It’s not incredibly common for celebrities to leave the entertainment industry in order to
pursue lives of faith. However, it has happened! There have been a few notable figures over the
years that have turned their back on fame and fortune in order to devote more time
to God, and we’ll be taking a look at some of the most prominent of these individuals in this video!
Join Facts Verse as we take a look at celebrities who left Hollywood for God.
Rick Moranis Any fans of 1980s comedies will immediately
recognize SCTV alum and popular comedic actor Rick Moranis. However, not everyone will have
made the observation that the actor seems to have been missing since sometime in the early 1990s.
As it turns out, Rick Moranis didn’t just get up and disappear from the entertainment industry for
no reason. Instead, the Ghostbusters actor made a conscious choice to leave
the industry in an effort to get closer to God after the tragic death of his wife in 1991.
Her name was Anne, and Rick and their two children survived her.
After the death of his wife Anne, Rick Moranis felt that it would be difficult to continue
working in Hollywood while trying to take care of his two kids as a single dad. Instead,
Rick made the choice to abandon his career as an actor and attempt to live a normal life. For Rick,
part of living a normal life has been trying to strengthen his faith.
Despite the fact that Rick Moranis has essentially been absent from the media for three decades,
the actor did recently appear in a commercial alongside actor Ryan Reynolds
for a cellphone company by the name of Mint Mobile. Perhaps, the actor may be ready to
step back into the spotlight now that his bond with God has been properly strengthened!
Cat Stevens With the release of the
album Tea for Tillerman in 1970, folk singer Cat Stevens became one of the most prominent musical
artists of the 1970s. However, an experience in which the folk singer almost drowned in 1976
changed his life completely, and he has since dedicated himself much more strongly to his faith
than to his music. Cat Stevens can still be found performing music under the name of Yusuf Islam,
but he does so only in the name of his creator! When Yusuf Islam does deign himself
to take to the stage nowadays, it’s most often in support of some kind of charitable cause.
Chris Tucker Chris Tucker is a phenomenal stand-up comedian
and actor who became a Hollywood superstar thanks to his breakout performance in the 1995
sleeper hit Friday. Following Chris’ appearance on Friday, the actor became even better known
thanks to his role in the 1998 action comedy Rush Hour, in which he starred alongside martial
arts legend Jackie Chan. Although Chris Tucker opted out of returning for Friday’s two sequels,
he appeared in both Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3.
Despite the immense amount of success that Chris Tucker ended up finding in his Hollywood career,
he soon came to the decision that life in the entertainment industry wasn’t for him. Chris’
change of heart started occurring soon after the filming of the 1997 comedy Money Talks. Chris’
growing relationship with God was the reason that he turned down the two sequels to Friday,
though he felt that the Rush Hour franchise provided more family-friendly entertainment.
In the days since Rush Hour 3’s release in 2007, Chris Tucker has become even more removed
from the spotlight as his relationship with God has strengthened even further.
Nowadays, Chris Tucker isn’t above taking the occasional acting role, but he spends the vast
majority of his time performing family-friendly stand-up comedy. His family-friendly comedy isn’t
nearly as successful as his old stand-up comedy and likely wouldn’t tickle the funny bone of those
who only knew the comedian from his comparatively risqué performance in 1995’s Friday. However,
Chris Tucker is certainly proud of the work that he is doing! Chris has appeared in two films since
Rush Hour 3, with those being Silver Linings Playbook and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
This suggests that, regardless of his faith, Chris Tucker is still willing to appear on the screen
so long as he deems the work to be of high enough
quality. In addition to these two films, a fourth Rush Hour sequel has been rumored.
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Kirk Cameron Up until the age of 17, former television star
Kirk Cameron has claimed that he was an atheist. However, a transformative experience during his
years working on the hit sitcom Growing Pains opened the star’s eyes up the existence of God.
From that moment forward, Kirk has dedicated his life to sharing the message of his creator.
