Kirk Cameron | |
|---|---|
 Cameron at Calvary Baptist Church inManhattan, May 5, 2007. | |
| Born | Kirk Thomas Cameron (1970-10-12)October 12, 1970 (age 54) |
| Occupation(s) | Actor,Evangelist |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse | Chelsea Noble (1991–present) |
| Website | http://www.kirkcameron.com/ |
Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is anAmericanactor best known for playing "Mike Seaver" on the televisionsituation comedy,Growing Pains, and in othertelevision shows andmovies. He was the main actor in theLeft Behind movie series and inFireproof. He is also an activeChristianevangelist, and works withRay Comfort onThe Way of the Master. He co-startedThe Firefly Foundation with his wife, actressChelsea Noble.
Cameron was born on October 12, 1970[1] inPanorama City, California.[2] His parents are Robert Cameron, a retired school teacher, and Barbara Bausmith, astay-at-home mom.[3] He is the brother to Bridgette, Melissa, andCandace Cameron, who is played "D.J. Tanner" on the television sitcom,Full House.[4] He would go to school on the set ofGrowing Pains, as opposed to a normal school.[5] He graduated at age 17 with high honors.[6]
Cameron and his wife, actressChelsea Noble, were married on July 21, 1991. They now have six children, four of whom were adopted: Jack (born 1996), Isabella (born 1997), Anna (born 1998), and Luke (born 2000); and two biological: Olivia Rose (born July 18, 2001) and James Thomas (born April 13, 2003).[7]
Cameron began acting at the age of nine, and his first job was for abreakfastcereal.[8] His first starring role was at the age of ten in the television seriesTwo Marriages.[9] At this age, he appeared in several television shows and movies. He became famous after being cast as "Michael Seaver" in the 1985 television seriesGrowing Pains.[10] In the series, Seaver's girlfriend was Kate MacDonald, who was played by Chelsea Noble, Cameron's future wife.[11][12] Cameron subsequently became a teen heartthrob in the late 1980s,[13] while appearing on the covers of severalteenmagazines, includingTiger Beat,Teen Beat,16 and others. At the time, he was making $50,000 a week.[14] He was also in a 60-secondPepsi commercial duringSuper Bowl XXIV.[15]
Cameron went on to star in many movies, for example 1987'sLike Father Like Son,[16] which made a lot ofmoney.[17] His next movie, 1989'sListen to Me, did not make very much money.[18] WhenGrowing Pains ended in 1992, Cameron went on to star in the sitcomKirk which began in 1995 and ended two years later. InKirk, Cameron played Kirk Hartman,[19] a 24-year-old who has to raise hissiblings.[20] Cameron and Noble also worked together onKirk.[12]
Ten years afterGrowing Pains ended, was a part ofThe Growing Pains Movie,[21] in 2000, andGrowing Pains: Return of the Seavers, in 2004.[22] Cameron has also often worked in Christianity-related movies, among them the post-Rapture moviesLeft Behind: The Movie,Left Behind II: Tribulation Force, andLeft Behind: World at War, in which he plays Cameron "Buck" Williams. Cameron's wife Noble also starred in these movies,[23] playing Hattie Durham. Cameron has worked withCloud Ten Pictures, and has been in several of their movies. He was also inFireproof, which was made bySherwood Pictures. They only spent $500,000 making the movie. Cameron as the main actor, playing Captain Caleb Holt.[24] Though it was a did not cost much money to make, the movie made$33,415,129. Cameron said, "[Fireproof is] the best work of my life."[25] In 2015 Kirk ( alongside his son James) voiced General Stonewall Jackson in heirloom audio productions adaptation of G.A henty's novel with lee in Virginia
Cameron was once anatheist,[14][26] but around the age of 17-18, during the height of his career onGrowing Pains, he developed a belief in God, and became aChristian.[14][27][28] After converting to Christianity, he began to insist that storylines be stripped of anything he thought to be too adult or racy inGrowing Pains.[29] The cast ostracized him from their activities. They did not attend his wedding, nor was he invited to any of theirs.[30] A decade later, Cameron agreed to appear inThe Growing Pains Movie, where the entire main cast reunited with one another. Cameron said,
Cameron currently partners with fellow evangelistRay Comfort, training Christians in evangelism. Together, they founded the ministry ofThe Way of the Master,[31] which is best known for its award-winning[32] television show Cameron co-hosts. It also formerly featured a radio show known asThe Way of the Master Radio with talk show hostTodd Friel.[33] The radio show was later canceled, andWretched Radio began, hosted by Friel. He, with wife Noble, foundedThe Firefly Foundation, which runsCamp Firefly, an organization that givesterminally ill children and their families a free week's vacation.[34][35]
Cameron and Comfort were a part in adebate on television withatheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Conner of the Rational Response Squad, at Calvary Baptist Church inManhattan on May 5, 2007. It was moderated byABC's Martin Bashir and parts of it were played onNightline. They debated whether or not there is a God. Some of the people in theaudience believed in God, and some did not.[36]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes/Box office |
| 1981 | Goliath Awaits | Liam | Television movie |
| 1982 | Beyond Witch Mountain | Boy | Television film |
| 1983 | Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land | Gary | Television movie |
| 1986 | The Best of Times | Teddy | $7,790,931[37] |
| 1987 | Like Father Like Son | Chris Hammond | $34,377,585[38] |
| 1989 | Listen to Me | Tucker Muldowney | $4,299,023[39] |
| 1991 | A Little Piece of Heaven | Will Loomis | Television movie |
| 1998 | You Lucky Dog | Jack Morgan | Disney Channel Original Movie |
| 2000 | The Growing Pains Movie | Mike Seaver | Television reunion film |
| Left Behind: The Movie | Buck Williams | $4,224,065[40] | |
| 2001 | The Miracle of the Cards | Josh | Television movie |
| 2002 | Left Behind II: Tribulation Force | Buck Williams | Direct-to-video |
| 2004 | Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers | Mike Seaver | Television reunion film |
| 2005 | Left Behind: World at War | Buck Williams | Direct-to-video |
| 2008 | Fireproof | Caleb Holt | $33,456,317[41] |
| Year | Title | Episode | Role |
| 1981 | Bret Maverick | The Lazy Ace: Part 1–2 | Boy #1 |
| 1982 | Disneyland | Boy | |
| Herbie the Matchmaker | Young Kid | ||
| 1983 | Two Marriages | Eric Armstrong | |
| ABC Afterschool Specials | The Woman Who Willed a Miracle Andrea's Story: A Hitchhiking Tragedy | Jeff | |
| 1984 | Children in the Crossfire | Mickey Chandler | |
| More Than Murder | Bobby | ||
| 1985 - 1992 | Growing Pains | Mike Seaver | |
| 1988 | Full House | Just One of the Guys | Cousin Steve |
| 1991 | A Little Piece of Heaven | Will Loomis | |
| 1993 | The Horde | Chauncey | |
| 1994 | Star Struck | Runner | |
| 1995 | The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes | Dexter Riley | |
| 1995 - 1996 | Kirk | Kirk Hartman | |
| 1997 | WMAC Masters | The Bibler | |
| 2002 | Family Law | Blood and Water | Mitchell Stark |
| Touched by an Angel | The Birthday Present | Chuck Parker | |
| 2003 - present | The Way of the Master | Himself | |
| 2004 | Jack & Bobby | Today I Am a Man | |
| 2005 | Night of Joy | Host | |
| 2009 | 18 Kids and Counting | Himself |
Young Artist Awards
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards
I go to school on the set, not to a regular school.
