Some might recognize him from his role as Robbie Palmer on 7th Heaven, but Adam LaVorgna’s latest role parallels his own life and return to Christ.
Masterless is a battle between good and evil presented in the modern day and on the spiritual plane. LaVorgna plays both Kane and Ronin, Kane’s counterpart in the spiritual realm.
“It’s hard to put into words,” LaVorgna says of the film. “(Kane’s) life is mirrored in an alternate world where he has a doppelganger. It’s kind of like this spiritual world where the Ronin (a samurai without a master) represents good, and evil is represented by the master.”
The film, now available on DVD, differs from many faith-based movies because it takes viewers on a philosophical journey rather than preaching a sermon, LaVorgna says. God brought him together with writer/director Craig Shimahara, he says, to present a faith-based project to Hollywood that could see success beyond the Christian market.
The religious elements of Masterless appealed to LaVorgna because Kane’s story mirrors his own testimony. The actor’s grandmother raised him in the Catholic Church until he fell away during his time in boarding school. LaVorgna dipped his toes in the acting pool when he was 9 and quickly began landing roles. But Hollywood eventually took its toll.
“I was surrounded by pedophiles, surrounded by alcohol and drugs,” LaVorgna says. “Those I looked up to were all doing it. I had this delusional idea of what it’s like to be happy and successful. I got away from church at 15-16, and by my mid-20s, I was lost.”
Though LaVorgna let go of God, God never let go of him.
To return to God and church, LaVorgna says he needed a dose of maturity: “Once I matured enough to face God, to look at Him, for Him to be proud, once I started doing that, my life turned around. It was slow but on a steady incline.”
LaVorgna wants his faith to be the drive behind his success now.
“Fame and money comes with being successful, but if I’m successful, I will have a voice and impact people … ,” LaVorgna says. “Everything’s about what you do while you’re here (on Earth), and if I can actually help here, there’s nothing cooler than that.” —Jessilyn Justice
