Meeting Billy Graham as a child was lifechanging moment for actor Kevin Sorbo

Kevin Sorbo has remained anchored to his Christian faith throughout his successful Hollywood career and he says Billy Graham has something to do with it.

“In later teenage years in my 20s, I did a lot of stupid things,” he says. “But I never went away from my faith. I never had that crisis where I didn’t believe in God or believe in Jesus.”

As a teen, Sorbo was part of a youth group, listening to sermons that made the Bible applicable to his young life and experience. When he was just 13, an event unfolded that only added to that powerful faith.

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“When I was 13, we took a field trip to the St. Paul fairgrounds with the Rev. Billy Graham,” Sorbo said. “It was a hot August night. There were like, 300,000 people there outside. It was amazing — full moon was out and Billy Graham’s, like, incredible, even though he’s a mile away on the stage.”

Little did Sorbo know, but he would end up meeting Graham that night. As he was sitting and talking with someone during the gathering, he felt a hand on his head.

“I turned around, and it was Billy Graham,” Sorbo said in an interview with CBN. “And he had his security guys with him, of course. But his head was perfectly behind the full moon. It’s like these rays coming out of his head. And I got goosebumps.”

Story told to Larry King

The encounter stuck with Sorbo. Years later, the actor made it big and then publicly recounted the story to the late TV host Larry King. That’s when Graham’s publicist reached out to tell Sorbo that Graham’s team was looking to write a book. Sorbo’s story was included in the book, and he even ended up helping with publicity for the project.

“It was really cool,” Sorbo said. “I’ve become good friends with Franklin Graham ever since then. That was kind of an important time in my life.”

Sorbo’s journey into acting also came with an interesting trajectory. At age 11, he took a field trip to see a stage show that changed everything. Despite being unable to understand the Shakespearean language being uttered, he was captivated.

“I was blown away by the actors on stage,” Sorbo said. “And I told my mom, who was one of the chaperones, on the way home, I was sitting next to her on the bus, and she said, ‘So, what do you think?’”

Sorbo recalled offering up a surprising response. He proclaimed, “So, I’m gonna be an actor.”

–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice

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