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MOVIE NEWS

Is God Present in Hollywood?

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

CBN.com – ANAHEIM, CA (ANS) -- Peter Wooding of UCB Europe recently spoke with Amick Byram during an interview at the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) 2005 in Anaheim. He found out about some of the latest projects Byram is working on. Plus, he got an insider's scoop on Hollywood. Read on as we learn more about Byram, his most recent endeavors, and about his own experiences in Hollywood.

Amick Byram is a performer and an actor who lives in Hollywood. He was invited to NRB to do some special music for the Sunday morning general session. He also led a seminar, "Is God in Hollywood?" And, according to Byram, God is present in Hollywood. “God is definitely in the hearts and minds of people in Hollywood,” he said.

Byram has experienced that firsthand through various facets of his career. “I've had my hand in a lot of different pies. I've had a pretty vital career in theatre and still do. As far as theatre goes, I was in 'Phantom of the Opera' in New York on Broadway. I also did 'Phantom of the Opera' in the West Coast premiere in Los Angeles at the Ahmanson Theater. I performed in 'Les Miserables.' I did Marius and Enjolras in that show. Marius is the guy who ends up marrying Cosette at the end and Enjolras is the student leader at the barricade.”

Another theatrical role he held was in "Sunset Boulevard." He played opposite Glenn Close in that show in Los Angeles. In addition to those three large, well-known shows, he has also held roles in 30 professional plays and/or musicals, as far as his career in theatre.

The music industry and recording have also been a vital part of his career to date. “I've also been pretty heavily involved in the recording business, and I have two Grammy nominations for vocal jazz albums, and have just completed recording a brand new CD called Encounter,” said Byram.

The concept of the Encounter CD is that each cut on the CD represents a man from the Bible, and each one of these men sings a song at a critical turning point in his life or an encounter with God.

“There's Moses, there's David, there's Abraham, Jesus, John the Baptist and Barabbas…Barabbas? That’s right, Barabbas…Joseph of Arimathea, and all these different characters, which sing these songs at a critical turning point in his life. It's very theatrical in nature, obviously, and it's a very moving CD that once you understand the story setup to each of these songs. It kind of takes you into a whole other world of deep emotional impact,” he said of the Encounter project.

Byram said that one career highlight was when he was involved in The Prince of Egypt. “I was asked to sing the role of Moses in the movie, the animated feature, The Prince of Egypt, and that was a three-year period, where I was working on that project, and that was-I was just so thrilled to be a part of that, not only just because of the caliber of the work that it was, and the high-profile nature of that movie, but also the fact that I was playing a character who I feel like I know and have known since I was a child. I know the story of Moses, and he is a character that is near and dear to the hearts of people all over the world no matter what their religious affiliation may be -- to the Jew, to the Gentile, to the Muslim -- and it was just great to play that character and to be so intimately involved in that project.”

In addition, Byram was also involved in the production of the Shrek soundtrack, which resulted from his work on The Prince of Egypt and because he had developed a great relationship with DreamWorks.

"They asked me to contract the singers for that movie, because there's tons of music in that movie, it's just all over the place, and some of the music was done by the stars of the movie, but some of it was just great singers that I would bring in to do little step out solos, group things and, all kinds of different things. I've contracted vocals for several of their movies. And what that means is bringing in singers, conducting them, directing them, helping to produce them in the recording studio,” said Byram.

Another facet of his career is his work on television. He was a regular on a television series for three years called Superior Court. He has also done a lot of episodic television. “I was in Star Trek: The Next Generation, and if there any Trekkies that are reading this, I played Ian Troi on the show, who is Counselor Troi's father, and in fact I have trading cards that if you're a real Trekkie and you have trading cards, look in your stack of trading cards and you'll find me there,” he laughed.

He explained that working on the set of Star Trek: The Next Generation personally very satisfying. “To be able to go into the first day a week before I started filming and to be able to try on a Star Fleet uniform, that was a great moment: to be standing there in front of the mirror wearing the uniform that I'd been--that I'd seen all my life, 'cause I love the show, and all of a sudden now, you know, as an adult being able to put on that uniform and play an important character, it was a thrill.”

Byram readily admits he has had a quite successful career in a variety of different roles within the entertainment business. He knew at a young age this is the kind of career that he wanted to pursue, but he said when he first started auditioning, he admitted it was tough.

“I spent many, many years knowing that there was a dream inside of me, there were also gifts inside of me, that there was a compulsion on my life that was given to me by God by the Holy Spirit that I knew where I was supposed to be. I knew this ever since I was in junior high, since I was 12 years old, I knew I was to be in the business, in the entertainment business as a performer, I was to be in the business and a Christian--not necessarily in Christian entertainment business, or Christian show business, but I was to be in show business and also be a Christian within the secular show business world. And, yeah, auditioning is hard.”

However, Byram has always held to his faith and pursued his dreams. He grew up in a strong Christian home and became a Christian when he was a young child. “My dad is a Baptist minister, who is still living in Texas. So, I grew up in the church and really understood who Jesus Christ was ever since I can remember, and I come from a very stable Christian home…It was when I was 9 years old that I really accepted Jesus into my heart and asked Him to live in my heart and to change me, save me from my sins.”

Like Byram, there are other people in the entertainment business who profess their Christian faith, but at times, it is sometimes difficult to openly share your faith. He said that sharing your faith is more about sharing your testimony and gaining the trust of people you work with and those who you form friendships with.

“…I think in Hollywood you have to be particularly sensitive to make sure that before that happens, unless you are directly told by the Holy Spirit, you have to build trust with people, and the way you build trust and credibility with people, particularly in show business, is one, that you're really good at what you do, and two, that you live a life that speaks integrity and virtue. And you will be tested in that by the people around you who already have a predisposition to mistrust you because you're a Christian. They already have, because of our culture, an opinion of you because you're a Christian: If you believe in Jesus, you must be some wild-eyed, foaming-at-the-mouth lunatic. That is--if you speak in computer terms--that's the preference, that's the natural position they put you in.

“Partly because of our culture, partly because of what the media puts out there. It's hard to see a movie or a television show where, if there's a character who's a minister or a preacher, that he is a normal, balanced, happy, wonderful person. It's rare to see that. But we all know that that is the rule, not the exception…So, what you have to do is you have to make sure that you are balanced, that you're good at what you do in that business, and that you are-that you hold integrity to be of great value, and if they see that over a period of time, that is what wins the hearts and the minds of people in the business, and then eventually, I can guarantee you, they will start asking you questions.”

Peter Wooding is senior news editor for the UK-based Christian radio network UCB Europe. He is also the director of ASSIST Europe, and will be leading his first mission trip with the ministry this summer to Beslan in Russia. Previously Peter served as a missionary for five years with Youth With A Mission, where he met his wife who's from North Wales where they now live with their three daughters.

Ginny McCabe is a Cincinnati, OH native. She is an entertainment and feature writer for "The Middletown Journal" and "Journal News" (dailies), and magazines including "American Songwriter", "NRB Magazine", "CBA Marketplace", "Christian Retailing," and "Relevant Magazine," among others. Ginny has authored Audio Adrenaline's book, "Some Kind of Journey on the Road with Audio Adrenaline" and "Living the Gold-Medal Life: Inspirations from Female Athletes".

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