However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Kirk has left the entertainment industry! Instead,
the former television icon has spent his time making faith-based movies for Christian audiences,
such as 2014’s Saving Christmas. Although Kirk’s time as a Christian film star hasn’t made him
quite as ubiquitous with global audiences as his tenure as a teen idol did back when
Growing Pains was on, Kirk is content with his decreased fame so long as he’s following God!
While Kirk Cameron maintains a strong base of fans amongst the faith-based community, some
mainstream audiences have criticized the former television star in recent years for his decidedly
negative views on homosexuality. However, given the star’s new faith-based predilection, it
only stands to reason that the actor has to be at least a little judgmental of others. The majority
of the controversy came when Kirk appeared on Piers Morgan Tonight.
On the program, Kirk said being homosexual was unnatural.
Angus T. Jones Angus T. Jones is another former child
star that started out on a majorly successful television series before deciding to call it quits
on mainstream entertainment altogether. While Kirk Cameron had Growing Pains, Angus T. Jones came to
prominence thanks to his turn as the titular half of a man on the hit series Two and a Half Men.
Angus was quite young when the series began,
and audiences got to watch him blossom into young adulthood as the seasons went on.
Although television audiences got to watch as Angus T. Jones grew up, they were likely unaware
of one specific change that was happening within the boy’s head. As Angus started coming of age,
he became more and more interested in devoting his life to his faith. According to Angus,
he felt like a hypocrite during his final years performing on Two and a Half Men
because the series’ themes didn’t jive with his own religious views.
Since Angus finally broke free from the series, he has dedicated the majority
of his time to his faith. In 2012, he publicly called Two and a Half Men trash.
Stephen Baldwin In Hollywood, it often seems as if there are too
many Baldwin brothers to count. However, Stephen Baldwin’s escape from the entertainment industry
in the wake of his Christian transformation made the brothers slightly easier to keep track of!
Before finding God, Stephen could be seen in such features as Bio-Dome and The Flintstones in Viva
Rock Vegas. While neither film was critically successful, they were both big hits with
audiences and helped Stephen make a memorable impression during his time in the industry.
According to Stephen Baldwin, it was the events of 9/11 that caused him to reevaluate his faith
and decide that he wanted to strengthen his connection with his creator. Several years later,
Stephen made the transition from working in frivolous entertainment to working in conservative
radio! Stephen’s work on conservative radio has given him an opportunity to share his faith with
the world. His radio work features him working alongside fellow conservative Kevin McCullough.
Montell Jordan Regardless of age,
most people have likely heard the classic 1990s hip-hop song “This Is How
We Do It”. However, fewer people can actually name the artist responsible for the song, let
alone know that said artist is now a born-again Christian! A hip-hop artist by the name of Montell
Jordan recorded “This Is How We Do It”. Though the song became a huge hit,
Montell claimed to have a religious vision not long after its release
that inspired him to take a step back from the mainstream music industry
and pursue a career-making gospel music instead. In addition to becoming a minister, former hip-hop
artist Montell Jordan has released his very own gospel album by the name of Shake Heaven.
Dolores Hart Dolores Hart is a
former actress that is notable for having been the one to give music legend Elvis Presley his very
first kiss on the screen! This kiss came in 1957’s Loving You. After Dolores’ appearance in the film,
she went on to appear in a few other films before leaving the entertainment industry.
Due to Dolores’ inclusion in this video, you may have rightfully assumed that the reason
she did so was because she found God! Over the course of the 1960s,
Dolores Hart left Hollywood and instead became a nun. Dolores’ story was documented in the film
God Is the Bigger Elvis, which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Despite all of the riches and fame that a Hollywood career can sometimes bring,
there are still times when celebrities have turned their backs on the entertainment
industry in order to get closer to God. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you
know that the woman who gave Elvis Presley his very first on-screen kiss went on to become a nun,
and that star Kirk Cameron had a religious awakening while working on the hit sitcom
Growing Pains? As always, like this video to show your support, subscribe, and hit the notification
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