
Actor Sir David Suchet: ‘I’m A Christian By Faith’
By Allen Rushing, Movieguide® Contributor
Actor Sir David Courtney Suchet has become known for many things – his 25-year-spanning, celebrated cinematic portrayal of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, to name just one – but something he is less known for is his Christian faith, which he has said “sees me through a great deal of my life.”
Suchet has remarked that his conversion to Christianity was late, taking place in 1986 when he was 40, while he was staying in a hotel room where he took up a Bible and began to read Romans 8. He was later baptized into the Church of England. In a 1998 interview with The Strand Magazine, Suchet said: “I’m a Christian by faith….I very much believe in the principles of Christianity…”
He contrasts his conversion with that of one of his heroes, St. Paul, whom he always hoped to portray in film, saying that his was not immediate, but took place over 20 years from 1986 to 2007 until he reached a “‘total faith’ in Jesus”. In an interview with Christianity Magazine, he said of his experience: “I finally found a way of being, and a way of existing, and a way of thinking…and looking at the world in a completely different way.”
This “different way” of “looking at the world” is the uniqueness of the Biblical Worldview that he is here describing. In his words: “I found something…I felt I’d been looking for perhaps most of my adult life…a coherent philosophy I could really relate to. Christianity offered me that.”
The renowned actor continues his staunch devotion to “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) to this day, even going so far as to boldly contradict the media juggernaut, The Times, when it misquoted and misrepresented his comments regarding his faith in 2018. He took to Twitter to respond, posting: “The Times headline ‘Religious fanatics leads Suchet to question his faith.’ Is not accurate. My faith is as strong as ever! Bad reporting!”
As a man of faith with such a standing in the cinematic world, and who has been and remains an inspiration to many, let us be encouraged by and pray for David Suchet as he continues to stand his ground in the face of the world’s opposition and increasing persecution.