Why 'Not Without Hope' and 'Shazam' star Zachary Levi says no 'to a lot of things'

Zachary Levi is a versatile actor, known to many for a variety of roles, from “Chuck” to “Tangled” to “Shazam,” and he has a philosophy to avoid being stuck in one type of role for too long.

“First that comes down to the roles, the projects and the roles that that come my way and that I ultimately choose,” he told our entertainment reporter Courtney Tezeno. “You have to be very conscious of that. Hollywood loves to just hire you do the same thing, typecast [you] and puts you in the same thing, because they know, oh well, he did that well, so we'll just have them do that same thing.”

He continued, “And so it's a lot of you have to say no to a lot of things. You have to say, ‘No, I don't want to do that again. I've done that. I want to do something that will challenge me and challenge audiences’ perceptions of me and what I'm capable of doing.’”

Levi took on a challenge with his latest film, “Not Without Hope,” a harrowing tale of survival based on a true story.

In the film, Levi plays Nick Schuyler, the sole survivor of a 2009 boating tragedy that stranded him and three friends, William Bleakley (Marshall Cook), Marquis Cooper (Quentin Plair), and Corey Smith (Terrence Terrell), ultimately claiming all except Nick’s life.

“Just the physical challenge of it, I was like, ‘Okay, I've never done this before. This will be interesting. This will be a story and something to overcome,’” Levi said.

While he’s selective, Levi looks for a way to grow from each decision he makes.

“I think that there's a lot of these things that come across my desk, and each one of them is something that God is using in my life to teach me something new, to strengthen me, to make me a better me, hopefully,” he said.

“Not Without Hope," starring Levi and Josh Duhamel, is in theaters now.