Credit: David Shankbone, Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0
Actor Ryan Phillippe, 49, has had leading roles in several movies over the past few years, including Gosford Park and The Lincoln Lawyer. He recently admitted that he was spiritually impacted by his most recent role in a movie called Prey, CBN reports.
It is the story of a missionary couple who were ministering in the Kalahari Desert, a large (900,000 sq km) Savannah area in Southern Africa found mostly in Botswana but also extends into Namibia and South Africa.
An extremist group forces a missionary couple to flee their station by plane. After the plane crashes in the desert, the husband faces a crisis of faith and he and his wife are forced to fight man, the hostile climate, and animals to survive.
In an interview with Fox News, Phillippe spoke about how his role impacted him.
“I got back into reading the Bible and various other religious tomes, but I found myself drawn to this notion of spirituality,” the actor said.
He added that just before shooting the movie, “I was kind of in a darker place when we filmed this, and it was right after filming it where I went on this spiritual journey where I started going really deep inside,”
“You get to a point in life, a certain age, and the things that you thought would bring you pleasure or make you feel satisfied — these would be success or money — and it doesn’t,” he continued.
“I’m so thankful for what I’ve been given and for the experiences that I’ve had and for my children and everything else, but I wanted to have a relationship and understanding with God, and I was craving that.”
“And I’ve got to tell you, since I started that journey, I have not been more at peace. My depression is gone. I shedded addictions so I’m a big proponent for people going inward and trying to understand those aspects of life.”
I am not sure where Phillippe is at in his walk of faith, but it reminds me of Nicodemus, a pharisee, (John 3), and the rich young ruler (Mark 10:17-27) both of whom were spiritually drawn to Christ.
One we would never hear of again, but Nicodemus would help prepare Christ’s body for burial (John 19).
So as Tré Goins-Phillips concludes in his article for CBN, “Please continue to pray for Phillippe’s salvation.”
