Kelsey Grammer talked about his own personal faith emotionally while discussing his new film in which he plays a pastor that invited hippies into his church congregation.
Grammer, who most people will know from his work on Frasier or his iconic role as Sideshow Bob on The Simpsons, is set to star in a real-life true story as Chuck Smith, an American pastor who decided to reinvigorate his church by introducing a little rock and roll into proceedings.
To do that, he asked some hippies along, as well as enlisting the help of street pastor Lonnie Frisbee – played in this film by Jonathan Roumie.
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It’s called Jesus Revolution and when Grammer first watched it he says that his wife Kayte Walsh loved it so much that she was moved to tears.
The 68-year-old star said: “It’s really uplifting. It’s a good movie,
“My wife and I saw it together. She was just dissolved in tears and said, ‘It’s the best thing you’ve ever done.'”
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Grammer himself was raised as a Christian Scientist, but later became a protestant and says he remembers the Jesus hippies from way back in the 60s and 70s.
“They were energized and optimistic, and I thought that was a great thing to see,” he said.
Speaking to USA Today, Grammer spoke about how his character helped to breathe new life into his religion by including those who had previously been on the outside.
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“What Chuck did went back to one of the basic precepts of Christianity, which is inclusion,” he said.
“He thought, ‘Well, I’m doing it this way and people aren’t listening,' so he finally surrendered. He said, ‘You show me a hippie and I’ll listen.’
“Sure enough, it became a very dynamic relationship between him and Lonnie Frisbee.
“It became a great adventure, which is still going on.
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“His [Calvary Chapel] church branched into 1,000 churches around the country and it still exists.
“Christian contemporary music is going gangbusters and (the Jesus movement) put that at his doorstep.”
However, the role was more than just a paycheck for Grammer, as his faith is clearly very important to him.
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Grammer continued: “I’ve had hiccups. I’ve had some tragic times,
“I have wrestled with those and worked my way through them: sometimes rejecting faith, sometimes rejecting God even, in a period of being pretty angry about it, like, ‘Where were you?’ That kind of thing.
“But I have come to terms with it and have found great peace in my faith and in Jesus.
“It’s not cavalier — Jesus made a difference in my life. That’s not anything I’ll apologize for.”
Jesus Revolution is out in cinemas now.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Religion
Tom Wood