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Does living a faithful Christian life truly impact our children?

Brazillian actor and Veritas dad, Guilherme Berenguer, explains how his mother’s belief in Christ built the foundation for him coming to faith in the Lord, enabling him to approach all areas — family, art, work, and more — as acts of worship and stewardship for God. Guilherme also shares how his latest role, portraying Job from the Old Testament in an upcoming TV series, has been transformational in how he thinks and trusts in God’s plan.

This episode will inspire you to pursue excellence in your own calling while maintaining strong Christian foundations. Plus, you’ll gain practical wisdom about financial stewardship and encouragement about God's sovereignty in challenging seasons of life.

Episode Transcription

Note: This transcription may vary from the words used in the original episode.

Marlin Detweiler:
Welcome to another episode of Veritas Vox, the voice of classical Christian education. Today we have with us a new Veritas family father named Guilherme Berenguer. I need you to say your whole name. You told me how to say it, and now I've forgotten already.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Gui. That's going to be short for Guilherme. Let me. That's a Portuguese version. And the last name is Berenguer.

Marlin Detweiler:
Okay. Very good. And Gui is joining us today from Rio de Janeiro. And we're excited because they've been homeschooling now for three years but have joined Veritas this year for the first time. But tell us a little bit about your family and your background. Maybe people don't recognize you yet, but they might. When I say that you're pretty well known on television.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Thanks for the introduction. Yeah. We're Brazilians, me and my wife. I went to drama school in Sao Paulo, became a television actor in the early 2000s and became very popular because of a teenager show. I played a rock star, and I developed myself. Yeah.

Marlin Detweiler:
That'll make you popular real quick with the kids.

Guilherme Berenguer:
That's true, that's true. And I developed my career, and I'm blessed to say that I had a very strong mother with a very strong character, and she loved the Lord. And she gave me all the principles and foundation to build not only my personal life as well as my professional life.

So, and with that in mind, I left my hometown, that's called Recife. That's in the northeast. That's when I went to Sao Paulo to study acting, but between this period of my life where fulfilling my career was very vital, since a very early age I needed to support financially. My family came from very humble beginnings. I also had the objective of building my own family. And I have to say that I kept on praying and waiting for the right moment for the right person to be found. Right. So that's when I had an opportunity to fly to Los Angeles for a business meeting, which I thought it was a business meeting, but it was a greater plan.

Marlin Detweiler:
Was it God who engineered that or was there somebody else manipulating it?

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah, it was totally God. It had to be God. Because due to my popularity, it's a little challenging to figure the intentions and everything. So I needed to be very grounded. And I knew I had a promise for a family, and that's what I was praying for.

And I had an invitation from a guy called Scott Ross. He used to be partners with James Cameron. And he said, whenever you're in Los Angeles, just knock on the door and then we can grab some coffee. And that's what I did. That was a seed planted when I went to the U.S. I used to go to drama training between shows, and then I went to LA.

And then I had a friend that introduced me to my wife. The second day I knew that was God's perfect plan. I knew she was the one, literally on the second day. And then the rest is history. So after we got married, within one year, she moved back to Brazil.

I finished the show when she got pregnant with Sebastian. We decided to go back to the United States. And we have been living in America since then for the last 13 years. And then I just got this invitation to come back to Brazil to lead the show that I'm working on at the moment.

Marlin Detweiler:
So you are not a you're no longer living in Brazil, but you're there because of work right now.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Precisely. Yes. Yes.

Marlin Detweiler:
And Los Angeles is home now.

Guilherme Berenguer:
L.A became home for the last ten years. And when the pandemic hit, we moved to Orlando. Orlando has always been a middle ground between us and Brazil because most of the family and friends, when they come to visit, they would love to think that they should go to Disney World. They don't know about Disneyland.

They go to Disney World. And that's where we meet together. We used to have a second home in Orlando and then we switched places. So we now have a place in L.A if we need to do work or something. But for the kids, Orlando, Central Florida has been a dream. We feel so blessed.

