‘Do It Afraid’—Phil Wickham on What He Learned Voicing the Title Character in Angel’s Upcoming Animated Film ‘David’

Phil Wickham recently discussed with ChurchLeaders his unexpected journey of voicing adult David in Angel Studios’ animated film “David,” releasing Dec. 19.

Wickham is one of contemporary Christian music’s (CCM) most recognized voices in worship music. Throughout his career, the 41-year-old platinum selling artist has received multiple Grammy nominations and more than 10 GMA Dove Awards.

A friend connected Wickham to the casting team for “David” after learning they were looking for someone to voice the adult version of David. “My friend gave me the casting director’s number,” Wickham said. “I called him and told him, ‘Hey, I’m unoffendable. Please tell me as quick as possible if I’m horrible at this. I don’t want to be bad in a movie as much as you don’t want to be bad in a movie.'”

“I tried out on a Zoom audition. He gave me one of the hardest, most emotionally demanding moments—when Saul turns on David and throws a spear at him,” Wickham shared. “He breaks down who David is, who Saul is. He tells me, ‘You’ve got to carry humility and courage. You’re like Aladdin meets Maximus from ‘Gladiator.'” I’m thinking, ‘I don’t know what to do right now.’”

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Unsure of how well the audition went, Wickham said that he received a call a few weeks later from the casting director, who told him, “We’ve been praying about this, we’ve been thinking about it, we’ve been deliberating, and everybody believes you should be grown-up David.”

In his preparation for voicing David, Wickham learned that David wasn’t the “fearless hero” he grew up believing David was. Instead, as Wickham dove into 1 and 2 Samuel, Wickham realized David’s faith in God gave David the strength to fight Goliath even though he was afraid.

“So often I equate fear with a lack of faith,” Wickham said. “But I don’t know if that’s always the case. You can have fear but underneath it believe you can trust a God who is bigger than whatever you’re facing. So I’m going to do it afraid.”

Wickham shared, “That term has become a new term in my life—’do it afraid.’”

“If I’m a little afraid or nervous or anxious, or I don’t know if I have what it takes, but I’m standing on the side of the one who raised Jesus from the dead…if the same Spirit that raised Jesus lives in me, then I can do this,” he continued. “He will give me what I need. It’s the faith of David that stuck out to me. I want to be a man of faith like that.”

Wickham described the challenge of recording musical performances for film, noting that he had to “be David,” not Phil, and approach each song as storytelling rather than a worship track.

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“Recording the music for the film turned out to be the hardest part,” Wickham explained. “I walked into the vocal recording for the acting voice sessions thinking, I don’t know what I’m doing. I need a lot of help. And I did have a lot of help—I’m so thankful for the coaching and the directors.”