From Hollywood’s Spotlight to Heaven’s Calling: Cameron Arnett’s Two-Act Play of Faith and Fame
“I want the church to come away [from my movies] with that God is desperately — if I could use that word — in love with us as His children and He wants the best for us; He wants to do the best in us; He wants to do the best through us. … I want people to come away with, ‘Wow, God loves me so much that He’s found another way to show me, to tell me, to have me breathe Him in,’ and, hopefully, that will transform us into the image and likeness [of God]. … The world needs salvation and that salvation is through the church.”
When Cameron Arnett reflects on his Hollywood career, he doesn’t speak of red carpets or star-studded parties. Instead, he talks about something deeper—something far more divine. “This acting thing chose me twice, at two different points in time,” Arnett revealed in an exclusive interview with CBN News, as he took us through the winding journey of his life—from Tinseltown to transformation, and back again.
For Arnett, the first act in Hollywood was purely accidental. As a pre-med and pre-law student, he wasn’t interested in acting at all. His goal was to become a cardiologist. “Hollywood was an accident,” Arnett said with a chuckle. His early years were spent chasing dollar signs and fame, with no spiritual compass to guide him. He landed roles in popular shows like Star Trek: The Next Generation and Miami Vice, seemingly on the fast track to stardom.
But beneath the glittering façade of Hollywood’s fame, Arnett’s soul was on a collision course with destiny. Something unexpected was brewing—a spiritual awakening that would soon turn his life upside down. “I was back home in Los Angeles, about to sign a contract for a new TV series,” Arnett recalled. But in that moment, his faith stirred within him.
The moment of decision came when the studio asked Arnett to do partial-body nudity for the role. “By that point, I was a Christian,” Arnett shared. “I said, ‘I can’t do that. It violates my convictions, violates my God, my beliefs.’” The studio, sensing his reluctance, offered a compromise—a body double. But the solution didn’t sit right with the actor.
“I’m about to sign again, and I feel the Holy Spirit really tap me on my shoulder and say, ‘You have to shun even the appearance of evil,’” Arnett explained, referencing 1 Thessalonians 5:22-24. The conviction grew stronger, and Arnett knew what he had to do. “I dropped everything, and when I dropped everything, everybody dropped me, as well,” he said. That decision cost him his career, his agent, and nearly everything he had worked for. But Arnett never looked back.
It was in the wreckage of his Hollywood career that Arnett found true purpose. “God had His plan, and all of that was allowing … all of the life that I had put together to unravel so that God could give me exactly what He wanted,” Arnett said. “That’s where I find myself now.”
What followed was a season of pastoral ministry in Atlanta, far away from the allure of Hollywood. But even then, God wasn’t done with Arnett. “In the midst of pastoring, God basically chose me … to get back into the whole filmmaking [business] from a Christian perspective,” he shared. This marked the beginning of Arnett’s second act in Hollywood, but this time, with a very different script.
In the past 11 years, Arnett has starred in over 50 movies and seven television shows, all of which are faith-based. His latest films, The Forge and Faith of Angels, showcase his renewed mission to bring light into the darkness of the entertainment industry. “Everything that has occurred has been a God move,” he said. For Arnett, the pull to Hollywood wasn’t about fame anymore—it was about discipleship.
“The whole world was so dark that [God] had to send His son [Jesus],” Arnett emphasized. He believes Hollywood is no exception, a space still in need of the redemptive power of the Gospel. “To write Hollywood off is not wise, it’s not God, it’s not Scripture, it’s not Gospel,” he remarked. Arnett views his return to the industry as a mission field, a place where his calling to shine the light of Christ is more crucial than ever.
The films Arnett now makes communicate powerful messages about God’s sanctifying love. “I want the church to come away with that God is desperately—in love with us as His children,” Arnett passionately stated. “He wants the best for us; He wants to do the best in us; He wants to do the best through us.”
Reflecting on his career, Arnett knows that his Hollywood story is no longer about him. It’s about the Gospel, redemption, and a life transformed by Christ. “The world needs salvation, and that salvation is through the church,” he added. His second act in Hollywood is a testament to that—proof that God can take someone who once chased worldly success and turn them into a vessel for His glory.
With humility and conviction, Arnett closed by reminding us all of a vital truth: “Without [God], we are in that same darkness. We can’t throw anybody away. We are redeemed so that we might be redeemers.” And so, as the curtain rises on this second act of Cameron Arnett’s career, it’s clear that his ultimate audience is no longer the world—it’s Heaven.
