Mick Unplugged - Bonus Episode 4 | Cameron Arnett: Faith and Filmmaking - Mick Unplugged

Episode Date: April 16, 2024

Mick Hunt engages with Cameron Arnett, delving into his inspiring shift from mainstream Hollywood to faith-based cinema. Cameron shares his journey of prioritizing his faith over his career, his contributions to Christian filmmaking, and the joys of working alongside his wife in their shared mission. This episode illuminates the power of faith in reshaping one's career and the impact of Christian storytelling in the entertainment industry.Cameron Arnett's Background: Transition from mainstream Hollywood to a prominent figure in faith-based cinema, making impactful choices aligned with his spiritual beliefs.Defining Moments: Cameron's experiences in Hollywood, his spiritual journey, and the establishment of his production company and nonprofit organization alongside his wife, BJ.Discussion Topics:Cameron's decision to leave Hollywood due to a conflict with his Christian values and the transformative impact of that choice on his life and career.This podcast provides insights into Cameron's return to acting within the faith-based film industry, highlighting the role of divine guidance in his career path.His upcoming projects, including "The Forge" and his involvement in "47 Days with Jesus," showcase his commitment to roles that inspire and align with his faith.Key Quotes:"Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all things will be added to you.""There is no greater motivator than Christ."Next Steps:Watch: Explore Cameron Arnett's films, including "The Forge" and "47 Days with Jesus," to witness his inspiring work in faith-based cinema.Reflect: Consider how your values influence your career choices and personal growth.Engage: Share your thoughts on the episode using #MickUnplugged and explore how faith and values can intersect with professional life. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you ready to change your habits, sculpt your destiny, and light up your path to greatness? Welcome to the epicenter of transformation. This is Mic Unplugged. We'll help you identify your because, so you can create a routine that's not just productive, but powerful. You'll embrace the art of evolution, adapt strategies to stay ahead of the game, and take a step toward the extraordinary. So let's unleash your potential. Now, here's Mick. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another episode of Mick Unplugged. And in today's episode, we're diving deep into the journey of a man who once left the glittering lights of Hollywood behind, driven by his own convictions only to redefine success on his own terms in the world of faith

based entertainment. From the iconic sets of Miami Vice and Star Trek The Next Generation, to leading roles that inspire and tell his story. That's truly a testament of power over faith. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the stage, my man, the incomparable Cameron Arnett. Cameron, how are you doing, brother? Wow. I want to live up to that introduction, brother. You do every day in life, man. You do every day in life. It's the goodness and grace of God. There's no credit involved. We all come from that background of sin and craziness and being lost to a morals and spiritual beliefs. Can you share with us what that period of transition was like and what fueled your return to becoming the leading figure in faith to face film? Well, you know, I like to tell people again when when I deal with all this is that acting shows me twice and I never really did choose to be an actor or to even be within entertainment. It really is something that chose me twice.

And I have come to realize why now, but it took a long time before that realization came and it came through kind of some weird circumstances. More than a decade ago, several decades ago, being in Hollywood, I had just come back to California from Toronto, Canada, doing a movie of the week. And my then manager said to me, hey, you know, he called and said, hey, they want to see you for this role. They're really high on you. They asked me for you to come in specifically, you know,

because there are certain points in times of your matriculation through Hollywood that you grow from, you know, to whoever you may come to be. But so I came and I went back, did the movie of the week, came back to L.A. and auditioned. A lot of great people in the room, a lot of great names and end up getting the role. And so it would have been my first starring role, you know, love interest and all that kind of stuff, all the big stuff that, you know, you work for all your life as an actor, right? So I get the role and they send the contracts in and my manager and I, we're all

