Christian Actor in Hollywood: ‘Can I Do This in Front of Jesus?’
Read time: 3 minutes 33 seconds
Money and power have been powerful tools used by Satan to pull down Christians into his world and silence their testimony.
Being an actor in Hollywood brings with it a test of one’s faith that few have experienced. The fame. The personal glory. The money. All these and more are used to seduce one away from their faith and into a life of the flesh.
This is not to say it is impossible for a grounded Christian to not only survive in TinselTown but to thrive and be used by the Lord as an example to millions.
Such is the case for T.C. Stallings, who has starred in such hit films as “War Room,” “God’s Compass” and “Unbridled.”
In an interview with Christian Headlines, Stallings talks about the decision-making process he goes through for roles, as well as his journey to where the Lord has planted him now.
“When a role is offered to me, or an audition or anything like that, I’ll just say to myself, ‘Can I do this in front of Jesus?’ It’s that simple,” Stallings said.
“There is no way Jesus is going to stand next to me if He is my agent or my manager and say, ‘Hey, you can go ahead and say that MF right there. … You can get, you know, naked and do sex scenes, and you do all these different crazy things.’ As a true Christ follower, if I turn to Jesus and say, ‘Can I do this?’ He needs to be able to say ‘yes’ to it,” he continued.
With how prominent graphic sex scenes have become due in part to the success of media such as “Game of Thrones,” it has become a true test of one’s character to turn down the amount of money offered for gratuitous scenes that now permeate media.
Even secular actors such as Emilia Clarke of “Game of Thrones” fame spoke out about the pressure put on actors to expose themselves for the camera.
“I’ve had fights on set before, where I’m like, ‘No, the sheet stays up,’ and they’re like, ‘You don’t wanna disappoint your “Game of Thrones” fans,'” Clarke said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
Stallings however, has drawn a line in the sand, and is standing by his faith first and foremost.
“I will do anything as long as when Jesus sees it, He would sign off on it,” Stallings said.
In the Christian walk, there are times when a believer will question why the Lord has them at a particular point, not being able to see the big picture that God has for them. Stallings endured seasons like this when going to audition after audition, only to find that his faith conflicted with the content of the role.
“If I got the audition, it would be a lot of times where I get there or whatever, you look at the material, and I’m just like, ‘I can’t do this. … I can’t even say this.’… I’m there, and I’m saying to myself, ‘Why does the Lord even have me here?'”
It was during these times that Stallings learned to wait on the Lord, to persevere in hope and faith that he was where God wanted him to be, even if the fruit had not manifested yet.
“The Lord operates in some interesting ways. A lot of the roles that I’ve auditioned for, I never was meant to get them,” he said. “It’s the conversations that I was having in a weight room with these other actors and actresses, who are trying to follow Jesus [that were important].”
Staying grounded in the Word has strengthened Stallings in his faith to stay true to the lifestyle the Bible teaches, and for Christians to abide by. He is now in his sixth year of reading the Bible during the 12-month calendar period.
“This is God’s living World. I learn something every single year,” he explained. “The ‘no’s’ to these roles is not them rejecting me. It is God rejecting them.”
Citing Psalm 139:16, Stallings details the peace that comes from being fully reliant on God: “God basically has my roles already planned,” he concluded. “… That’s where the peace comes from.” {eoa}
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.
