You don’t have to be a film fanatic to recognize Ernie Hudson. With 227 IMDB credits and counting, the question isn’t “What has he been in?” It’s “What hasn’t he been in?” He is probably most recognized for starring in Ghostbusters, Miss. Congeniality, and OZ. My personal favorite of those being Miss Congeniality, a film I have seen over 30 times… I’m not joking.

In addition to growing up in a Christian home, both his grandfather and great-grandfather were ministers. His grandmother, who raised him after his mother died, was a strong believer who brought him up in the Christian faith. As a child, he was very much involved in the church. He participated in youth activities and sang in the choir.  In an interview with Beliefnet, he said, “The truths that are found in the Bible are universal truths. And it shapes who you are and guides you throughout your life.”

Ernie Hudson in Miss Congeniality

This universal truth really did shape his life. The beginning of his life did not start out easy. His mother died when he was only 3 months old, he never knew his father, and he grew up in the projects. Despite all that, he said he had a wonderful childhood. During an interview with Home and Family on the Hallmark Channel, he said, “There’s never been a day in my life that I doubted, that I didn’t know absolutely beyond a doubt, that I was loved.” He went on to explain, “The hardest thing that I had to deal with was: how do I deal with the fact that I don’t have a father? My mom died, I can get that. But my daddy…everybody’s got a daddy! But my [grand] mother said, ‘God is your father.’ And I go, ‘Mama, God is everybody’s father.’ And she said, ‘yeah, but everybody don’t know it. I’m telling you so that you’ll always know it.’ And if you don’t know it, it’s like having money in the bank, you can’t draw on it if you don’t know it’s there. But if you know who you are…and as a kid I would walk around and see the birds and the trees and the leaves and all this creation. And it the middle of all this creation, God created me. How special is that?”

Ernie Hudson in God’s Not Dead 2

Hudson’s life changed drastically as he got older. He attended Yale School of Drama, became a well-known actor, and continues to work in the industry today. He has several films coming out in 2017. This includes Hey Arnold: The Jungle Movie, a film that will excite many 90’s kids. Through all this success, Hudson has still kept his faith and love for the Lord. He has taken the time to pass down this knowledge of God’s love to his children and even went so far as to send them all to Christian schools. “I think to know the Bible and to know what’s there…I think the lessons are amazing,” he said in another interview with Beliefnet.

Ernie Hudson’s Favorite Bible Verse:  “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16