jubilation and all that kind of stuff. We're running around the room about to sign on the dotted line. And my agent calls and says, hey, by the way, the producers need Cameron to do partial body nudity. And back in the day, again, that was when cable was doing all the risque stuff and television was trying to keep up and push the envelope was the big term of the day. And so when that came into our minds and, you know, my then manager knew who I was, I had become a bona fide Christian by that point. And so he knew that that wasn't going to fly and it didn't. And so I you know hey Jeremy I I can't do this you know because he said I know and so we called the agent and talked to the agent about I can't do it and the agent said well let me talk to the producers and they came back well they said that Cameron doesn't have to be the one who does the

nudity he's gonna do the acting we'll get a body double and then that'll be that and so I'm thinking that everything's gonna be fine man I'm gonna that everything's going to be fine, man. I'm going to make money, you know, get this, you know, these accolades and everything else. And I feel the Holy Spirit tap me on the shoulder and say, you've got to shun even the appearance of evil. People will think that it's you. And so we called back, said, can't do it. Going to have to pass this one by. And all hell broke loose, man.

You know, lost agent, you know, got black balls, lost family, lost all kinds. I mean, everybody left, everything, everything left, ended up bankrupt and sleeping on the back room of a woman who was on welfare. And so I had hit rock bottom. So I thought at least at that point in time. So that's where this whole Christo career was birthed, even though I didn't know it then. Decades and decades later, I'm over here

in Atlanta, remarried. God has brought this phenomenal woman into my life. And that's another story altogether, man, just to see the orchestration of God, the goodness of God and things that we don't even think of and how God connects the dots. So I end up here in Atlanta, pastored for two decades. And within that amount of time, God was giving me this dream of this character. And I thought he wanted me to write it. So I'm writing it down. I'm writing it down. I'm writing it down. Every night I'm having the same dream. And a week goes by, my wife gets invited to this woman's tea, right? And we don't, you know, like, you know, woman's tea, we don't know what that's all about so she goes and she comes back and said oh what that was about they want you to come and audition for this

role uh in this movie and you know and i'm keeping the story short so i'm like i'm thinking hollywood and i'm thinking i'm not i am not going back to that and so another week goes by i'm having the same dream writing this character and at the end of the second week, the Holy Spirit says, it's me. I want you to go to this one. And I hate auditioning. I don't want no parts of Hollywood, but out of obedience to God, I go. And I watch God do things for me in this audition that I've never done before. It's like, I'm watching the video. I'm in this thing. I'm watching this whole thing happen. And it turns out that the character that God was showing me at night, dreaming for two weeks, was a character that I was auditioning for. It was the first Christian film that I was involved in,

and it just blew up. I got a lot of notice and recognition for that film in festivals and everything else. And that's how God brought me back in on this side, doing it for him, in him, because of him. And in the last 10 years, man, I've done over 40 films, six or seven different television series. I did not know that God was having me back then sow my career and my life as a seed. But what's happening now is a flourishing of that seed I've never seen. I've never seen, I've never seen anything like it. Never experienced anything like it. My wife and I, our relationship, our marriage, never seen anything like it, never experienced anything

like it. And I am really in the midst of God, just so showing his favor that it's embarrassing. I love it, man. That's an amazing journey. I have so many things I want to ask you, but you hit on something where you said you hated the auditioning. So for people that don't know what that's like, like walk us through what auditioning really entails and why back then you hated that aspect of that. I still hate it now. Ain't no back then. See, that's another part of the story too. You know, after I did the audition and I did the role and everything else and, you know, getting all the praise for it, that kind of stuff, I had to go back to God. I said, God,

you know who I am. You know what this whole Hollywood thing did to me. You know what happened in my life. You know how I feel about it. If it's really you, I'm asking you to do the impossible. Give me what you want to give me without me having to audition because that's called impossible in this arena. And those 40-something films and those six or seven different TV series, no audition. Just God's gift. I mean, the first one I auditioned, another one, they just said, hey, we just want to see what you do with the role. Nothing else has been an audition. Again, it testifies to who God is and how he will do the impossible and show himself strong. You don't have to sell your soul for what God has intended for you. But the process of auditioning, man, to me, especially in the Hollywood sense, is demoralizing. People run

