Jonathan Roumie and Mark Wahlberg promote prayer on ‘The View’: ‘Now’s a good time to start’

Two of the entertainment industry’s most recognizable men of faith told viewers of The View this week that prayer has anchored their lives, as they invited panelists and viewers alike to give it a try.

Actors Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen) and Mark Wahlberg (Father Stu) appeared on the ABC show on the first day of Lent, their foreheads marked with ash crosses as they promoted a 40-day prayer challenge on Hallow, an app with which they have partnered. 

“It is basically an opportunity for us as Christians, and even just people curious about the period of Lent, to return back to God, to find peace, to find centeredness in the midst of all of the chaos that we are all experiencing throughout the world – and to really just return to God and find our grounding, find calm in the midst of it all,” Roumie said.

To that, host Joy Behar asked, “What if you don’t pray?”

“Now’s a good time to start,” Roumie responded.

Both Roumie and Wahlberg rank among Hollywood’s most vocal men of faith – Roumie for his widely recognized role as Jesus in The Chosen and Wahlberg for his partnership with Hallow and his stated desire to create more faith-driven projects. In 2022, Wahlberg portrayed a priest in the film Father Stu. 

Wahlberg said his goal is to urge young people of faith to embrace their beliefs openly and without fear. He said his public expression of faith developed organically.

“I never wanted to deny [my faith],” he said. “I never wanted to kind of jam it down anybody’s throat. People just started asking me, ‘What works for you – what do you kind of accredit your success?’ And I was like: Well, I’ve been very fortunate. I grew up in the real world. I got into a lot of trouble when I was younger. … [But] there were pivotal times in my life where people came to me and expressed the importance of faith – to keep me on the right track, and that kind of discipline has afforded me now so many wonderful things that I want to share that with people, and I certainly want to help kids avoid making the same mistakes that I made when I was younger.”

Peer pressure, Wahlberg said, frequently pulled him in the wrong direction during his youth, when he often followed the wrong crowd.

“I’ve been put in this position for a reason, and I want to fulfill the purpose that God has chosen for me, and I want to make sure that I can just do better,” Wahlberg said. “We’re all works in progress, and we’re just trying to do better and be better. … My job is to definitely continue to encourage other people to stand up for themselves and to stand up for the right thing, and to make sure that people are trying to be the best versions of themselves.”

Wahlberg said that young men are “gravitating toward” the Hallow app. Roumie added that society needs more men who “stand firm in truth” and are “grounded in their values and the things that they believe and stand for good.”

“I think having something positive in your life that allows you to be more kind, to be more thoughtful, to be more generous, more understanding and accepting – those are things that are very important,” Wahlberg said.

Prayer is not complicated, both men emphasized.

“Prayer can be as simple as just expressing gratitude – thank-you for allowing me to wake up today,” Roumie said.