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Conservative Star Kelsey Grammer On His Difficult Path To Faith Ahead Of Upcoming Movie ‘Jesus Revolution’

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Conservative television and movie star Kelsey Grammer stars in an upcoming movie called the “Jesus Revolution,” a film about a real-life spiritual awakening, something he’s familiar with following a series of tragedies in his life.

The 67-year-old actor will join Angel Studios‘ “The Chosen” star Jonathan Roumie who plays hippie preacher Lonnie Frisbee in the film directed by Jon Erwin. It deals with the true story of the “national spiritual awakening” of the “early 1970s and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California,” according to a news release, Christian Headlines reported.

“Jesus has been a profound influence in my life,” Grammer shared with the outlet. “I am proud to be a part of this film.”

The actor brings the late Chuck Smith, the pastor who founded the Calvary Chapel movement and mentor to Pastor Greg Laurie, to life, the outlet noted. Produced by Kingdom Story Company and Lionsgate, the “Jesus Revolution,” centers on Laurie, then a young man who experienced a spiritual awakening under Smith’s guidance.

“The movie is set in a very specific time and place, but the theme of finding a deeper meaning to life, in the midst of a fractured and broken world, is timeless,” Erwin shared.

“In his iconic performances, Kelsey has a proven ability to connect with audiences in a real, vulnerable way, which will make him a tremendous presence in this film,” he added.


Grammer is probably best known for his roes as Dr. Frasier CraneHowever, unlike the calm, smooth, mild mannered character people saw on their TV screens, Grammer dealt with tremendous loss throughout his life that “nearly destroyed” him and an addiction to alcohol that landed him behind bars.

In 2017, the “Down Periscope” star admitted that as a child he had “spiritual youth,” but after losing one loved one after another, that faith was challenged. It started when he was 12.

After his father, Frank Allen Grammer Jr., left his mother, Grammer and his mom moved in with his grandfather. His grandfather, however, soon contracted cancer and died. 

Then, when he was 13, his father was killed in a home invasion. In 1975, Kelsey’s sister, Karen, was kidnapped by four men, raped, and eventually murdered by a man named Freddie Lee Glenn.

“I miss her in my bones,” Kelsey wrote to the parole board in 2009, the outlet noted. “I was her big brother. I was supposed to protect her — I could not … It very nearly destroyed me.”

And then, in 1980, his half-brothers, Stephen and Billy, died in a diving accident.

With one tragedy after another, Kelsey admitted at one point, “I probably lost it [his faith],” The Radio Times noted. “I abandoned the effort to find a reason to be alive.”

The actor said he started drinking to try and escape the pain of his past.

“I was running away from the feelings that weren’t, you know, as comfortable as I wanted them to do be, and maybe I do have a self-destructive part of me,” Grammer shared.

But through these new emotional difficulties he kept his faith.

“Kayte and I had a couple of miscarriages before we had our first child,” the actor explained. “That was devastating. These things are hard. But when it’s good, it’s magnificent.”

In 2021, Grammer told Fox News, that faith is “something you have to fight for” as he looked back on how far he’s come with his addiction, when he promoted his business the Faith American Brewing Company and talked about his children.

“It’s no accident that it’s called Faith American,” Grammer explained at the time. “My daughter’s name is Faith, but there’s also action in faith. Faith is something you have to fight for.”

“We fought for this beautiful child in our lives, and she’s our first child,” he added. “And the idea of America is still something I’m willing to fight for. So faith in America, we’re still doing it … I’m very proud of it.”

These days, Grammer is called dad by seven children: Spencer, with ex-wife Doreen Alderman; Greer, with hair and makeup stylist Barrie Buckner; Mason and Jude, with ex-wife Camille Donatacci; and Faith, Kelsey Jr., and Auden, whom he shares with Kayte.

“As a Christian, we always fail because we can’t become Christ,” Grammer previously shared. “But I can try to at least emulate the best qualities, even if I may fall short.”

“Jesus Revolution” hits theaters February 22.

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