Marlin Detweiler:
That's wonderful. That is wonderful. Well, as you may know, I used to live in Orlando, so I know the area well, but we'll not dwell on that now. Tell us about your career, kind of how it developed, ultimately getting to the work that you're, the project that you're currently working on.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah. To me, acting, communication, using words and having the ability to inspire and touch people with stories has always been something that fascinated me. So I like connecting, I like communicating, and the drama. Acting was the tool, the way for me to do it.

So I initially worked as every other actor. You start going to theater and then you have to have training for acting to act on camera for film, for television. And the biggest industry in Brazil is the TV environment. So that was the dream. And I was able to fulfill that dream. God gave me the opportunity to work for the biggest television network in South America.

And I worked for that studio as an exclusive cast for ten years of my major in the acting, a great start. And as I told you, I'd love to think and act on the principles that have been given to me by my mother. And also I became an avid learner and student of the scriptures.

And that's how I try to conduct and guide my life. So when it comes to excellence, if God gave you the talents and you're multiplying your talents, that means that you should continue to refine your talents. And for acting, I continue to study, I continue to develop. Aside from my investment and entrepreneurship kind of behavior.

When I came to America, I decided to give a pause in my career because I needed to support my family. Entrepreneurship and investments in real estate became something to give me that foundation. As you may know, if you're in the entertainment business — I heard from the guy who wrote the book Rich Dad Poor Dad — most of the people that work in the entertainment business do the entertainment side of it, like the craft, the talent.

But they don't spend time, they don't put energy on how to deal with money, how to invest, how to support the family, how to sustainably have long-lasting resources coming back to your family so you're not desperate when you need to work. That was some of the wisdom that the Lord gave me as well.

Because if you're squeezed against the wall and then you get an opportunity to work, that's not your choice anymore. Now you're being chosen.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah.

Guilherme Berenguer:
You know, and I.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah, you can make some pretty bad decisions in things while you're under financial pressure. Correct. The acting world, that could cause real bad choices. I could see that.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah. So especially when I started going on this journey of how can I get some financial literacy, I heard about Nicolas Cage. I grew up — who didn't grow up — watching Nicolas Cage? And now he's got challenges with paying his taxes. And then you've heard of Elton John, and I grew up listening to Elton John, like my mother used to listen to Elton John.

And now he's going bankrupt. And Mike Tyson. And then I tried to understand. I also did my research with my colleagues here. As I'm talking to people that I work with, I'm figuring out they don't talk about that, they don't plan ahead of the game.

Marlin Detweiler:
It's amazing when you look at the professional athlete world, how many people direct millions of dollars and end up bankrupt because they haven't understood it doesn't last forever. And this is an opportunity to seed investment because it won't last forever and they don't think that way.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I agree, agree. And also the responsibility — that shifted my perspective on money when I learned about how to manage. Because coming from a very humble and poor background, my motivation initially was I'm going to give my kids what I didn't have. And rereading the Bible, something comes like it.

You change it to me when, now I have to manage God's resources in a better way. Now I have to teach them what I didn't know.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Which was a big, big change for me. Like in perspective.

Marlin Detweiler:
And those are some wonderful lessons to learn as a young man, which I'm calling you, I get to be a young man because I'm a lot older now.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Si. Thank you.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah. Tell us how you became a Christian and kind of how that progressed. You spoken very highly of your mother. I'm going to bet she plays pretty strong in this question.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Correct? Yeah. She, I actually grew up watching her, praying, writing, journaling, praying for, like, everybody in our families, in our neighborhood. So she got divorced of my father. I was still about to be born. And as she's going through that challenging her life word. Yeah. She goes. And that's when she accepted Jesus.

So as I'm born, I'm born knowing Christ from her, so raised Christian, you know, and, but, when I was 17 years old, that's when I took the hit, like, this is me now, this is between me and the Holy Spirit. Now, this is it's up to me to make the better decisions when it comes to my life with Christianity and, not religious.

