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| Kirk Cameron | |
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 Kirk Cameron at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, May 5, 2007. |
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| Born | Kirk Thomas Cameron October 12, 1970 Panorama City, California, United States |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Spouse(s) | Chelsea Noble (1991—present) |
| Official website | |
Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970)[1] is an American actor best-known for his role as Mike Seaver on the television situation comedy Growing Pains. He is also a film director and a Christian evangelist. Cameron is currently a partner in the evangelical Christian ministry The Way of the Master.[2]
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Cameron was born on October 12, 1970[1], in Panorama City, California.[3] His parents are, father, Robert Cameron,[4] a middle school teacher, and mother, Barbara Bausmith.[5] He is the brother to Bridgette, Melissa,[5] and Candace Cameron, who is most notable for the role of D.J. Tanner on the sitcom, Full House.[6]
Cameron and his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, were married on July 21, 1991.[7] They now have six children, four of whom were adopted: Jack (born 1996), Isabella (born 1997), Anna (born 1998), and Luke (born 2000); and two biological: Olivia Rose (born July 18, 2001) and James Thomas (born April 13, 2003).[8]
Cameron began acting at the age of nine, appearing in television commercials and guest roles. His first starring role was at the age of ten in the series Two Marriages. He gained renown after being cast as "Michael Seaver" in the 1985 television series Growing Pains, for which he received two Golden Globe nominations.[9] He subsequently became a teen idol in the late 1980s, when he appeared on the covers of several teen magazines, including Tiger Beat, Teen Beat, 16 and others. At the time, he was making $50,000 a week.[10]
Cameron went on to star in a number of films, including 1987's Like Father Like Son (a body-switch comedy with Dudley Moore), which was a box-office success.[11] His next theatrical film, 1989's Listen to Me, performed poorly at the box office.[12] When Growing Pains ended in 1992, Cameron went on to star in The WB sitcom Kirk which premiered in 1995 and ended two years later. Cameron met his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, on the set of Growing Pains.[13], and worked together on Kirk.
He has since left mainstream film, though a decade after Growing Pains ended, he starred in a TV reunion movie, The Growing Pains Movie, in 2000, and another one, Growing Pains: Return of the Seavers, in 2004.[14] Cameron reunited with the cast of Growing Pains for a CNN Larry King Live interview which aired on February 7, 2006, in conjunction with the Warner Brothers release of the complete first season of Growing Pains on DVD. Aside from this, Cameron has often worked in Christian-themed productions, among them the post-Rapture movies Left Behind: The Movie, Left Behind II: Tribulation Force, and Left Behind: World at War. He works with Cloud Ten Pictures, a company which produces Christian-themed movies, and has starred in several of their other films, including The Miracle of the Cards.[15]
Cameron claims that he once was an atheist, but when he was 17, during the height of his career on Growing Pains, he developed a belief in God.[16] After converting to Christianity, he began to protest what he perceived as immorality in Growing Pains, ostracizing himself from his fellow cast members. He did not invite them to his wedding. A decade later, Cameron agreed to appear in a Growing Pains TV movie, and apologized to his TV family, attributing his prior behavior to his lack of maturity.
Cameron currently partners with fellow evangelist Ray Comfort in training Christians in evangelism. The two have a ministry together called The Way of the Master, which includes a television/video series, a multimedia website, and a live daily radio show The Way of the Master Radio Show with Minnesota talk show host Todd Friel. Cameron also appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on April 12, 2006.[17]
Comfort and Cameron participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and Kelly O'Conner of the Rational Response Squad, at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan on May 5, 2007.[18] It was moderated by ABC's Martin Bashir and parts of it were aired on Nightline. At issue was the existence of God, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible. No official winner was declared by the event producers due to business practices held by ABC, and audience reaction was mixed, with support shown for both sides. Highlights included the RRS provided several arguments in favor of atheism and evolutionary theory. Cameron and Comfort repeatedly referenced the Ten Commandments and denouncing the theory of evolution.[18]
| Year | Title | Role |
| 1985–1992 | Growing Pains | Mike Seaver |
| 1988 | Full House Episode 44: Just one of the guys | Cousin Steve |
| 1995 | The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes | Dexter Riley |
| 1995–1996 | Kirk | Kirk Hartman |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1987 | Like Father Like Son | Chris Hammond | |
| 1989 | Listen to Me | Tucker Muldowney | |
| 1998 | You Lucky Dog | Jack Morgan | Disney Channel Original Movie |
| 2000 | Left Behind: The Movie | Buck Williams | |
| 2001 | The Miracle of the Cards | Josh | |
| 2002 | Left Behind II: Tribulation Force | Buck Williams | |
| 2005 | Left Behind: World at War | Buck Williams | |
| 2008 | Fireproof | Caleb Holt |
