Kristoffer Polaha is drawn to the redeemable failure story, and his character Calvin in the new film, "Where Hope Grows," certainly fits that description. A former professional baseball player, Calvin mainly drinks to excess these days while neglecting his parental duties to teenage daughter Katie.

"I don't know where it fits in our culture. I guess it's essentially human," Polaha tells Headlines & Global News in an exclusive interview. "Some points in our life feel rocky or you feel like this guy Calvin is done. When you see that they get a second chance, it gives you hope."

Fortunately for Calvin, he finds a new friend in, of all places, the produce section at his local grocery store. Customers and employees refer to him as Produce, a young man with Down syndrome who bikes everywhere carrying his most prized possession, his Bible.

An open casting call went out to a number of Down syndrome organizations across the country to find an actor to play Produce. Casting eventually landed on David DeSanctis from Louisville, Ky., where the film was shot. DeSanctis makes his acting debut in the film, but Polaha says he immediately had a gift for the craft.

"He has a lot of charisma, and he's open. There's just something about him. It pops. So when they found him, it was like striking gold," the 38-year-old actor says, adding that DeSanctis was even easier to work with than some of his previous co-stars.

The amateur actor demonstrated his immense talent within the first days of rehearsal alongside Polaha, who didn't hold back, especially in tough scenes where Calvin had to verbally accost Produce. DeSanctis played the hurt and demoralization of his character perfectly, and when they rehearsed the next scene, where Calvin comes to apologize to Produce and gives him a hug, all that emotion simply melted away.

When they finished their scenes, Polaha got his biggest surprise from the young actor.

"Once the scene was over, he kind of looked at me and started laughing and was like, 'That was pretty good, huh?' I was like, 'Holy s**t! You're acting?'" Polaha says with a laugh. "He was totally in it from day one. He was totally on book. In that way, it was really refreshing. Here was someone literally listening to your words, responding organically because actors get really polished and there are a lot of tricks. He didn't have any tricks yet."

Polaha did caution his co-star not to let his ego get out of control like a big Hollywood star, and DeSanctis gave a priceless response.

"I said, 'Don't get to cocky,' and then he said, 'Too late,'" Polaha says. "He's a good kid. I think he's going to do fine, and he's got great parents, so they're going to keep him pretty level headed."

DeSanctis follows in the footsteps of other notable actors with Down syndrome including Lauren Potter, who recurred as Becky on "Glee" for all six seasons, and Chris Burke, who played the memorable Charles "Corky" Thacher on "Life Goes On" in the early '90s.

Polaha witnessed the importance of having people with Down syndrome acting on screen first-hand while screening the movie for the Albert Pujols Family Foundation, which helps support those living with Downs. Pujols, a member of the Los Angeles Angels, has a daughter who has the genetic disorder.

"Watching kids with Downs watch David DeSanctis in a role that wasn't just a token special needs character, who was the protagonist, who had an arc, who went through all these emotional highs and lows, they were watching themselves on screen. It gave them all a little piece of dignity which is amazing to see," Polaha says.

"Where Hope Grows" also held screenings for families that have someone struggling with alcohol addiction and for church groups that appreciated its theme of faith.

"[Church groups] love the message and they love it because it's like a legitimate movie," Polaha says. "It's not some cheesy, saccharin, over your head movie. Unfortunately, I think a lot of faith films tend to kind of preach to the converted."

Polaha hesitated to define the movie as a "Christian film." Instead, he called faith as much an element of the movie as the Down Syndrome and alcoholism parts.

"It's a movie first with a really strong Christian theme, but I don't want to limit the audience because you don't have to be a Christian to see it and enjoy it," he says.

Another major component of the film is the fractured relationship between Calvin and his daughter, Katie (McKaley Miller). Polaha has three sons in real life (ranging from ages four to 11), but he applied his experience playing a dad to Britt Robertson in their short-lived CW series, "Life Unexpected," to this film.

"There's a sensitivity and a manliness [to playing the father of a daughter] because you're her protector," he explains. "It basically was taking everything I do in real life and doing the opposite."

When asked about Robertson's success since "Life Unexpected" ended in 2011, Polaha answers like a proud papa.

"She's handling it so well," he says about her rising star status as she gets set to appear opposite George Clooney in "Tomorrowland." "She had nothing but great stuff to say about George Clooney. Apparently he's awesome. Her concern is, 'I hope it's good. I hope people like it.'"

The CW show's cast still see each other, recently getting together for a baby shower for creator Liz Tigelaar's baby shower. Polaha invited his former co-star on the series, Kerr Smith to appear in "Where Hope Grows" as a police officer that Calvin runs into trouble with a couple times. He also called in a favor to Brooke Burns, who starred on the Fox series "North Shore" with him in 2004.

"These things all have budgets. So if you get a low budget, or an indie budget, you go, 'OK, well this is going to be time out of my year? Can I afford to take this time?' When a script is really great, you make exceptions for it," Polaha says.

A strong script and great writing is what brought Polaha to the Fox series "Backstrom," which was recently cancelled. He credited the show's creator Hart Hanson and the writing staff for giving him a type of character he had yet to play and for exploring the idea of different faiths through several characters.

"Dennis Haysbert's character was a pastor on Sundays and there were a couple episodes where they prayed. My character was a Buddhist with a new age philosophy but spiritual like joyful. He loves humanity and optimist for the human race," he says. "These themes kept coming through the episodes. So while it was broadcasting on television, I felt like it had a higher aim than just mere entertainment."

Although he had hoped to return to "Backstrom" for a second season, Polaha will move on and continue to ride the highs and lows of the Hollywood career.

"I'm humbly moving forward," he says. "One foot in front of the other."

"Where Hope Grows" opens in theaters today.