Actor Stelio Savante has spent decades in Hollywood, performing in secular and inspirational films and TV shows. But unlike many in the entertainment industry, he is a faithful Christian who looks to God to navigate every facet of his life, including his longstanding career.
Listen to the latest episode of CBN’s Quick Start podcast 👇
Savante, star of the new film, “Pursuit of Freedom,” told CBN’s Faithwire he looks to Scripture to understand and comprehend the events and happenings unfolding in the world — complex circumstances he believes show humans to fully trust in the Bible.
The actor said he doesn’t take his cues from MSNBC, Fox News, or any other media outlet, and that he looks to the Bible to understand the things that deeply matter.
“I get my news from the Bible,” he said. “That’s just where I get my news from, because the Bible told us the earth was round when scientists told us it was flat. It is spiritual wisdom, and when you line up what’s happening in the world with what’s there biblically — the Bible already knows the story.”
Savante continued, “The Lord already knows the end.”
The actor also recounted his faith journey and finding Christ as a teenager in 1984. Born in South Africa, he was a product of divorce and a “broken home,” with negativity and violence plaguing the family.
Watch Savante’s incredible story:
“I was not a happy child,” he said, noting how circumstances eventually changed when he “heard the message of Christ.”
And as so often happens, restoration came not only to Savante but also to his family members, with his father, mother, sister, and grandmother later becoming Christians.
“It was just incredible,” he said.
Of particular intrigue surrounding Savante’s conversation with CBN’s Faithwire is the release of the actor’s new movie “Pursuit of Freedom,” a true story about an Armenian woman in Ukraine sold into trafficking by Russian gangsters. Against all odds, the desperate mom — with the help of an American pastor, a missionary, and a Dutch nurse — ends up reuniting with her three kids.
Considering the events in Ukraine right now, the film’s plot is timely, and he believes there’s a reason the movie — filmed and transitioned to post-production before the conflict began — is coming out at such a time as this.
As the world watches in horror what’s unfolding, the film’s almost prescient timing is further shedding light on the religion and the issues afoot.
Savante said an anti-trafficking organization shared with him some of the shocking contemporary stories to come out of Ukraine since the Russian invasion, including horrific accounts of human suffering.
“It was tough not to get emotional,” he said. “Because all the men stayed behind to fight [in Ukraine], it was essentially the elderly but mostly women and children who were escaping via every border option that they could.”
This purportedly left women and children vulnerable to traffickers pretending to be people of goodwill. “Pursuit of Freedom,” while not about the current Russia-Ukraine conflict, gets people thinking about these issues at a time of elevated suffering for the Ukrainian people.
A similar prophetic dynamic unfolded with “Lifemark,” a new movie about adoption that was recently released on the heels of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.
The timing of these projects doesn’t surprise Savante, who believes projects like “Pursuit of Freedom” have the opportunity to “change hearts.”
“And if we change one heart — just one — we’ve won,” he said.
“Pursuit of Freedom” opens theatrically in select cities Sept. 16 and is simultaneously on demand.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***