Wade Murrow – Murrow is modeled after the actor Robert Patrick. But Murrow is shorter, stockier and more intimidating. He likes Ethan but tires quickly of his second guessing himself and uncertainty. Murrow deals with facts and doesn’t spend much time speculating. I stole his last name from the guy who wrote the book “Why Men Hate Going to Church”.
Ethan’s good friend Robert Charles is a big black man. It may seem cliche but the actor Michael Clarke Duncan would make a great Robbie. Robbie hit rock bottom at a young age due to drug and alcohol abuse. An inner city mission helped him get clean and back on his feet. The military accepted him and he worked his way into a special forces unit. He takes to Ethan immediately and sees potential in him.
Abe and Tara Zabad are Ethan’s parents. They desperately love their only son and will do just about anything for him. They simply want him to be open to God and find out what it is He wants him to do. I modeled the Zabad’s after my parents and my in-laws with a Jewish flavor. I didn’t delve into their Jewish culture much since aspects of it came through incidentally in the story.