you through the ringer. There are actors that love to do it, but I would say 80% of the actors hate auditioning. It's just one of those ills of the industry that they have to do. An actor finally gets to the point where they don't have to audition. They'll let you know how much they hated it. Actors now who are well-known and end up being asked to audition will tell you, I can't believe it. I had to audition for that. That's how they feel about it, you know? Yeah. I've heard an actor tell me, I don't need to practice. I don't need to practice. There's a story of Shelley Winters. Shelley Winters is an old actress that most people

don't even remember now, but extraordinary giftedness and being able to conjure up, bring up all of her passion on the top of her skin, man. She was very connected to her emotions. And so one day after she had been Shelly Winters, the extraordinary actress, somebody asked her to come in to audition. And this guy was almost like a new director, you name it, whatever. Nothing near the accolades and the experience that she had. And so she went to audition with her two Oscars and she put the two Oscars on his table. And she said, when you've done this,

you can ask me to audition. Love it. Come on guys, how much practice do you think Shelly Winters needed for you to audition her? It's demoralizing. And so there's a point where you get to that, the fact that they ask you is to me, not so there's a point where you get to that the fact that they ask you is to me not regarding who you are and what you've done but but again with this being

said man it was really a god thing because there's nothing i want to chase in life there's nothing that i want more than my relationship to christ and anything that that has an opportunity to vie for that affection i'm here because i know this is the way God wants me to be. Other than that, it wouldn't have the attraction for me. I love it. So let's talk about March the 11th, a couple of weeks ago. Your latest film. We had a film that came out, 47 Days with Jesus,

that came out and I got an opportunity to play Pontius Pilate, of all things. Quite a great experience. Wonderful film. You know, people need to understand what I love about making Christian films is that as Christians, we get to see on screen what this looks like, what living this life looks like. Because sometimes we hear a spoken word and it's a sermon and we have to kind of try to piece it together. And we don't always get a bird's eye view as to what it looks like to live this out in the real world's kind of sense. And films provide us the ability to watch people live this

way. And this film, 47 Days with Jesus, the way in which the family has a clue as to how to make the story of Christ a legacy, how to hand it down. Because one thing about Abram that God said was, I know that he will teach his children after him. And so the reason what made Abraham so spectacular in God's eyes is that he wouldn't just follow God, he would teach his children how to follow God. And that's the discipleship model. And so this film really allows you to see how you can creatively, innovatively hand down the relationship and the story of Christ within your family. This is just a beautiful picture. No, I love it, man. I love it.

And a lot of people don't know this that are listening, but I'm going to tell you first. So my mother is a minister. Right. So growing up, entire family, always in church. And I always tell my mom this, especially now, is with this younger generation, you have to make things relatable and understandable. And I feel like you embrace that in the roles that you play, because I see that you're trying to make a connection with the audience, but understanding that the audience is a range. Right. So how do you do that in the roles, even if you may or may not have influence on the script, but how do you take your character and make that character relatable to everyone? Well, you know, again, I think that's part of the blessing is that God took me from where I was in LA, put me here within the Christian

filmmaking arena, but also gave me a platform within that arena where I do have a say, I do have a part to play, and maybe even shaping. And the more films I do, of course, the more opportunity that I have to shape the story itself. And so I use the ability that he's given me to do that to do that for the good of what God is doing for his people, for his kingdom. But for me, I choose a character that is within a script that are going to lead people to Christ. So whatever I have to do within that script, as long as the purpose of the story is to bring people to Christ, I relish that because I can play a maniacal, evil character. But at the end of the day and at the end of the film, where my character will take you is a reason to run away from that guy and stick to Christ. Okay. So I'd rather do

that than playing a righteous character within a story that's going to take you away from God. And I've had to say no to those. Okay. And even in the secular realm, they'll use a, and I'm thinking of a specific time where they wanted me to play a pastor who was a really good guy, but it was within a story that was making him look bad and making the guy who is bad, who's a pastor, look right, okay? And so the story was gonna actually take you away

