Teenage heartthrob left Hollywood to focus on family

Young stars in Hollywood seem to have it all. Fame, money, and good looks; people often seem to idealize their lives. They make everything seem so easy! So when a teen star decides to give it all up, it always comes as a shock.

The story we have for you today also has a similar theme. A young Hollywood actor who was beloved by millions or women around the world, decided there is more to life than the silver screen.

He famously appeared as a child actor on “Growing Pains,” and from there on out, he became one of the most popular actors of the 1980s. He was a regular feature on the covers of teen magazines. While it seemed he had it all, he was grappling with the reality of being a young star in Hollywood, and to him, it was not all that enticing.

Young Kirk Cameron did not intend to become an actor, in fact he wanted to be a doctor. His dream was to be a surgeon but his career took a completely different path when his mother who after being encouraged by a friend, introduced her young son to acting. His sister, Candace Cameron Bure is also an actress who has been acting since she was a child! She is best know for her role in Full House.

Kirk Cameron & sister Candace Cameron during 1989 File Photos. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic, Inc)
The friend was actually fellow child star Adam Rich’s mother. Rich was widely known for his role in ‘Eight is Enough.’ She suggest her friend take her son to agents and try their luck for commercials. His mother reluctantly followed the advice but it ended up going well for them since Cameron started looking small roles. Among some of his first acting gigs was a commercial for McDonald’s. While Cameron did not enjoy acting, he was consistently getting offers.

“I was always annoyed having to brush my hair and tuck my shirt in to go drive an hour in traffic to audition,” he revealed later about his early days of stardom. Despite the fact that he himself was not enthusiastic about acting, he soon got his role as Mike Seaver in “Growing Pains,” and the rest was history.

But he was struggling internally whether Hollywood was where he needed to be. And then he had something call to him; his faith.

Kirk Cameron, wearing a tuxedo with a red bow tie and a red cummerbund, attends an event, circa 1982. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)
When he was growing up, his family was not religious. The actor said, “When I was growing up, we didn’t go to church.”

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