayed, and instantly I had a pulse.” 

Colter, who was born in Columbia and attended Benedict College before graduating from the University of South Carolina, plays Tommy Shine, a first responder who pulls the teen from the icy water. 

“Before John’s drowning, he didn’t believe in God,” Deadline wrote of Colter’s character, adding that after the teen came back, Shine “finds a reason to believe.” 

“I think Tommy’s character represents the doubters in the audience — you know, ‘I’ll believe it when I see it,’” Colter said of his character in a promotional video posted to the film’s Twitter page. “Tommy is sort of that person’s point of view, so hopefully they kind of experience this film through Tommy’s eyes.” 

Colter starred as the title character in “Marvel’s Luke Cage” on Netflix before the series was canceled last year. In “Breakthrough,” he stars alongside Chrissy Metz from NBC’s “This Is Us,” Josh Lucas from “Sweet Home Alabama,” Marcel Ruiz from Netflix’s “One Day at a Time,” Topher Grace from “That ‘70s Show” and Sam Trammel from HBO’s “True Blood.” 

NBA star Stephen Curry is an executive producer for the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Curry joins Colter’s cousin and South Carolina-native Viola Davis as executive producers of “Emanuel,” a documentary about the 2015 mass shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME Church. 

“Breakthrough” hits theaters nationwide April 17. 

This story was originally published March 26, 2019 at 1:56 PM.