from the word, even though I was gonna be able to play a character that was doing the right thing, saying the right thing, being the right thing, but the story wasn't going to take you to the right place. So I don't want to do that. And so that's how I choose and maintain the characters. I played Lucifer. I've played errant pastors that were just maniacal and crazy, but the story is to let you know who Christ is, that he loves you. He's with you. He is for you. And he's not trying to beat you over the head with a stick. All the right things to make you fall in love with a God who's in love with you. And so that's my purpose within all these films.

I love it. Now, aside from acting, you're also a very world-renowned motivational speaker, and you lead the ministry Christ Over Career, which you referenced earlier. Tell us a little bit about that from a motivational speaking standpoint and then also Christ Over Career. Amen. And again, when we use the term motivational speaker, I know for a lot of people it's a turnoff, but they miss the point. The whole point of there is no greater motivator than Christ. There is no greater captivator than Christ. When people say, I'm not here to end it, we shouldn't be about entertainment. Well, the word entertainment means to captivate the mind. Okay, so I am here to entertain you by the word of God. I'm here to

captivate your mind by the truth, by the grace, by the power, by the presence of Christ. And so for me, I'm here to motivate you to live for a God who died for you and resurrected for you. And that empowered you to be a ruler in this world and not to be ruled by the world. I'm here to motivate you for that, towards that. And to let you know, yeah, all the obstacles, all the things that may happen, like Paul says, man, it's a small thing compared to the excellency of knowing him. I want to motivate you towards that. And so, yes, that's what having this platform as an actor is all about for me. You know, the real thing is Kami, the man that is able to use whatever prowess, whatever prosperity, whatever accolade, whatever platform that God gives him to save the lost and disciple the saved.

That's what I am married to. That's what makes me tick. And that's what I live for. So when I'm on the stage or in front of a church or whatever it may be, conference, whatever it is, festival, and I get to speak the word of God, represent Christ in his kingdom, and to see the light turn on in people's hearts and minds and then be transformed and actually be thriving Christians on the earth, what's not to like? And the grace of these films is that they outstrip you in a sense of outstretch you and go to around the world. I now feel questions and relationships from around the world from these films. You know, so I'm mentoring and training pastors and talking to people and raising up people from around the world from these films, you know? So I'm mentoring and training pastors and talking to

people and raising up people from around the world. I mean, like with you in the podcast, I mean, it just out, it goes beyond you to the masses of people that you may never meet until you, you know, get to heaven yourself and realize the impact that you have had around the world by allowing yourself to be used by God in this medium called entertainment communications, man, we are fortunate people. Absolutely. So you said you mentor pastors. And so I'm going to ask this question for my mom, since my mom, my mom is that, where do you mentor on? And what is that like, like for you mentoring disciples? As a Christian, I'm called as an apostle, prophet, and teacher. And so my anointing

is apostolic, is prophetic, and it's teaching, it's training. And so I kind of say to people, too, I get that threefold core of what people hate. People don't want to be told what to do. People don't want to have any structure. They don't want to be pointed to God. I'm talking about the flesh of man. I'm not talking about the true Christian. And so my thing is I'm called really not to have congregants like a pastor, which is a phenomenal anointing. I'm called to raise up leaders that will pastor and raise up other leaders. That's my part. I'm called to make sure that we stay upon the written word of God and that we don't lose the foundation. I'm called to bring structure to what we do in a church. 80% of what people do in church is not even biblical. So those kind of things, and see, people don't want to hear that because they feel like they're being condemned.

