The 12 Most Powerful Christians in Hollywood

Glitz, glam, and religion

Hollywood may have a well-deserved reputation for being a spiritual wasteland, but faith is hardly absent from Tinseltown. The following 12 Hollywood powerhouses are at the top of their game in movies or TV and are unabashed about proclaiming their Christian beliefs. And they're far from the exception. We chose them from dozens of candidates, in consultation with insiders and observers who are part of the Christian-Hollywood scene. Those who made the Beliefnet Power Dozen are here because they have the clout to choose their career direction, while keeping their faith and even injecting it into their work in subtle or not-so-subtle ways. Click here to find out who are the most powerful Christians in Hollywood.

Text by Michael Kress

Tyler Perry

Hollywood's golden boy of the moment, writer and actor Tyler Perry, seems to have a new movie or TV show coming out daily. Though well known for years among urban African Americans, Perry burst onto the Hollywood scene in 2005 with "Diary of a Mad Black Woman," which took in more than $50 million after being made on a $5.5 million budget. Since then, he's come out with the films "Madea's Family Reunion" (2006) and "Daddy's Little Girls" (2007). His second movie release of the year, "Why Did I Get Married?" arrives this month. He's also conquered the small screen, producing the sitcom "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," for which TBS reportedly gave him a whopping 100-episode commitment. Citing filmmakers who keep their faith "in the closet," Tyler told Beliefnet last year, "I'm not afraid to have a character say, 'I am a Christian,' or 'I believe in God,' because I think they represent real people on this earth."

Patricia Heaton

You know her as the harried wife and mother--and Ray Romano's comic foil--in the popular sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond," a role for which she was awarded two Emmys. Off-screen, she's not shy about making her faith or her opinions heard. Born a Catholic, she embraced evangelical Protestantism as an adult, and now attends a Presbyterian church and advocates on behalf of an anti-abortion group called Feminists for Life. Since "Raymond" ended, she has emceed a Christian comedy tour featured in the DVD "Thou Shalt Laugh," and told Beliefnet last year that she had "an opportunity to get back to reading and studying and praying more, which I didn't have much time for" while doing the show. That period of calm didn't last long, however: She returned to TV this fall, starring opposite Kelsey Grammer in the new sitcom "Back to You."

Photo Courtesy of Mike Meck

Denzel Washington

Not one to wear his faith on his sleeve, Denzel Washington surprised many by lending his voice to "The Bible Experience," an audio Bible featuring some of the country's top African-American stars. (Washington and his wife Pauletta narrate The Song of Songs.) The two-time Oscar winner is in the upper echelon of Hollywood actors, receiving a $20 million paycheck per movie. But his superstar status rises far above mere moviemaking. A 2006 Barna study found that Washington is better known and better loved than any living American religious figure. The son of a Pentecostal minister, he has reportedly donated $2.5 million to his church, the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. It was in the parking lot of that church that Washington landed the "Bible Experience" gig. Casting director Robi Reed told the L.A. Times that when she saw her fellow churchgoer and started describing the project, he interrupted her to say, "I have to do it."

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Photo Courtesy of Danielle Belton

Mel Gibson

Despite everything--a drunken-driving arrest, an anti-Semitic outburst, movies brimming with graphic violence--Mel Gibson still tops the list of most powerful Hollywood Christians. His "Passion of the Christ" changed everything for Hollywood when it comes to matters of faith, waking up the powers-that-be to the box office potential of the Christian audience. Since then, "making the next 'Passion'" has been Hollywood's own unique Holy Grail quest, resulting in movies successful ("The Chronicles of Narnia") and disappointing ("The Nativity Story"), and leading to the creation of FoxFaith and other religion-focused studio subsidiaries. And even after Gibson's Summer '06 PR nightmare, his "Apocalypto" went on to make a reported $50 million--and was seen by many as a Christian allegory, despite its ancient Mayan setting.

Photo Courtesy of Alan Light

Martin Sheen

Well known for his liberal political activism, Martin Sheen is a Catholic who chose his stage name in honor of Catholic theologian Fulton J. Sheen. Though he strayed from the Church, he returned after falling seriously ill during the filming of "Apocalypse Now." Sheen, an Emmy and Golden Globe winner, has often been quoted linking his faith and his activism. "You know, the essence of the Gospel of Jesus was extremely radical, and that's why they killed Him," he told one interviewer. To another he said, "It doesn't really matter how much of the rules or the dogma we accepted and lived by if we're not really living by the fundamental creed of the Catholic Church, which is service to others and finding God in ourselves and then seeing God in everyone--including our enemies." Most recently, he played President Josiah Bartlett on "The West Wing" as a liberal Catholic who was often known to debate theological issues and quote the Bible. Since his TV presidential administration ended, he's appeared in the Oscar-winning "The Departed" and made news protesting the Iraq war with Cindy Sheehan.

