The Christian actor recounts his coming to faith as a teenager in a show business environment that is often perceived as being at odds with the Faith.
One of the most prominent Believers in the movie and television entertainment industry, Kirk Cameron got his big break as a child. At the age of 14, he won a lead role in the sitcom Growing Pains and went on to play the character Mike Seaver from 1985 - 1992. The show was a huge hit and Cameron became a big star.
In the latest episode of Prager U's interview program Stories of Us, he admits that it went to his head, describing his teenage self in particularly unflattering terms: "self-centered, conceited, I'm-all-that, I'm-the-G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time) celebrity, Mike Seaver-guy." The now 51-year-old father of six was also an atheist, that is until he had a convicting thought about the future.
"I was parked on the side of the road, and I got thinking about the fact that one day I would die and find out if there really is a heaven and a hell, if there really is a creator or there's just nothing. And I knew that if there was a heaven, I wouldn't be going there because of my attitude."
The actor, who was then 17, says he decided to "humble" himself and "pray for the first time." Having zero theology, it was a simple, though heartfelt prayer, as he opened up to the Lord.
"I just said, 'God, if you're there, would you please show me? I want to know...And would you forgive me for the wrong things that I've done, and make me the person you want me to be?'"
Cameron adds he "didn't see any visions" or "hear any voices" at the time, but a gradual transformation followed. He started attending church and reading The Bible, and he says "it began to change me on the inside." Interestingly, that happened while he was still a star in Tinseltown, which he recognizes is a place very rarely associated with conversions to Christianity.
"The same difficult challenges and influences of Hollywood that turn some people sour and make them narcissistic and bitter, and joyless, and afraid to not fit in is the same pressure that actually softened my heart."
This profile of Kirk Cameron is an uplifting one and it covers lots of ground, including the embarrassing circumstances in which he first met his now wife on the set of Growing Pains, how they later adopted four children and added two more biological ones, and the loathing the actor felt for the audition process as a young boy. The entire interview runs about 14 minutes and we suggest you watch it, which you can do via the YouTube link below.