Amid reports that the teenage actress who plays Mary in the new movie “The Nativity Story” is pregnant out of wedlock, some Christians are wondering how to respond to a lead character’s personal life in a movie they have enthusiastically embraced.
Keisha Castle-Hughes, left, plays the Virgin Mary, and Hiam Abbass portrays her mother in “The Nativity Story.”The 16-year-old actress, Keisha Castle-Hughes, plays the role of the Virgin Mary in the Hollywood rendition of the story surrounding Jesus’ birth, which opened in theaters Dec. 1. In October, the agency that represents her confirmed she is expecting a baby in the spring and the father is her boyfriend of three years.
Knowing that Christians might have a problem with the news, Phil Boatwright, editor and film reviewer for previewonline.org, asked the movie’s producers, Marty Bowen and Wyck Godfrey, about the situation.
“They made no judgment call but were proud that this young girl thought more of the baby within than her own career,” Boatwright told Baptist Press. “I thought of that, too. There are a lot of 16-year-old girls who get pregnant. But this girl is not only young, she’s an up-and-coming actress, yet she felt this life was more important than herself.”
The Australian-born Castle-Hughes was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in “Whale Rider,” and she played the Queen of Naboo in last year’s “Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.”
Boatwright said he hopes that although Christians don’t want to condone sex outside marriage, they also don’t want to be too judgmental.
“This young woman played Mary, the mother of Jesus,” he said. “I’m praying that if she doesn’t already have a relationship with our Savior that she soon will. And I’m praying that little unborn child will someday proclaim Jesus as Messiah.”
Richard Ross, co-founder of the national abstinence movement True Love Waits, took a similar approach, advising Christians not to react to Castle-Hughes the way the world expects them to react.
“In the early moments of True Love Waits, I was invited to appear on the ‘Jerry Springer Show.’ They already had enlisted three teenage girls pregnant before marriage to appear as well,” Ross recounted to BP. “One of the producers called to say, ‘Rev. Ross, I am sure you’re infuriated by these girls who have been so immoral. I’m guessing you will want to call them sluts and other things on the broadcast.’
“I answered, ‘No, I would never say such things. I love those young ladies even now. I will want to be gentle with them and tell them that God loves them and is ready to walk with them through what they are facing,'” Ross said.
“The mood of the producer quickly changed and he mumbled something about having to drop me from the show,” Ross added. “The secular world expects Christians to be mean to Keisha Castle-Hughes and all the young people who make grave mistakes with their lives. But to do so is to ignore the model Christ set for his followers. With gentleness and grace, we are to point those who stumble toward redemption, forgiveness and a God of second chances.”