Speaking to Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) News in an interview, Hollywood star Brett Varvel spoke about his Christian faith and how he aims to use his position and talents to bring that Christian faith and the hope attendant with it to Hollywood. Varvel is currently starring in “Country Rescue,” a show on Great American Family.
As background, Great American Family largely aims to compete with the Hallmark Channel, which it sees as having left Christians behind in recent years by developing plots that are not Christian in their themes, particularly in their portrayals of non-traditional marriages and relationships. Such is how GAF brought actress Candace Cameron Bure on board, and how it appeals to many of America’s Christians.
Speaking about “Country Rescue,” a drama with significant Christian elements, to CBN News, Varvel explained that its Christian themes and values are what help set it apart from other medical dramas. He said, “The thing that we explore in this show that’s maybe different from other medical dramas is that we go into the interpersonal workings of this ensemble that we have on screen.”
Continuing, he noted that those themes help the show answer important life questions, drawing people into not only the drama of the plot but also thinking about important life moments. He said, “And we see real-life questions: What do you do when you’re trying to discover your purpose in life? What do you do when things don’t go your way? What do you do when tragedy strikes?”
Varvel also spoke, in the interview, about how he got into the entertainment space and how his faith was part of that journey from the very beginning. “When I was 18 years old, I had entered a short film that I made into a statewide arts competition in Indiana, where I’m from,” Varvel said. “It was just a proclamation of what Jesus has done in my life. I’ve been set free from my sin. I’ve been born again,” he noted.
Then, he described how his film not only managed to win first place in the state, but also helped bring people to Christ, something he found incredibly impactful. Describing how he saw one man poke his head into a screening of the movie and give his life to Christ after seeing it, Varvel said, “My film was playing and I heard about a janitor who peeked his head in and ended up giving his life to Jesus after watching my film.”
That moment was so impactful and powerful that it led him to think about using his acting talents to help lead people to Christ. Describing how the incident changed his life, Varvel said, “And it was like, in that moment, I saw this new direction in life that God wanted me to go in, which was to take the talents and abilities that He’s given me and to proclaim hope to people.”
Describing how that then grounded him in the faith and is part of why he loves his current “Country Rescue” role, Varvel then said, “What I’ve always grounded myself in is, I want to be about the truth found in God’s Word, the biblical promises that we see that are going to lead us to hope in life, an eternal life in Jesus.” He continued, “And that’s why I love the show like ‘County Rescue.’”
Watch Varvel here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video