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Ralph Winter

Best known as the producer of such blockbusters as the "X-Men" trilogy, "The Planet of the Apes," and "The Fantastic Four," Ralph Winter has also produced such Christian fare as "Left Behind," "Thr3e," and "The Visitation" and works regularly for FoxFaith. He is also a frequent speaker at Christian conferences and prayer breakfasts. Of his unofficial but unrelenting role as a liaison between Hollywood and the Christian community, Winter told Beliefnet prior to the final "X-Men" release, "I have been placed in this job for a purpose, and I am just trying to make great movies and keep my eyes on Him. I don't deserve any praise....It is definitely all God's hand that I get to do this. And who knows how long this will last? He may choose someone else." Having brought in a reported career total (so far) of $1.6 billion, here's betting that Hollywood's decision-makers will stick with Winter.

Photo Courtesy of Vancouver Film School

Angela Bassett

She's played such iconic women as Rosa Parks, Betty Shabazz (Malcolm X's wife), and Tina Turner, and voiced Queen Esther in the audio "The Bible Experience." Along the way, Angela Bassett has picked up a Golden Globe and been nominated for an Oscar, an Emmy, and many other major awards. Like Denzel Washington, Bassett is a longtime worshipper at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. Though she rarely speaks to the media about her faith, Bassett recently told the L.A. Times, "When you realize that every breath is a gift from God. When you realize how small you are, but how much he loved you. That he, Jesus, would die, the son of God himself on earth, then you...you just weep." She added, "Loving God is like my being black. I just am. [No one says] 'You know what? I'm gonna be blacker today!' It's my culture. It's not something I put on or take off or show more. You just communicate that in the way you live your life."

Photo Courtesy of Danielle Belton

Kristin Chenoweth

Kristin Chenoweth's career has ranged from Broadway--where she was a Tony winner (for "Wicked")--to TV ("The West Wing," the short-lived "Kristin") to movies ("The Pink Panther," "RV," "Bewitched"). Last year, she was even fictionalized in ex-boyfriend Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," in which the character Harriet, the beautiful evangelical who stood firm in her faith while defying stereotypes of the closed-minded Christian, was widely assumed to be based on Chenoweth. She has spoken at Women of Faith conferences and released an album of Christian inspirational music called "As I Am." Having grown up dreaming of success in Christian music, Chenoweth has said, "I'm an actress and a singer and I'm also a Christian. We're not all crazy right-wingers. I just want to be like Jesus, forgiving and loving and nonjudgmental, accepting of everyone even if they don't agree."

Martha Williamson

The force behind the beloved series "Touched by an Angel," Martha Williamson is that rare producer who has name recognition and a following of her own. She has said the secret to the success of that series is that "We create a place every Sunday night where God's honored" and "God is the show's true executive producer." Williamson started her career writing for sitcoms such as "Facts of Life" and "Family Man," before transitioning to the hour-long drama "Touched..." and, later, its spinoff, "Promised Land," which ran for three years. Williamson has said that CBS asked her to take the helm of "Touched by an Angel" a few months before it was set to premiere, and she asked for--and received--their blessing to make a show that respects God and doesn't leave any doubt about the reality of angels. Since "Touched by an Angel" ended its nine-year run in 2003, Williamson has worked to connect with the show's fans on the Web and will soon be launching an inspirational video blog right here on Beliefnet.

Philip Anschutz

How does a multibillionaire former oilman and co-owner of several sports teams find himself on a list of Hollywood's most powerful Christians? By bankrolling some of the most critically acclaimed and financially successful family films of recent years, including "Ray" and "The Chronicles of Narnia." Both were created by production companies Anschutz founded to bring high-quality, uplifting family fare to theaters--Bristol Bay targeting adults and Walden Media for children. Walden's "Narnia," was marketed directly to evangelical Christians, who flocked to the film and helped propel it to the Number 2 spot for 2005 (behind the final "Star Wars") with nearly $300 million at the box office. Anschutz, a Denver resident active in conservative political causes, said he was driven to get into the movie business by his anger at the focus on sex and violence in mainstream films. "My wife and I now have a number of grandchildren who are growing up surrounded by products of this culture," Anschutz said in 2004. "So four or five years ago I decided to stop cursing the darkness."

Howard Kazanjian

He produced two of the best-known and commercially successful films of all time, "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Return Of The Jedi" and worked as assistant director with legendary filmmakers such as Alfred Hitchcock, Clint Eastwood, and Francis Ford Coppola. More recently, Howard Kazanjian produced the first season of the hit series "JAG" and the movies "The Rookie," starring Clint Eastwood, "Demolition Man," starring Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, and "The Bridge of San Luis Rey," starring Robert De Niro. Yet Kazanjian also has had time to serve on the faculty of Act One, a program that trains Christians for mainstream Hollywood success, on the jury of the Damah Film Festival, which features spiritually themed movies, and on the board of trustees at the Christian college Azusa Pacific University.

Scott Derrickson

Scott Derrickson may not be a household name, but you may be familiar with his next project: "Paradise Lost." Yes, that "Paradise Lost," John Milton's epic poem. And he's reportedly got a budget of around $100 million to make it. Not bad for a guy who's best known for the horror films "The Exorcism of Emily Rose" and "Hellraiser: Inferno." If horror may seem like an unlikely genre for a Christian filmmaker, Derrickson--raised a fundamentalist, now a self-described "orthodox Christian"--sees it as part and parcel of his faith. "By approaching spiritual issues and religious questions through the window of the horrific or the dark side of life, you suddenly had free reign to deal with spirituality in a way that was not going to be preachy or come off as propaganda," he told Beliefnet in 2005.

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