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4 Actors You Didn’t Know Were Pastor’s Kids

4 Actors You Didn’t Know Were Pastor’s Kids

By Tess Farrand, Staff Writer

  1. J. Michael Finley (pictured above)

J. Michael Finely gained recognition for his first on-screen role as Bart Millard, playing the lead singer of the band MercyMe in the faith-based movie I CAN ONLY IMAGINE. Finely was raised in Missouri where his father Wayne Finley was a Baptist minister. In a recent interview with Movieguide®, Finely said he connected with his childhood faith with I CAN ONLY IMAGINE, stating, “for me this whole project… it’s kind of a coming home story.”

Finley married his wife in December of 2017 and is up for a Movieguide® Award for his performance in I CAN ONLY IMAGINE. Make sure to watch the program on the Hallmark Channel at 10 pm Eastern, 9 pm Central, or 10 pm Pacific to find out if he wins.

  1. John Boyega

British actor John Boyega starred as Finn in STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS. Boyega’s parents, Samson and Abigail, immigrated from Nigeria to London, England where they raised John and his sibling’s Blessing and Grace. Boyega’s father is a Pentecostal preacher and his mother works with the disabled. For a time, Boyega strayed from his faith, but returned with a renewed sense of peace. The actor has opened up about how his parents implemented prayer in his childhood.

Currently, John is gearing up to produce a new movie called GOD IS GOOD and is filming the next STAR WARS movie directed by J.J. Abrams.

  1. Nick Jonas

In the heyday of the late ’00s, Nick Jonas along with his two older brothers, Kevin and Joe, were a part of a band called The Jonas Brothers that played at the MOVIEGUIDE® Awards and catapulted their careers. However, before fame, Nick was raised in a Christian home where his father, Kevin Sr,. was an ordained worship leader and pastor of an Assemblies of God church. As he grew older, his beliefs shifted, “I’ve had an incredibly intense journey with faith and religion and my growth. My belief in God is still very strong and important to me as a person, and I think that’s all that should matter.” He continued, “the other things around it are not as important to me as my relationship with God. There are a lot of things that I feel I agree with, and things I don’t. I grew up in a church environment, and still have love for the Church, but what’s important to me now in my life is my relationship with God, and that I not be judged, and that I not judge.”

Today, Nick has his own solo career in pop music and starred alongside Dwayne Johnson in JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE. He recently married Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra. The pair had both a Christian wedding, which Nick’s father officiated and a Hindu wedding, per Chopra’s background.

  1. Adam Driver 

Adam Driver is most known for playing the villain, Kylo Ren, in STAR WARS: THE FORCE  AWAKENS. Yet, before his debut in Hollywood, Driver grew up in Indiana with his mother, who’s a paralegal and his stepfather, who’s a Baptist minister. As a teenager, Driver even sang in church choir. Although he has starred alongside Liam Neeson in the movie SILENCE that follows Christian missionaries in Japan in the 17th century, Driver doesn’t hold the same Christian beliefs with which he was raised.

As a young adult, Driver enlisted in the Marines after 9/11, served for two years before a medical discharge and moved to New York to pursue acting.  He has been married to his wife Joanne since 2013.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.