Man vs. Wild star Bear Grylls, a faithful Christian apparently helped baptize comedian, actor, and new Christian Russell Brand when Brand was baptized in late April of 2024. Such is what Brand said in a video posted to X about the experience, saying that Grylls and another close friend were there with him when he underwent the important experience.
He said, in the video posted to X on May 6, “I want to thank Bear Grylls and my mate Joe, the two men who stood on either side of me and flanked me for the baptism.” Continuing, he added that the experience of getting baptized “was pretty incredible.”
Grylls later confirmed his role in Brand’s baptism, telling The Daily Mail, “Faith and spiritual moments in our lives are really personal, but it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above. Friendships when we go through tough times are worth so much.”
As background, Brand announced that he would be baptized on X a few days before the baptism ended up occurring on Sunday, April 28. In the video announcing his baptism, Brand said that he sees baptism as “an opportunity to die and be reborn; an opportunity to leave the past behind and be reborn in Christ’s name like it says in Galatians — that you can live as an enlightened and awakened person.”
He later added that the modern world lacks meaning of the sort Christianity provides, saying, “I know a lot of people are sort of cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it’s obvious.” He added, “As meaning deteriorates in the modern world, as our value systems and institutions crumble, all of us become increasingly aware that there is this eerily familiar awakening and beckoning figure that we’ve all known all of our lives, within us and around us. And for me, it’s very exciting.”
Then, after he was baptized, he spoke about the experience in a video posted to X on Monday, April 29, Brand said that the event was an incredible experience. Beginning, he said, “Yesterday I got baptized, and it was an incredible, profound experience.” Continuing, he described the spiritual experience as “overwhelming,” even when compared to the substances he has consumed while chasing a way to fill the void that this baptism and the faith surrounding it eventually did. Explaining as much, he said, “Many aspects of it were very intimate and personal. The truth is this, as a person who has in the past, taken many, many substances and always been disappointed with their inability to deliver the kind of tranquility and peace and even transcendence that I’ve always felt I’ve been looking for … something occurred in the process of baptism that was incredible; overwhelming.”
Brand added that he feels like a new person now, saying, “I felt changed. Transitioned.” Similarly, he noted, “I feel as if some new resource within me has switched on.” He then said, “This is new for me, I’m learning … but this is my path now,” Brand said. “And I already feel incredibly blessed, relieved, nourished, held. It’s been an incredible experience.” Concluding, he said, “I’m so grateful to be surrendered in Christ.”
Watch Brand talk about the role Grylls had in his baptism here:
Featured image credit: By steve_w – https://www.flickr.com/photos/steve_way/27844572372/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=111145515