"God's Not Dead" Actor Kevin Sorbo: Hollywood is Finally "Waking Up" to the Faith-Based Film Industry

Leah Marieann Klett : Apr 6, 2016
The Gospel Herald

"People are looking for entertainment that can touch them and move them. I love to see what's going on right now, it's great." –Kevin Sorbo

(Hollywood, CA)—Kevin Sorbo is one of Hollywood's most notable Christian actors, appearing in a number of films such as "God's Not Dead" and "Soul Surfer," and starring in the iconic television series "Hercules: The Legendary Journeys."  (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

Despite his impressive résumé, acting is merely one of many creative outlets for Sorbo: He's also a director, author, and producer, most recently developing a TV series titled "Miracle Man" with NBC. 

In an exclusive interview with The Gospel Herald, the husband and father-of-three opened up about his career and life as a Christian in Hollywood, his passion for seeing the United States return to its Judeo-Christian roots, and why he believes Hollywood is "waking up" to the faith-based film industry. 

GH: In the past, you've been critical about the production quality and content of faith-based films. In your opinion, what's the biggest problem with faith-based films? Is the faith-based film industry getting better? 

KS: I think that most people would agree that faith-based movies back in the 70's, 80's, and even the 90's were very cheesy, poorly written, and poorly acted. A lot of people were turned off by them, because they were also too preachy. We live in a world where people don't want to be told what to believe in and what not to believe in. You have to walk a fine line to hold an audience—obviously, you've got the choir up there, but you don't want to just preach to the choir, you want to preach to the "independent voters"—someone who is searching for what to believe. 

The biggest change in the faith-based film industry is that the writing has gotten so much better, and there is now talent on both sides of the camera. More people are coming out and not being afraid to say they're Christian; I don't know why in Hollywood you have to be afraid to say you're a Christian, but there's a lot of bashing of Christians going on over the last decade.

I think everybody has upped their game, they've gotten smarter and more efficient about promoting films. From what the Kendrick brothers do, to PureFlix, to Sony's "Affirm" division, faith-based films have really picked up. It's just getting better and better, which I think is great. Hollywood is slowly waking up—there's an audience out there, and the independent film world is well aware of it. You can see that they're filling a void for people, because there are so many things on primetime television that are so crass you don't want your children watching. People are looking for entertainment that can touch them and move them. I love to see what's going on right now, it's great.

GH: You frequently discuss politics and social issues on your social media pages. This election season, what are some issues you are most passionate about? And what issues should Christians be focusing on when choosing a candidate?

KS: For one, Christians need to get out and vote. We have 80-90 million people in this country who say they're Christians, and in the last presidential election, only 20% showed up to vote. We get the country we deserve, and we can see where the country's heading. I have friends from Europe, and the reason they left their countries was because of exactly what's going on in our country now. We are a secular country; this country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles, and that's gone. The majority of people are secular now, and we're a socialist country. All you have to do is look at what Socialism has done to countries all over Europe, and look at what Communism did in countries like Russia.

When I was filming "God's Not Dead," I remember we were filming my death scene at 2 in the morning in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and...

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