Lucas Black has his priorities in order. The former “NCIS” actor may be successful in Hollywood, but he doesn’t put anything before God and his family. Black told Fox News Digital of his new movie, “Unsung Hero,” which chronicles how the family of Christian pop band For King & Country’s Luke and Joel Smallbone first came to the U.S. to rebuild their lives, “This is one that’s a story that is about faith and family. And so, you know, that’s important in my life.”
Black continued, “So, I was excited. I was excited to get it because some of these stories, they don’t come around very often and, you know, so that was a blessing.” Black said he was also grateful that the movie was shot in Louisville, Kentucky, not far from where he lives with his wife and three children. He said, “We found two weeks in Louisville, and so I was happy to be, you know — family and close here to home and Kentucky.” Black told Fox News Digital he also relates to his character Jed Albright as a husband and father of faith.
He explained, “I’m married, I have three kids, and, you know, my character’s a churchgoer, and, so am I — so, you know, trying to be a man of God, live by faith and be there for the relationships, be present, for my wife and my kids. And, you know, Jed seems like the person that was the same way. He, in the script, he’s wanting to do good and help the community and be the man that God’s called him to be.” He added, “I’m honored to be a part of this story and what it promotes, you know, family and trying to be a good man of God.” Black said he and his wife of 14 years, Maggie O’Brien, a lawyer, have kept their marriage strong by “not putting the career before our relationship.
He said, “When we made that covenant with each other and before God and before man, you know, she becomes the number one person in my life and is over everything else. So, nothing should get in the way of that. And so, you know, it’s communicating each other’s needs and — but we, we keep Jesus at the center. He’s the head. We can’t do it without him.” Black joked that his wife “knows I’m going to mess up and, so, my wife has to be full of grace. And that only comes from the power of God to put up with my shenanigans.”
Black continued, “It’s very fulfilling. As a man, we kind of yearn for that purpose, you know? And there are some things that I have learned in life. And, you know, for me, I want to pass that on. Right? I want to teach it to my children. And hopefully they can become responsible adults and make a contribution to the world and make an impact for good and grow the kingdom.” Black also left his role as Christopher LaSalle after several seasons on “NCIS” and “NCIS: New Orleans” because of his family.
He said, “I would work 70 hours a week and so there would be times where I would go to work, and my kids would still be asleep, and I would come home, and they would be already in bed asleep. So, that doesn’t bode too well — that kind of schedule doesn’t bode too well for the relationships that mean the most in your life. So, I knew it wasn’t going to last forever for me.”Black said he finally left the CBS crime series after lots of “prayer and consideration.” Living out his beliefs in the public eye hasn’t always been easy — he’s faced criticism for his conservative viewpoints — but Black said the encouragement he receives from fellow believers outweighs any backlash.
“I pray about what God wants me to do,” he said. “He’s spoken to me to be an encourager to the Body of Christ. There’s more positive that comes out of being bold about my faith than we can ever really imagine. But most of it comes from people who are in the body of Christ and believers who tell me how thankful they are that I stand up for what I believe in, I stand up for the Gospel, and I am resilient.”