Kirk Cameron, who stars in the upcoming film Fireproof, refused to kiss the actress playing his wife because he has committed to only kiss his wife:
“To get around the conflict, the filmmakers employed a bit of movie magic, Cameron explained. They dressed his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, like the movie’s female lead and shot the scene in silhouette.
“So when I’m kissing my wife, we’re actually husband and wife honoring marriage behind the scenes,” Cameron said as Gifford and Kotb melted from the romanticism of the moment.”
How do we as Christians justify kissing (or more?) other actors that we are not married to? Is the act not just as real on the stage or in front of a camera?
Richard Clark (Co-Founder/Editor-in-Chief) has spent his entire life writing, reading, listening, and playing. He has a Bachelors in Theology from the Baptist College of Florida and has a Master of Arts in Theology and the Arts from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He lives in Louisville, KY where he is the classroom technology manager at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. In addition to writing at Christ and Pop Culture, he is also a staff writer for 
Geesh, I’m no help in this discussion. No way could I handle a job like that without mixed motives. I can hardly believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Cameron on this one! That said, it seems most Christian actors would likely be unable to be so discriminating, and would have to make peace with the situation somehow.
Ben Bartletts last blog post..Moses and me: Practicing Faith and Pragmatism
Well, I’d start by hazarding to say that kissing is not a fornicative act. Your wife might not like it any more than she might like you chatting with other women on the internet,* but neither activity is necessarily an affront to your marriage vows.
Kirk Cameron’s welcome to dictate his roles so far as he is able, but not kissing an actress because she is not his wife is kinda like not saying lines like “I love you” to an actress who is not his wife. I wonder if Ms. Noble (not Ms. Alan Noble!) also stands in when he has to declare his affection for his on-screen wife?
Of course, if he’s got the hots for his on-screen wife, perhaps it is best that he only kiss his wife.
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*note: She might also be fine with it. Many wives aren’t so jealous of their husband’s attention that something like chatting or friendship with another woman could be considered a threat.
The Danes last blog post..20080923
My initial reaction was definitely prude. And lame. Because if all actors were Christians, would we have to make sure they are paired with their spouses in romantic scenes? Or maybe just do away with romantic scenes in movies? Perhaps we could go back to the whole “couples sleeping in twin beds” thing.
However, I am torn. I suppose it depends on if the actors can keep it on a professional level, not allowing themselves to enjoy it too much or become emotionally involved. It is uncanny how often onscreen lovers become lovers offscreen as well.
So, to sum up my conflicting opinions, Christians ought not be actors. We should just leave it up to the pagans. Sort of like with loansharking and telemarketing.
wendys last blog post..Call me… No wait, text me
I think the propensity of actors to hook up with other actors has less to do with the onscreen kisses and more just the nature and expectation of the job. Kinda like how at restaurants, the waitstaff is for the most part going to be like a big ol’ swing party. Part of it is that it’s sort of expected and part of it is that you’re all in the same boat. Same thing with customer support shops in India. Total nookie-fest.
Oh, also. Actors are the good-lookingiest people around. So if you’re going to cheat on your wife, who better to do so with. It could be that Cameron is worried about this and so that is why he’s only kissing his wife. Personally, I can’t see that kissing an actor or actress on camera and under arc-lights could be any sort of temptation for me.
But to each their own. Some people like seeing cockroaches squished.
The Danes last blog post..20080923
Wow, people love to ask the question “How far should Christian actors go?” whether talking about sex, profanity, or (even worse) smoking. The most helpful replies I’ve heard are from people who have been trained as actors, acted a lot, and navigated these questions from the ground up in their work with the help of their church community.
If Kirk Cameron had trained at RADA or SMU or *anywhere*, I’d be a little more curious about his reasoning, but as it is, it just sounds like he doesn’t have the techniques how to separate the imaginary world from his real world (which is one problem that plagues those uncanny onscreen lovers who become lovers offscreen – and promptly break up 4 months later when the reality of their busy schedules and conflicting values becomes evident) so he draws an arbitrary “safe” line that may or may not keep him from actually committing a sin against his marriage. Similarly, it bugs me when Christian Bale *actually loses* 63 pounds to be in _The Machinist_. Dude, why didn’t you just go to acting school? It’d be so much easier!
I think the Dane is totally right – on the subject at hand ;)