
Bear Grylls Helped Baptize Russell Brand: ‘A Privilege’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Actor and comedian Russell Brand recently shared that Bear Grylls helped baptize him in the River Thames.
“I want to thank Bear Grylls and my mate Joe, the two men who stood on either side of me and flanked me for the baptism,” Brand said in a video posted to social media. “It was pretty incredible.”
First week as a Christian and the biggest challenge has been… pic.twitter.com/GHTL8g0Orl
— Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) May 6, 2024
Grylls confirmed his role in the baptism, telling The Daily Mail, “Faith and spiritual moments in our lives are really personal, but it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above. Friendships when we go through tough times are worth so much.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Brand’s decision to be baptized:
After sharing on social media that he got baptized at the end of April, actor and comedian Russell Brand went further in-depth into his decision, explaining why now was the time to devote his life to Christ.
“I’ve reached a point in my life where, for a long while, in fact, I’ve known that the material world was not enough…I’ve learned as an addict in recovery [that] the pursuit of my own goals on my own agenda always leaves me cold and always leaves me empty and always leaves me wanting more,” Brand said.
“You can never have enough of what you don’t really want. For me, this is a new discovery. It is a surrender, undertaken in gratitude and in sincerity. I know it’s not something I’ll be able to undertake perfect but for the first time in my life, I fully understand that I’m not at the center of my universe,” he continued.
Brand has been detailing his faith journey online. In one video, he explained why he feels so many people are turning to God today.
“People are so cynical about the increasing interest in Christianity and the return to God, but to me, it’s obvious,” he said. “As meaning deteriorates in the modern world, as our value systems and institutions crumble, all of us become increasingly aware that there is this eerily familiar awakening and beckoning figure that we’ve all known all of our lives, within us and around us.”
Grylls has previously spoken about the role faith plays in his own life.
“For me, having a Christian faith can be difficult to articulate. It’s like describing ice cream or swimming—it has to be tried to be felt,” he wrote in an essay for GQ. “But, in a nutshell, my faith tells me that I am known, that I am secure and that I am loved—regardless of the storms I may find myself in from time to time, regardless of how often I fall and fail. In my life, I am yet to meet a man or woman not open to being loved and forgiven. Who doesn’t want to find peace or live with joy overflowing?”
RICHARD EDEN: How Bear Grylls helped to baptise Russell Brand in the Thames after the comic converted to Christianity https://t.co/CHw8cR0VLJ pic.twitter.com/gxDHipOYpI
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 7, 2024