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'Wizards of Waverly Place' star David Henrie says his faith cost him agents, money and friends in Hollywood

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Panreck, H. (2026, September 28). 'Wizards of Waverly Place' star David Henrie says his faith cost him agents, money and friends in Hollywood. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/wizards-waverly-place-star-david-henrie-faith-cost-agents-money-friends-hollywood

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Fox News · collected 2026-09-28 · by Hanna Panreck

Quick Summary

David Henrie, known for his role in "Wizards of Waverly Place," spoke on the "Bryce Crawford Podcast" about how committing to his faith affected him in Hollywood. He lost agents and friends and turned down roles that conflicted with his beliefs, resulting in significant financial losses. Despite these challenges, Henrie found new supportive friendships that led to meeting his wife. Recently speaking to Fox News Digital, he noted a shift towards more acceptance of people of faith in the industry and emphasized his desire to create value-driven content through Novo Inspire Studios.
Written by AI on 2026-09-28, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

David Henrie, known for his role in "Wizards of Waverly Place," revealed during a September podcast interview that adhering strictly to his Catholic faith had significant personal costs. He lost agents, turned down numerous roles, and forfeited friendships and romantic relationships because he refused opportunities that did not align with his religious beliefs. Henrie stated, "I was like I'm just not going to do something that I think will disrespect my belief now or disrespect our Lord." Entrepreneur David Friedman of Friedman Ventures commented on the podcast, suggesting that Henrie's experience reflects the challenges of maintaining a Christian faith in Hollywood's secular environment. Despite these losses, Henrie found supportive friendships and eventually met his wife through his new social circle.

Written for “Actor Faces Career Struggles Over Faith” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Actor Faces Career Struggles Over Faith
Entertainment · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
47
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 47 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
70/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-28 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 5977 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Hanna Panreck
25 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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🔮 He is so devoid of actual talent that nobody with any commonsense would ever watch him unless it was to laugh at his miserable failures," White House Spokesman Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital.
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Also by Hanna Panreck
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 25 articles by Hanna Panreck →

Topics

Catholic Fox News Digital Friedman Ventures Hollywood Novo Inspire Studios

Subjects

Henrie PERSON · 7× Fox News Digital ORG · 3× Friedman PERSON · 2× Catholic NORP · 1× Christ PERSON · 1× David Friedman PERSON · 1× David Henrie PERSON · 1× Friedman Ventures ORG · 1× Hollywood ORG · 1× Novo Inspire Studios ORG · 1×

Narrative

Entrepreneur David Friedman, the head of Friedman Ventures, who has a Master's degree in philosophical theology, told Fox News Digital, "Mr. Henrie's comments reveal the natural implications of walking out your Christian faith in a cultural context that has opposing values and worldviews.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-28
🔮 I was like I'm just not going to do something that I think will disrespect my belief now or disrespect our Lord.

Claims (47 extracted, 0 hedged)

David Henrie, best known for his role in "Wizards of Waverly Place," revealed during a September podcast interview that he lost friends and jobs after committing to his faith. asserted
he → know → faith
During an appearance on the "Bryce Crawford Podcast," Henrie was asked what his faith cost him in Hollywood. asserted
faith → ask → Hollywood
"It was rough, lost my agents," he said. asserted
he → lose → agents
"I walked away from a lot. asserted
I → walk → lot
I turned down a lot of roles. asserted
I → turn → roles
I was like I'm just not going to do something that I think will disrespect my belief now or disrespect our Lord. asserted
I → go → Lord
I'm just not going to do it. asserted
I → go → it
I'm not going to go near it. asserted
I → go → it
And it cost me a lot. asserted
it → cost → lot
It cost a lot. asserted
It → cost → lot
I lost a lot of money. asserted
I → lose → money
I kind of was stripped of everyone, everyone that I would call a friend." asserted
I → strip → that
However, Henrie added that he made new friends that challenged him, which eventually led to him meeting his wife. asserted
him → add → wife
"I found new friends," he said. asserted
I → find → friends
"I found guys I respected, guys I loved, that were building me up in Christ. asserted
that → find → Christ
You know, I think that friendship is like an elevator. asserted
friendship → know → elevator
It brings you up or it brings you down. asserted
it → bring → you
So, I made new friends and I made friends that elevated me and that challenged me, gave me great books to read and helped form me in my faith and led to meeting my wife, my best friend now." asserted
that → make → wife
Henrie said it had been a "great journey" and that some of the people he lost had come back into the picture. asserted
he → say → picture
"Some of those people who left have now come back into the picture," he said. asserted
he → leave → picture
"They've gotten older. asserted
They → get → ?
They've changed the way that they think. asserted
they → change → way
And I get texts from people like, 'Hey, just want you to know I went to church this Sunday.' asserted
I → get → church
I didn't, would have never thought this person would, that would happen. asserted
that → think → ?
Henrie told Fox News Digital in January that the industry was now much more accepting of faith. "Now people are much more accepting about people of faith," Henrie, who is a devout Catholic, told Fox News Digital, describing what he sees as a noticeable change from a decade ago. asserted
he → tell → change
He said he regularly hears executives asking for "content for people of faith" because they’re "underrepresented" on screen. asserted
they → say → screen
Henrie’s push for value-driven storytelling has become more personal since becoming a father, he said, shaping the kinds of projects he wants to champion and the kind of content he wants available for families like his. asserted
he → drive → his
"I really wanted to find a way to use everything God’s given me to tell stories on a bigger scale," he said, explaining why he launched Novo Inspire Studios, a production company he describes as focused on "entertaining and elevating content." asserted
he → want → content
Entrepreneur David Friedman, the head of Friedman Ventures, who has a Master's degree in philosophical theology, told Fox News Digital, "Mr. Henrie's comments reveal the natural implications of walking out your Christian faith in a cultural context that has opposing values and worldviews. asserted
that → have → values
What's not discussed is that the losses were due to fundamentally different understandings about what human flourishing really means." asserted
flourishing → discuss → what
"However, there are many actors that also lose opportunities in staying true to their own versions of what is important," he continued. asserted
he → be → versions
"The reality is that anyone that has a strong core faith or values will experience some form of rejection or cost, especially if the reigning paradigm is in direct opposition about the fundamental elements of reality, around morality and even the spiritual dimension to reality." asserted
paradigm → have → reality
Friedman pointed to Eric Liddell, the Scottish Olympian who chose not to run in a race in the 1924 Summer Olympics because the event was held on Sunday and conflicted with Sabbath. " asserted
event → point → Sabbath
The lesson applies to David and anyone in these situations, as the characters reveal that paradox of these tensions in that if Eric had run on Sunday, he would have cut himself off from the very power source that enabled him to win. asserted
that → apply → him
There is really not another choice in these situations," Friedman continued. asserted
Friedman → be → situations
Entertainment journalist DeWayne Hamby said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Hollywood decision makers were likely a little scared of someone marching to the beat of a different drum. asserted
makers → say → drum
"I think it scares people a little bit, people who are making the decisions, that you have someone who you really can't predict," he said, responding to Henrie's comments about job loss. asserted
he → think → loss
"They're marching to the beat of a different drummer, so they can't really predict them as much." asserted
they → march → them
Actor Chris Pratt said during an interview in March that success in the industry can quickly turn destructive without a strong inner foundation. asserted
success → say → foundation
"You are a man of great faith, and your Instagram bio says, ‘God first, grateful to be here.’ asserted
bio → say → faith
…and 7 more, not listed.
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