Right. So we want to have a relationship with our, you know, father and then, that's when it made me make my own choices when it comes to am I going to develop that? And since then, I inherited from my mother the writing. Okay skills like writing every day, setting my mind like Romans 12, setting my mind to be renewed every day.

And I take pride on that because I like to write, I like to put in my prayers on paper. I like to show the Lord this is what I'm thinking. Can you help me walk step by step on this direction?

Marlin Detweiler:
Does that writing include or do you think it might include someday, you writing shows or writing scripts?

Guilherme Berenguer:
I'll take the seed. I'll take that as a seed to be planted in my fruitful soil, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, I'd like to think so.

Marlin Detweiler:
That's a whole different topic. I don't want to get too direct. Yeah, but.

Guilherme Berenguer:
But I have to say that since 1999, I have my manuscripts that I have. I'm as I'm playing in the show and I'm reviewing some of those writings from the back and they're somehow correlated, which, you know, it's a good idea to think about it to be I mean, to me, I've been speaking with my wife Bianca, and then I say, we got it.

We got to present the Lord what we have and say, hey, here's our talents. Help us multiply that, because sometimes you're trying to give God some type of guidance. Hey, God, here's my plan. This is what I wrote. If logically I do so and so and so and so. Most likely I will reap those fruits. But God.

God is God. You know, we can't go there, right? So I'm showing him and say, here are my fruits. I just don't want to bury them. I want to make sure they're because it's not for me. Right? It's not for you. It's. We got to overflow. That's what my mind is going when it comes to writing, when it comes to my art, when it comes to the acting work and everything we do nowadays.

Marlin Detweiler:
Well, it seems you've been quite busy as an actor. And right now the project, as I understand it, is an episode all production on the life of Job. And you're playing Job. Do I have that right?

Guilherme Berenguer:
Correct. Yes, yes.

Marlin Detweiler:
Tell us about it. I know that it's yet to be released. By the time this episode gets released, it might actually be out in the marketplace. I don't know, so I don't know what you can say about it. Correct his point, but we'd love to hear what you're allowed to tell us.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yes. This is it. That's correct. So I'm playing Job in the life of Job. It's produced.

Marlin Detweiler:
When I think about what Job looks like. I thought he was older.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I'm 44, but I agree, you know what? But when we were. We have the ability to create our series, our films, our art based on the Bible stories. And then we have the ability to use some of the creativity, I guess. And I have to say that it requires a lot to play Job, which every time I used to in the past when I read the book of Job and then we always know the end of the story, and then we kind of get relaxed, right, to say, oh, this is the end.

He's going to have the restitution. Everything is going to be amazing, and he's going to be fine. But as you go through in the middle of the book, when he's dealing with the friends, when he's dealing with the questions, when he's dealing with is God fair, he's God just is how to deal with that, you know, and the questions that arise from him.

So it took me a lot. And I have to say from my writing, because that's where there is some correlation, where how can Job borrow from me? How can I learn more from Job, from the Scripture and from the script and what I can say, it's we're going to be releasing, the premiere will be in, within a week, August 15th, the TV network is going to display on television, and they have their own app platform where you subscribe for the Portuguese audience.

Marlin Detweiler:
Who is the producer of it or who is the. Where will it be seen?

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah, that's called TV Record Network. Okay. Like recording records and network, they do have their own app, but I would take, I would take the, and I have to say they have been negotiating with Disney Plus.

Marlin Detweiler:
Okay.

Guilherme Berenguer:
So if the American audience would like just to watch it, you would be most likely in the Disney Plus app. Wonder which is I think it's a great combination because now they're buying content that we love to watch and learn from. So but it's been a good journey.

Like it requires a lot from an acting because while I'm in the United States, my career as an actor is paused as I'm working with my wife and we have the business, we have our real estate investments. And as we were having this conversation with the Lord, I said, hey, Lord, what am I going to do with the talent?

