Hollywood doesn’t always make room for faith, but a surprising number of A-listers, athletes and broadcasters keep bringing it up anyway.
“Stay on your knees. Watch me, but listen to God,” Denzel Washington told a room full of men at a Christian conference in Florida — just one of dozens of celebrities who have gotten specific about prayer, or about Jesus Christ by name, in interviews, on social media and from the stage.
Movieguide® has tracked this trend for years, from Hollywood actors and actresses to professional athletes and news anchors willing to say plainly that they pray and that they follow Christ. Here are 33 of them, in their own words.
1. Denzel Washington
The Oscar-winning actor, known for GLORY, TRAINING DAY and REMEMBER THE TITANS, opened up about relying on prayer during a season of grief after his mother’s death.
“In every prayer, all I hear is: ‘Feed my sheep.’ That’s what God wants me to do,” Washington said at “The Better Man Event” at First Baptist Orlando.
“Stay on your knees. Watch me, but listen to God,” he added.
2. Chris Pratt
The GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and JURASSIC WORLD star has faced plenty of criticism for his faith, and he’s pointed straight to Jesus when explaining why he doesn’t let it rattle him.
“That’s nothing new, you know? That’s the way it is — nothing new,” Pratt said, referencing Jesus Christ. “Two thousand years ago, they hated him too. If I was of this world, they would love me just like that but as it is, I’ve chosen out of this world. That’s John 15:18 through 20.”
3. Mark Wahlberg
The devout Catholic and FATHER STU star has said for years that his day doesn’t start without prayer.
“I don’t take a day off from getting on my hands and my knees and reading my prayer book and my daily devotionals,” Wahlberg said in an interview with TODAY, adding that he prays for “the strength and the guidance” to use the gifts God gave him.
4. Danica McKellar
The former THE WONDER YEARS star gave her life to Christ in 2022 and has been vocal about her faith ever since, including a livestream reflection on the Lord’s Prayer.
“How do you forgive somebody?” she asked in an Instagram video. “We know we’re supposed to. We know that holding on to anger and resentment is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die. We know it’s important. We also know it’s important because it’s in the Lord’s prayer. We’re asking God for all these things, and the one thing we say we’re going to do in response is to forgive those who trespass against us, right? Jesus said, ‘Love your enemies.’”
5. Roma Downey
The TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL star, who recently appeared THE BAXTERS, credits prayer with changing the course of her own life.
“The Baxters remind us that prayer can change your life,” Downey wrote on Instagram. “My irish dad used to say the family who pray together stay together…prayer can change your life. It changed mine.”
6. Candace Cameron Bure
The FULL HOUSE alum and Great American Family chief creative officer talked prayer with her brother Kirk Cameron on his show TAKEAWAYS WITH KIRK CAMERON.
“God doesn’t always answer prayers the way we want Him to, but it’s so important [to pray] because it not only connects us to Him,” Bure said. “If you don’t have a prayerful life or you don’t know how to pray, it’s just talking to God.”
7. Scottie Scheffler
The 2024 Masters Champion talks about his faith almost as often as his golf swing, telling reporters his identity doesn’t rise and fall with the leaderboard.
“I’ve been given a gift of this talent, and I use it for God’s glory,” Scheffler said after a tournament win. “My identity is secure already.”
8. Kyle Gibson
The St. Louis Cardinals pitcher says a high school injury sent him toward, not away from, his faith.
“No longer was I a baseball player who went to church,” Gibson said on Sports Spectrum’s “I Once Was” series. “I was a follower of Christ and a believer in Jesus that played baseball.”
9. Tim Tebow
The former NFL quarterback, who now runs a foundation protecting children from trafficking, regularly challenges his Instagram followers to weigh their priorities against their faith.
“IG Fam, what are you most passionate about in life?” Tebow wrote. “Are you more passionate about that than Jesus?”
10. Russell Wilson
The Denver Broncos quarterback has never been shy about crediting his career to something bigger than a scoreboard.
“I give the glory to God because He’s given me the gift of playing this game,” Wilson said after a game. “I play for an audience of One, and that’s just for Him.”
11. Bethany Hamilton
Related: Chris Pratt Says He Needs God for the Same Reason We All Do
The pro surfer, who lost her arm in a shark attack as a teenager, says God carried her through the parts of her story she never expected to have to share publicly.
“God gave me the strength when I was weak,” Hamilton wrote. “It has been so amazing to see how God has used my life in ways I never imagined!”
12. Alan Ritchson
The REACHER star has said his faith, not his fame, is what keeps him grounded.
“The times that I’ve had the most trouble are the times where I am on my own, a slave to my own ambition,” Ritchson told The Christian Post. “I don’t belong in that camp. I belong in God’s camp.”
13. Kevin Sorbo
The HERCULES actor says he was effectively blacklisted from Hollywood for his faith, which only pushed him further into making movies like GOD’S NOT DEAD.
“I’m going to make movies that have love, hope, laughter, redemption, faith,” Sorbo told Newsmax. “I want movies that move people and make them think about things.”
14. Kirk Cameron
The GROWING PAINS star turned FIREPROOF and LIFEMARK producer doesn’t mince words about where his priorities sit next to Hollywood glamour.
“For me in my life, the biggest celebrity, the biggest star, the one who is famous in my mind — not just here on earth, but throughout the universe — is Jesus Christ,” Cameron said.
