How Kelsey Grammer’s ‘Jesus Revolution’ Role Led to a Spiritual Encounter

‘Jesus Revolution’ and Kelsey Grammer’s Answered Prayer

 Kelsey Grammer is one of the greatest actors alive today, well known for his role as Frasier Crane in Cheers.

I had the privilege of getting to know him on the set of Jesus Revolution, where he played the role of Chuck Smith. And I asked him one day why he decided to play take on the part. He told me he was at a stage in his life where he wanted to do something meaningful, something that would impact people’s lives.  He even offered a prayer to God that something would come his way, and the next day, the script for Jesus Revolution arrived and he knew he needed to play Chuck. Of course, he did a masterful job.

But  I want to tell you something about Kelsey that you probably don’t know… 

In his book, he talks about his sister Karen, who was tragically murdered. This is something that always haunted Kelsey; as an older brother, he always felt responsibility for not preventing it. And he shared about an event that happened to him on a baseball field—well, he happened to be talking about the Harvest Crusade at Angel Stadium. 

Kelsey’s Encounter with God at the Harvest Crusade

Here is Kelsey’s story about the faith-defining moment at the Harvest Crusade in his own words. He recently shared this in an interview with Raymond Arroyo:

Arroyo:  There was a scene I read somewhere where you are in a baseball field and you ask God “where was He…”

Grammer:  Right, right. This was after I did Jesus Revolution. Greg Laurie invited me to come to what he calls the Harvest [Crusade]…  It was Faith, my daughter Faith, who said, “Let’s go down.” You know, when he did the call to come down and declare “I’d like You in my life.” 

I’ve called it my limping faith. I always had a limping faith.  I always did. It was still there. It was always there… And I just said, “So where were You? What was going on?”  And after a few minutes, I just heard a little, “I was right there.”

He also shared that this happened a couple more times as he was writing his book. He heard Jesus challenging him to let go of the burden he carried for so long, saying, “ Don’t you think it’s time for you to give it up?” 

Did Kelsey Grammer Pray the Sinner’s Prayer?

At that Harvest Crusade, Kelsey did indeed pray to receive Christ into his life, along with thousands of other people that night. He was even given a New Believer’s Bible, which I later saw prominently displayed in his home. 

The thing about Harvest Crusades is that you never know who will respond to the gospel. It could be someone you’ve never heard of before, or it could be someone like Kelsey Grammer! 

In my latest episode of The Greg Laurie Show, I dive deeper into the question of “true faith,” drawing on the story of the centurion amazing Jesus—listen in.