In an industry often criticized for sidelining religious viewpoints, actor David Henrie says he’s noticing a change: Hollywood executives are asking for faith-driven stories, and the former Disney teen star believes Christians should meet the moment.
Henrie, who rose to fame as Justin Russo on the Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place” and now stars in “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place,” said the industry’s posture toward faith has changed in ways he didn’t expect.
“Now people are much more accepting about people of faith,” Henrie, who is a devout Catholic, told Fox News Digital, describing what he sees as a noticeable change from a decade ago. He said he regularly hears executives asking for “content for people of faith” because they’re “underrepresented” on screen.
Henrie’s push for value-driven storytelling has become more personal since becoming a father, he said, shaping the kinds of projects he wants to champion and the kind of content he wants available for families like his.
“I really wanted to find a way to use everything God’s given me to tell stories on a bigger scale,” he said, explaining why he launched Novo Inspire Studios, a production company he describes as focused on “entertaining and elevating content.”
“How many times you’ve been watching something and you’re like, ‘Oh, why’d they put this scene in?’ Or, ‘Oh, what’s this agenda coming into play?’” he said about frustrations audiences have over agenda-driven programming. “Like, I just want to watch a good movie and have a good time. If you’ve ever felt that before, you’re our audience.”
Henrie’s latest project, an EWTN Studios partnership called “Seeking Beauty,” is a travel docuseries set in Italy that explores the country’s art, architecture, food and culture as a path pointing to God.
Henrie told Fox News Digital the “core of the show is a travel show,” but he wanted it to go “deeper than what you’re used to seeing.” Instead of positioning himself as the expert, he said he explores these sites as an “average person” encountering great works and asking the questions people at home would want to ask.
One moment that made a lasting impression came while touring Milan’s Duomo Cathedral, where Henrie said he discovered a statue of a human figure with meticulously carved details like veins and eyelids, hidden high on the rooftop, far from public view.
“I remember asking our guide… ‘Why put this here? It seems like, wouldn’t you want to put this front and center for people to see?'” Henrie recalled. “The expert looked at me and smiled and said, ‘Well, David, some things are just for God.'”
Henrie said the answer challenged him, both as a storyteller and as a believer.
“If you were to tell me right now, ‘David, go make a show and a movie and then like, no one sees it…’ I’d be like, ‘No, I don’t have that kind of faith,’” he said, laughing. “I want people to see it!”
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For Henrie, the series reflects his own journey living out his faith on screen and off.
“It’s that quote [attributed to] St. Francis of Assisi… ‘Preach the Gospel at all times; use words if necessary.’ So lead through action, lead through genuinely living your faith. And that’s what I seek to do every day. Rarely do you ever have to bring it up. You just try to love your neighbor,” he said.
Henrie believes the entertainment world’s renewed interest in spiritual themes signals something bigger, a cultural opening where people of faith can help shape the industry rather than simply react to it.
“The cool part about getting to make ‘Seeking Beauty’ is we got to go to a place where… [it] was the birthplace of the Renaissance, the place that has some of the most beautiful art, architecture, poetry that mankind has ever made,” he said. “So we got to visit a society that’s long past, but… really influenced the culture that was on the forefront of cultural movements in every respect.”
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He believes faith-driven art has shaped civilization before and it can again.
“And I think we’re in the midst of a change right now. We’re in a midst of the new renaissance where a lot of great faith-based filmmakers have proven that there is an audience there and that there’s a demand and there’s business there,” he said.
Instead of retreating from the culture, Henrie argues, people of faith should engage with it and elevate it.
“We’re in a moment, and we need artists to rise up and really make excellent, beautiful things,” Henrie added. “And I’m excited for that.”