And I think one of the greatest damages that Satan has done to the church is to make them believe or to think that correction is condemnation. And so I try to make that understood and known to men and women of God that have been doing this for a while, that never does God ever bring condemnation, but he corrects everyone that he loves. And if you're not going to be corrected by God, then you must be more holy than he is. Because every time that I go to him, I know that I get corrected because I'm not as holy as he is. And so that's really part of the arm of apostles, prophets, and teachers is to bring that kind of structure and teaching and training and resurrect the true meaning of Jesus Christ, putting him and keeping him at the helm of every decision. That's the statement that we make known to everybody. And the way in which we get there is by having a relationship to the King. He is King. He's Lord. It's not a suggestion.

We don't vote. We actually make ourselves bondservants, slaves to him. We are his subjects and he commands us and we follow him and we find out in following him, we're made free. That's a concept that the church needs to revive and to live out. Absolutely. So I know earlier you just said you're married to your ministry, but I also know you're also married to Ms. BJ, right? And the both of you have established a production company. You have a nonprofit, Saving Destinies. What inspired you both to embark on this journey? And then I think the amazing thing that I want the audience to hear is how do you both complement each other?

Right. Because when there's a spousal dynamic, it has to be a true complement to each other or it doesn't last long. Like not only the relationship, but anything you're doing business related as well. So I'd love to hear how you do it. You know, the Bible says be addicted to the ministry. I'm addicted to ministry and I cleave unto BJ. All right. For this reason shall a man leave his father and mother, right? And cleave unto his wife.

And so we have become one. And the way that we became one and God taught us is that our jobs are not really to be one with each other. Our job is to be one with him and we find each other in him. And so there is no, I'm not here to try to agree with BJ. BJ is not here to try to agree with Kami. We agree with God. And so when we agree with God, we find that we are in agreement. And so that's how we do what we do.

And the Bible says to us that he will make a perfect help that we're in agreement. And so that's how we do what we do. And the Bible says to us that he will make a perfect help that is meet for him. And so she is perfectly suited for me. Everything that I think, say, and do, she's suited for. And so I have to also respect her suiting for me. When we got married, I said, baby, I got this box. Inside this box is just me and God. You never come into this box i will never let you into this box if you ever try to get into the box i will kick you out because you don't belong in this box that's the problem that we had with adam and woman all right and so he she became easy because she got into his box and he let her into his box and so for me when

god says go do this i'm never asking for an opinion i'm never asking should we do it i'm saying god said to do this. Your job is to show me how to do that the best way. Because you have the wisdom to unlock where we're going. Because you're perfectly suited to help me get to where God said. And so I have to respect the wisdom. Because I go to my wife and I say, hey, babe, God is saying, do this. What am I not seeing? Because he's showing you how to do that. He's made you able to help me do that, to conquer that. So if I don't go get the wisdom, if I don't go use the one who is meet for me and fulfilling that, then I'm just, I've lost my mind. I basically

short-circuited God's plan. And I think a lot of husbands need to understand that. It's not a matter of being better than, greater than. It's side by side, being used by God as important as each other in our prospective places. And when we understand that, then we become one. We don't compete with each other. I tell my wife in any given, she is a dynamic woman. And I'll tell her in a second, babe, when you're teaching, when you are there doing what you do, I mean, we travel to new york man she take 14 15 of her students and i go to carry her books all right it's not about kami it's not about cameron arnett at that point in time it's about me serving my wife and what god has called her to be and to do so those points and places come and we don't compete we are here to

uplift each other and be that synergies for each other. So that is our understanding. That's what we, in our first seven years of marriage, we're always one because it's like raising a child. If you train them up in the way that they should go, when they're older, they won't depart, right? And so we trained up each other in being one so much in those first seven years that oneness is just our DNA. I love it. So much to unpack there and so much useful information for the folks that are listening.

