How Kristoffer Polaha Relied on Prayer Throughout His Career
By Movieguide® Contributor
In a recent Jesus Calling Podcast, actor, producer, and director Kristoffer Polaha shares his journey into acting and trusting God in the process.
On the podcast, he shared fondly about his childhood.
“We skied in the winter, and we went up to the lakes in the summer” he said. “I had a best friend named Graham growing up, and he used to play G.I. Joe and tennis and hang out. We had a ditch below his house, and we had a little rope swing that we’d swing over the ditch. It truly was like one of those cool childhoods.”
When he played as a child, Kristoffer explained how in his mind, everything was a movie.
“My imagination used to run out in the same way that movies did. So I would see shots in my head, and then I would cut to another shot in my head. So my imagination, it was weird. It was like I was a boxer, but I was a boxer in a movie, or I was a soldier, but I was a soldier in the movie.”
When Kristoffer was 14, he requested to attend boarding school, and his parents obliged. He has a really difficult time and was homesick often. One day, in response to a bully who was picking on his friend, he punched a glass window. When he was in the dean’s office, the dean encouraged him to find an afterschool activity. This is how Kristoffer first got into acting. He began doing plays and performed in his very first play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” as only a freshman.
Despite all the wonderful opportunities God was giving him, Kristoffer went through a period at the end of high school of studying other religions. However, God soon led him back to focus on Him.
“And it’s so funny because God put this guy, Ryan Johnson, in my room,” he said. “He’s like, ‘Man, you’re doing all this stuff around the world. Why don’t you just read the Bible, man?’”
Kristoffer got involved in a Bible study and never looked back.
Kristoffer began a career in the film industry. As his career progressed, Kristoffer still went through difficult times and God helped him through. He shared an amazing example of this on the podcast.
“It was a show called Miss Guided for ABC. We were on the schedule to be picked up Thursday night. Friday morning they took us off the schedule and that was their last day.” This put Kristoffer in a difficult position. Having not worked for over a year, he was desperate. “We had a mortgage and literally the house had gone into foreclosure. I mean, it was real, it was serious. We had our baby boy, and my wife was pregnant at that time with another one.”
Kristoffer and his wife decided to pray.
“And as soon as I started praying, about three minutes into this prayer, the phone rang and it was the director, this guy named Todd Holland… And he’s like, ‘You were the first call I’m making because I know how important this is to you, and I know how much you’ve been praying for us. And I just want you to know that I don’t know how, it’s kind of a miracle, but we are back on the schedule and they have picked up the show.’”
Kristoffer and his wife were so thankful to God for this miracle.
Today Kristoffer is still working on different projects and leaning on God. He also became involved in the Hallmark channel in 2016.
According to US Weekly, “While Wagner did a few projects for Hallmark’s main competitor, Great American Media, in 2021 and 2022, Polaha has stayed committed to the original TV home of all-things Christmas.”
Kristoffer is still very public about his faith. This past Father’s Day, he shared a sweet photo on Instagram with him and his 3 sons. His caption stated “At our best, father try to forge a path in this world that feels safe and fun and shows the way. At our very best, we serve to reflect the heavenly Father’s love.”
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