Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor, director, and Christian evangelist who is perhaps most notable for his role as "Mike Seaver" on the sitcom Growing Pains. Cameron is currently a partner in the evangelical Christian ministry The Way of the Master.

Biography

Early life

Cameron was born in Panorama City, California, USA to Rob Cameron and Barbara Bausmith, and is the brother of actress Candace Cameron. He also lived next door to Adam Rich (who shares the same birthday with him). Adam's mother Fran encouraged the Cameron family to pursue an acting career.

Acting career

Cameron appeared in several smaller film and television roles in the early 1980s, gaining renown after being cast as "Mike Seaver" in the 1985 television series Growing Pains. 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.
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. His next theatrical film, 1989's Listen to Me, performed poorly at the box office.
When he was "about 17 years old" (though others say in 1990) Cameron, who was not raised in a church-going family, converted to evangelical Christianity and 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, according to the 2003 article[1] in Christianity Today.
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. He has since left mainstream film and works almost exclusively 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 Miracle of Cards. The Left Behind Series is probably one of Kirk's best known roles in the Cloud Ten Pictures movie productions.

Evangelism ministry

Currently, Cameron 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 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, the first 22 episodes of the series, on Region 1 DVD. On March 17, 2006, Martin Bashir interviewed Comfort and Cameron about The Way of the Master on a segment of Nightline. Cameron also appeared on The O'Reilly Factor on April 12, 2006.
Comfort and Cameron participated in a televised debate with atheists Brian Sapient and his colleague and girlfriend, Kelly, of the Rational Response Squad, at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan on May 5, 2007. At issue was the existence of God, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible. Nightline correspondent Martin Bashir served as moderator at the event.[2] 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 Cameron and Comfort repeatedly referencing the Ten Commandments and denouncing the theory of evolution; conversely, the RRS provided several counterarguments, in favor of atheism and the evolutionary theory.[3] While many atheists contended that Comfort violated the rules by talking about the Ten Commandments, Cameron later stated on the Way of the Master radio show that the rules of the debate did not say that the Bible could never be referenced, but rather that Comfort simply had to come up with one argument that didn't reference the Bible or faith.[4]

Private life

Cameron met his wife, actress Chelsea Noble, on the set of Growing Pains. They married on July 20, 1991, and 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).
Kirk's sister, Candace Cameron, is also notable for her appearance on another sitcom, Full House.