Christian actor Jesse Hutch opened up about a near-death experience that led him to encounter Jesus in a new way and shared how the Lord has since guided him away from secular roles in film and TV.
In a recent interview with CBN, the Canadian-born actor, who stars in “A Christmas Blessing” on Great American PureFlix, credited God for his survival after he nearly died in a drowning accident a little over two decades ago while whitewater rafting.
“When I look back on my life, there was a definite hand that kept me out of trouble, in many ways. And in some ways, allowed me to get in just enough trouble to learn the lesson, but not walk away completely busted,” the 42-year-old actor said.
“I drowned when I was 21 years old. That was another miracle in my life. I should be dead. I shouldn’t have lived. And if I did, I shouldn’t be able to speak; I shouldn’t be able to hear; I shouldn’t be able to talk.”
At the time of his near-fatal drowning, Hutch had been working as a professional whitewater raft guide.
“I was five years in, so you know, I was a professional at this. It wasn’t anything new. And circumstances all lined up and I ended up underwater. They guesstimate anywhere from 11 to 22 minutes. And eventually, somebody found me,” Hutch recounted.
“They brought me back. They got me to the hospital. They put me in a pressure chamber. And … I walk and talk and breathe and chew bubble gum, and that shouldn’t be happening. So again, just another reminder that God has His hand on my life and there’s a reason for it. When I have less tough days, I go, ‘Man, God’s got purpose here.”
Hutch said although it took a few weeks for him to recover after drowning, it was an “absolute miracle” that he survived after being submerged for nearly half an hour.
“My eardrums didn’t completely explode. They should have. They should have been wrecked. My vocal cords still have a few [issues], my voice will get really deep. Sometimes, people are like, ‘Well, I can’t hear you. What are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘Man, my vocal cords. They just wrapped together.’ They have a bit of a shift and … there’s a lot of pressure that happens,” he said.
Hutch, who came to know the Lord at age 11, and became closer to God following his near-death experience, said that as part of his ministry, he will often share how he’s blessed to be alive and that “there’s something out there that’s beyond science fiction here. This is supernatural.”
When asked about his experience as a Christian actor in a competitive acting industry, Hutch said that his faith always comes first when choosing roles. He said he aims to be “discerning” when deciding what acting roles he will play.
“There’s a sort of spiritual growth that I think needs to appear there for all of us, no matter what we do. And I’ve really found that along the way. Prayer, and really leaning into my relationship with my wife and the two of us really sort of spearheading that direction of career,” Hutch shared.
“It’s not just my career. … You try to impact others. I want to change … I want to affect my marriage. I want to affect my children. I want to touch the community. There are a lot of angles that you have to think of. You really need direction in that. You have to have a base. You have to have support,” he continued.
“I can’t just wing it. Though sometimes, yes, you’re improvising, you’re rolling with it. But a lot of the time, you have a base. And as you mentioned, for me, that is faith.”
There have been times in his acting career when Hutch said he has turned down opportunities because playing certain roles went against his faith.
“There are times that I’m like, ‘Man, I really love this story, but … I can’t be the face of it.’ Some stories need to be told face-to-face across a coffee table. Some stories need to be told in movie theaters and some need to be on a streaming platform. I think that you got to figure that out along the way,” Hutch said.
“For me, personally, I really want to kind of love everybody and where they’re at and what they’re doing. And yet, at the same time, really know what I believe and stay established in that so that I don’t just fall over when someone has an idea or opinion,” he added.
“Scripture says, ‘You should not be led by a reed in the ocean, going to and fro.’ You really need to run the raft of reason before you take that leap of faith. If you say you believe something, then live that out. Live it out in your marriage. Live it out in your workplace. Live it out in your community. Live it out in your finances, your parenting, like how you handle strangers. I mean just live that out,” he continued.
“You won’t be perfect, but by no means does belief in a God mean you’re perfect. I mean if anything, it means you really recognize how messed up you are; and how you better make some changes.”