With the acting talent? And I got a call from the casting director saying, hey, Gui, the writer of the show, as we were discussing in the meeting who would play job, she got your name and say where? I wonder where it is we have a proposal for you.

Yeah. My wife is making sure that she's the owner of the network and she's the writer of the show. Yes. That's right. And she got my name out of nothing. Right. So of course you get a whisper from our father and she goes, I wonder where I get is he's the guy who's going to play job.

So then she tells the casting director to call me in with him because normally when you got a proposal you're going to pray or you're going to discuss with your manager or you're going to figure out stuff like, let me see this. I didn't have that time. She called me. She goes, I know you live in America.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I know it's been a while since your last act and with your Brazilian agenda for the Brazilian audience, I got to propose it in a character for you. And I said, what's the proposal and what's the care? And she goes, is job. You're playing the lead role, you're the name of the show. And it's going to require you in 4 to 6 months in Brazil. Would you like to be part of it? In less than a minute, I said, I'm interested and I'd like to.

Marlin Detweiler:
I wonder how long ago was that?

Guilherme Berenguer:
March.

Marlin Detweiler:
Okay. So March. Today is August. So we're talking basically five months.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Five months. Correct. And I knew was something special because, as I told you, I.

Marlin Detweiler:
Like in this industry, isn't it?

Guilherme Berenguer:
It is. I mean, I have to say the Brazilian film, television production, they've been doing a great job when it comes to quality. If you compare it to Hollywood, if you're comparing to the US market, we have a very interesting conversation when it comes to production talent and possibilities.

Marlin Detweiler:
So the language of the show in Portuguese or English.

Guilherme Berenguer:
That's Portuguese.

Marlin Detweiler:
That is Portuguese.

Guilherme Berenguer:
That is Portuguese. But what I've been learning for the last year. Every production they've been going, they're producing, as we know, in America. Right. Everything you produce in the United States is for worldwide distribution. You get the subtitles in every language possible. Well, they're doing, I think, with artificial intelligence and the distribution because of the internet and the applications, the streaming services they've been producing with the possibility to dub or audio replacement for English, for Spanish, for other languages, for other markets.

So I'm expecting the show to be in English as well. And then I'm proposing them to play me with my English, with my accent as well. Why not?

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah, well, that would be fun. Tell us about what you've learned about the person of Job from this experience.

Guilherme Berenguer:
That's an interesting question. To trust more. I used to question a lot as well, because, if you're. If you're it's.

Marlin Detweiler:
Quite a challenge because in the beginning, Job was as trusting as I can imagine me ever being and still.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah, he got really tall. Taught some great messages.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah.

Marlin Detweiler:
Dubs life.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I agree. When you're acting every day, when you're living your life in every day and you're doing what's right, what's just, and you're expecting the same in return, and it doesn't come. It comes the other way around. How can you continue to trust God? How can you continue to protect your heart as the Bible teaches us?

Right? So protect above all the things your heart because that's where every source of life will come from. What I see is a steady heart, even though with our questions. Right, we all have limitations. And then we say we're going to present the Lord our limitations. And I don't agree, Lord, but if you don't, if you agree or you don't agree, you don't have the power.

But you do have the ability to trust despite every challenge. I'll show you something really quick that happened yesterday. Okay? You may remember from Job's book that, when he got information, when he got the information that the kids were.

Marlin Detweiler:
The children were.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yeah. Children. Yeah. Dead. Then he, you know, he tears his clothes and really quick shaves.

Marlin Detweiler:
So you did that yesterday?

Guilherme Berenguer:
Yes. I'm still digesting. My kids didn't see me like this. It was yesterday. The emotional, the big day where, you know, you got, you know, Job's servants to come and say this is what happened. And then a lot of crying. And I did on the scene like I did on, it's been a journey.

So as a human being, as a Christian, as an actor, I've been learning like, if I have to put in one word would be trust. But how do you deal with having your health affected? How do you deal with losing every possible, you know, child? How do you deal with all the losses and even your wife that's one with you say, you know, turns your back to you and leave you alone.