Cameron's a beast, I promise beast probably he's a beast god we we're following the god of the the universe and i'm telling you we're not special we're not different we're not better what we are is obedient though that's right all right a couple of things and i'll get you out of here i know you're a busy man looking ahead you're starring in the eagerly awaited movie, The Forge, right? And it's going to be distributed by Sony this August. Without giving too much away, what can we expect from this film and what excites you about this project? Wow, man, everything about this project is exciting. I get to, again, play the role of husband and wife on screen with my wife. So it's like, again, another added plus. But the Kendrick brothers, I truly believe in anointing. I believe God calls each and every one for a reason, for a purpose to accomplish a certain thing. Paul said that I may apprehend

the things for which I've been apprehended. And so these guys are anointed to do what they do. They're called to do what they do. And they do it always in prayer and putting God first in the process. And so just to be in that frame with them has been such a blessing. Being on the set with these guys is like a slice of heaven. And I'll say to anybody, man, I mean, they are just anointed. And so I'm excited about this song because I know that it's all flowing out of God's anointing, out of God's calling. You know, when they did War Room, man, it changed my life. I saw us being represented as people that were people.

And the fact that God took a story that could have been all white, made it all black, and about prayer, about a grandma, right? And made it the number one film in the country. You can't tell me that's not miraculous. That's not God. And so while I'm watching that, it changed my life and God somehow connects us together. And that's another story. Oh my gosh. How God connected us as families and as collaborators is a phenomenal story. And so here we are now doing this film and it's about discipleship. It's about the core of us being Christians and being raised up by God in such a way, a powerful film. I believe that like a war room, and it's in the war room universe,

I believe like a war room that it will make the mark that God wants. And for the church, we have to learn to be strategic. We have to get out there and support this film, the opening weekend, because that's what Hollywood understands. All right. But we have to go out there in masses and make these films as popular as the church wants Christ himself to be. Because that's what God is doing. He's overtaking the airwaves through these films and turning theaters and streaming services into the four wall church, taking it out of the realm of the four walls and impacting life globally. And we get an opportunity as a church, even if we're not the filmmakers or the ones in the films, but as the body of Christ to be the supporting factor and the ones that make the difference in letting the world know that this is right and important. That's who the audience is. And so I'm looking forward to watching God do what men can't do.

You know, it's like Janice and Jambres, right? When Moses went, I don't care what kind of snake you make. You know, I don't care how many snakes you make. The snake that God makes is going to eat up your snakes. And that's what this is all about, man. I can't wait for it. So it's going to be awesome. So The Forge releasing in August. And I can tell you, Cameron, my mom, my uncles, my aunt, your biggest fans. So so mom, Uncle Wayman, Aunt Flora, uncle Randy, uncle Tron, it's for you. Make sure you go support and maybe we can get you in a film as an extra or something. Hey, you know what I'm saying? Let's sit and talk about it. That's, that's, that's, you know,

we can go ahead and plan for the future on that. There we go. There we go. Well, brother Arnett, I appreciate you more than, you know, this has been amazing. If there's anything that I can personally ever do to support, I'm there for it. Again, The Forge coming out in August right now, 47 Days with Jesus. You can go, you can go watch that right now. If you haven't seen that, go check that out. Mr. Arnett, anything you want to leave the audience with any, what's, what's one thing that people can do right now to start activating their life and get better at something today? The first thing that you can do is what we were commanded to do. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. All things will be added to you is really for your good, will actually turn out for your good. Everything that God does is cloaked in death and in loss. And so unless you're

willing to lose your life, you can't gain life. And so he's going to say things to you that's going to look like, oh my God, what's going to happen to me? You're exactly where he wants you to be. As you are obedient, you'll find out on the other side of that is a life that's greater than anything that you could imagine because he wants you to have days of heaven on the earth. But you can't do that unless you are willing to die for him the way that he died for you. I love it. Great way to end the episode. Follow those words and everything's going to happen the way that it should happen. For all the listeners, remember, your because is your superpower. Go unleash it. Thanks for listening to Mick Unplugged. We hope this episode helps you take the next step toward the extraordinary and launches

a revolution in your life. Don't forget to rate and review the podcast and be sure to check us out on YouTube at Mick Unplugged. Remember, stay empowered, stay inspired, and stay unplugged.