15. Patricia Heaton
The EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND star believes God intentionally delayed her big break until she was ready for it.
“God, in His mercy, withheld any success from me because I wanted it too much,” Heaton said on “The Storytellers with Andrew Erwin” podcast. “It would have been ruinous for me if I had been successful any earlier than I was.”
16. Lacey Chabert
The MEAN GIRLS and Hallmark movie regular says her relationship with God is the one constant in an unpredictable industry.
“My faith has always been the center of my life…my faith brings me great hope, and I don’t know what I’d do without my relationship with God,” Chabert shared on Facebook.
17. Kristin Chenoweth
The WICKED star chose forgiveness over bitterness after nearly dying when lighting equipment fell on her head on the set of THE GOOD WIFE.
“I have started forgiving people that I feel have hurt me because I’m the one that’s hurting and that’s God’s grace,” Chenoweth said on TODAY.
18. Erin Napier
The HOME TOWN host says her faith comes through even when the cameras don’t leave room to talk about it outright.
“You wish you could say more about your faith when you have a public platform,” Napier shared on the “Love Beyond” podcast. “It often gets edited away.”
19. Ben Napier
Erin’s husband and HOME TOWN co-host sees the show itself as a quiet form of ministry.
“It’s great to be on this side of the ministry and see, you know, even TV stars can minister in different ways,” Ben Napier added on the same podcast.
20. Joanna Gaines
The FIXER UPPER and Magnolia Network star told Oprah Winfrey she can point to specific moments she believes were God speaking directly to her.
“There probably been five pivotal moments in my life where I can say that was God’s voice, that was him,” Gaines told The Christian Post.
21. Chip Gaines
Joanna’s husband and FIXER UPPER co-star says he meets God in the middle of manual labor, not just in church.
“God shows up for me in very practical real ways. Like I work, that’s how I meet with God,” Chip Gaines said in the same interview.
22. Ben Dozier
The BUILDING ROOTS host says prayer is part of the daily rhythm he shares with his wife and co-host, Christi.
“We have coffee early and sometimes we talk about business or life. We talk about family. Sometimes we just pray because the day is hard,” Dozier told TV Insider.
23. Savannah Guthrie
The TODAY co-anchor has written a book about faith and says she’s stopped being surprised when people notice how much it means to her.
“I love talking about my faith. I love talking about God’s love,” Guthrie told Guideposts, adding that Psalm 23 has stayed with her since childhood.
24. Kathie Lee Gifford
The former LIVE! host says she has never separated her career from her walk with Christ, even on set.
“I had to be authentically Child of God Kathie Lee wherever I went,” Gifford told the “WHOA That’s Good” podcast, recalling walking “with Yeshua Jesus” through every set and stage.
25. Tamron Hall
The talk show host says her faith carried her through being unexpectedly let go from THE TODAY SHOW.
“I lost my dream job before the public nationally, but I knew it was in God’s hands,” Hall said on the “Jesus Calling” podcast. “The minute I wake my eyes, I say, ‘Thank you, God.’”
26. Lawrence Jones
The FOX & FRIENDS co-host, who comes from a family of pastors, says accepting Christ was never a struggle for him, even in a newsroom.
“Knowing who Christ is and accepting [Him] into my heart…that’s all I know,” Jones told Faithwire, adding that he’s “proud to be a believer.”
27. Dennis Quaid
The INNERSPACE actor spent years chasing other paths before landing back at what he calls his personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“It was the red words of Jesus in the New Testament that really hit me,” Quaid told Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN Praise. “That was the beginning of my personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”
28. Reba McEntire
The country legend and THE VOICE coach says she doesn’t walk onstage without calling on the Holy Spirit first.
“Before I go on stage, I ask the Holy Spirit to walk for me, talk for me, speak for me, sing for me,” McEntire told CBN News, a moment Movieguide® previously reported on.
29. Tori Kelly
The Grammy-winning singer says her career highs and lows don’t change who she believes she really is.
“If all of that went away, my identity is in Christ. And my identity is in who God says that I am,” Kelly said on “The Ally Brook Show” podcast.
30. Sadie Robertson Huff
The DUCK DYNASTY alum and author regularly points her large following back to one thing.
“The revelation of the love of Jesus changes everything!” Huff wrote on Instagram, encouraging fans to remember they are loved “by the one who created you.”
31. Jonathan Roumie
Playing Jesus on THE CHOSEN comes with its own weight, and Roumie says a single short prayer keeps him centered through it.
“The fundamental prayer that is kind of the guiding theme of my life is rooted in the idea of surrender,” Roumie told ANC Digital. “Oh, Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.”
32. Alice Cooper
The rock legend behind “School’s Out” and “Poison” returned to the faith of his childhood after years of addiction, and he doesn’t soften how he describes Jesus now.
“I knew who Jesus Christ was, and I was denying him,” Cooper said. “People talk about Alice being a rebel — there was never more of a rebel than Jesus Christ. You wanna talk about a rebel — he was the ultimate.”
Thirty-two names, one thread running through all of them: whatever else Hollywood, Nashville or the NFL asks of these public figures, prayer and the person of Jesus Christ keep coming up on their own terms, unprompted and on the record.
Read Next: 15 Content Creators Who Are Bold About Their Faith in Jesus
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
