David Henrie has opened up about how losing a blockbuster franchise role to Liam Hemsworth set him on a path back to Catholicism, marriage and fatherhood.
The former Disney Channel star, 37, revealed on the Lila Rose Show that he was the final contender opposite Hemsworth for the part of Gale Hawthorne in The Hunger Games. “It was down to me and Liam Hemsworth for the role in The Hunger Games,” Henrie said. “I had a great audition and we negotiated the contracts. A three-picture deal, millions of dollars. I really wanted the role. But Liam got it.”
What began as professional disappointment became, in Henrie’s current view, “the best thing in the world.” Without the Hunger Games commitment, he was free to take a role in the 2015 film Little Boy. During that production, cast members began gathering for what he described as “philosophy nights” — group discussions probing fundamental questions about existence and purpose.
Those conversations pushed Henrie toward deeper spiritual territory. “After they all had ‘many conversations’, it made Henrie really question why the universe was created – and he found the answer to that was God,” he recounted. The actor, born and raised in the Catholic Church, experienced what he characterized as a radical transformation. “It all clicked and I radically changed the way that I live,” he said on the podcast.
That new mindset came with concrete personal commitments. “I’m not going to date another girl until I meet my wife. And I’m gonna know this is the right person and I’m going to pursue that completely,” Henrie said, describing his resolve at the time.
The pledge led him to Maria Cahill, whom he met through an archbishop after deepening his faith practice. The couple now share four children: Pia, seven; James, five; Gemma, four; and newborn son Peter.
Henrie’s religious turn has not been without professional and social costs. Speaking on the Bryce Crawford Podcast in September, he detailed the fallout from prioritizing his beliefs over industry expectations. “It was rough, lost my agents,” he said. “I walked away from a lot. I turned down a lot of roles. I was like I’m just not going to do something that I think will disrespect my belief now or disrespect our Lord.”
The sacrifices extended beyond career opportunities. “I lost a lot of money. Friends, a girlfriend at the time. I kind of was stripped of everyone, everyone that I would call a friend,” Henrie continued.
He has since rebuilt his circle around shared faith. “I found guys I respected, guys I loved, that were building me up in Christ,” he shared. “You know, I think that friendship is like an elevator. It brings you up or it brings you down. So, I made new friends and I made friends that elevated me and that challenged me, gave me great books to read and helped form me in my faith and led to meeting my wife, my best friend now.”
Henrie first gained prominence as Justin Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place, the Disney Channel series that ran from 2007 to 2012 and established him as a familiar face to young audiences. The Hunger Games casting process, which ultimately elevated Hemsworth to global recognition alongside Jennifer Lawrence, represented a potential pivot to adult blockbuster stardom that never materialized for the California-born actor.
Rather than pursuing franchise leading-man status, Henrie has carved out a different public identity — one centered on family, faith and selective professional choices that align with his religious framework.
Henrie is set to appear next at a Catholic media conference in Los Angeles.