‘To Reject Beauty Is To Reject God’—Actor David Henrie Discusses New Docuseries ‘Seeking Beauty’

Actor David Henrie is inviting viewers to reconsider the role of beauty in faith and culture in a new EWTN Plus travel series “Seeking Beauty,” which takes audiences inside some of Europe’s most historic churches and sacred spaces.

Henrie has over 20 years of experience as an actor, director, writer, and producer. The 36-year-old has starred in Disney’s “Wizards of Waverly Place,” “Reagan,” “That’s So Raven,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Grown Ups 2,” and “Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2.” He is also a co-founder of Novo Inspire Studios.

“What I’ve come to experience and learn, especially from going to some of these old European cities, is beauty is the language of the divine,” Henrie, who is open about his faith, told ChurchLeaders. “Beauty is a witness that God is present.”

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“So you go into the old minds, especially in Europe, and they had that understanding. They knew that beauty was the language of the divine,” Henrie explained. “And I was moved.”

“Seeking Beauty” is similar to a Stanley Tucci or an Anthony Bourdain-type travel show where Henrie explores not only culture but also historic churches that were built by people who knew they’d never get to see the finished work.

“So, we go in there and we ask questions like, why did people want to build a church knowing that they would be dead by the time it was done and their kids would be dead and their kids’ kids would be dead? That makes no sense,” Henrie shared. “But then you learn about the faith of the people, and you learn about what they believed these things stood for, and you see that old mentality is ever new—it’s mind-blowing.”

Henrie continued, “You see millions of people coming every year. We don’t see that here in America…like that doesn’t just happen.”

“There are a few exceptions,” he acknowledged, “but it’s everywhere in Europe. And it’s fascinating—that old mentality is ever new. So we really explore all these questions.”

“God has shown me throughout the course of making this show that beauty is the language of the divine. That beauty is something that can bring order into your life. It can bring peace, and contemplation,” Henrie shared. “So it just showed me that what you surround yourself with is who you will be and who you are.”