So it's a lot to digest. And also remember, it reminds us that this is temporary. Right, so one day we're going to see him with our own eyes, our own eyes. And it kind of gives you like a reality check, like, does this. Yes. It's cool. Everything. But one day it's going to be over. You'll be where it's permanent, where it's forever.

Marlin Detweiler:
This is preseason. Using a sports metaphor. This is the preseason.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Preseason. Yes, I agree. So I'm learning how to be a better father. I'm learning how to be a better husband. I'm learning how to be a better brother. Yeah, I'm learning how to study more of the scriptures and allow and accept more of my limitations. Like, how do you deal with your thinking process that you're doubting God because something didn't happen or it didn't happen the way you would like to?

How do you deal with your thinking process that you're doubting God because something didn't happen or it didn't happen the way you would like to?

Marlin Detweiler:
So that's I love the fact that this story is being brought to the screen, because it is a powerful story, and it's a very visual story.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I agree, that's a good point. That's a very good point. When you glance, you have to see visually the whole timeline of Job's story. It's as you described. It's very visual.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah, I'm very encouraged by what I'm seeing in your industry from many different sources. We've had interactions with Irwin Brothers and helped promote their movies from time to time and have enjoyed interactions with some of the Kendrick brothers. And you're.

Guilherme Berenguer:
There in Brazil.

Marlin Detweiler:
It's exciting to see what's going on. What encouragement do you have to our audience, the students that are coming up, the parents that are raising them as it relates to the entertainment industry and how we can be about the kingdom of God within the entertainment industry?

Guilherme Berenguer:
I'm a firm believer that we have to go with all the capability allowing ourselves to learn to get all the technical aspect, the professional aspect, the excellence, the quality.

Marlin Detweiler:
Excellence doesn't come easy. It's hard work.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I agree, but that's what we're here for. We can't just do the average stuff. We want to do something excellent. And I think with the streaming possibilities, it's amazing how we have the outlet to allow children and the new generation to go for it and do better stuff than we did.

You know, we're just paving the way for them to come in and use all the resources possible in film, television, theater to communicate powerful, inspiring and transformational messages. When it comes to what we believe. So yeah, I think it's amazing. And I really encourage like to if you it's interesting recently saw an interview from Tom Cruise the way he described.

His manner to acquire knowledge is so unique. And we all have this ability, like he used to say, I didn't go to acting school. I used to watch every possible movie from every from all the from all angles. From all departments angles. Like from a directors, from a deep angle, from the camera guy angle, from the makeup.

And he knew every possible department in the movie industry. So he knew what a whole movie would is with the highest quality possible so that he could understand when he's on set. He knows from every angle, from every possible angle. And I think we can all develop that ability to have a big view of all these divisions, departments.

And we continue to develop professionals like study hard, like putting big being committed to do like, as you said, like this is as an athlete, right? You're going to the Olympics. So you can't it's the goal you're aiming for. It's the the.

Marlin Detweiler:
Top of the heap.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Correct? Yeah. So.

Marlin Detweiler:
Well, let's.

Guilherme Berenguer:
I need to see that because I grew up in a generation where this wouldn't be possible. Like it was a challenge. And being able to play Job, being able to watch what the Kendrick brothers are doing, what we have available nowadays and with the streaming services we need to I like to say that we need to occupy these space and we got to bring the new generation to that.

Marlin Detweiler:
Well, I sure believe that classically educated kids who become great storytellers are ideally. Yeah, the whole idea that God works in story many times and classical education facilitates that. But I think we're raising kids who would love to follow in your footsteps, who would love to learn from you. And I hope this is helpful. Thank you so much for joining us.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Oh, thank you so very much for having me and my family too.

Marlin Detweiler:
Yeah, well, we look forward to having you as part of the Veritas Scholars Academy, too. And folks, thank you for joining us at Veritas Vox, the voice of classical Christian education, Gui, Thank you.

Guilherme Berenguer:
Thank you. Bye.