Stephen Baldwin: Born Again

(CBS)  Actor Stephen Baldwin enjoyed life in the fast lane during his early years in Hollywood.

"I'll admit that in the beginning I partied too much, drank too much, and snorted enough cocaine to throw the entire population of a small South American country into anaphylactic shock," he writes in his new book, "The Usual Suspect."

His film appearances in dozens of movies, including "Flintstones," "Bio-Dome," and "The Usual Suspects," earned Baldwin enough celebrity to land him at the best parties and an invitation to the Playboy mansion.

Baldwin's celebrity also stemmed from being one of four brothers from a family of professional actors, the best known being his oldest brother Alec.

It would be easy to make the assumption that a biographical book from Stephen Baldwin would be a juicy tell-all about life in Hollywood as told by an actor who has lived life on the wild side and comes from a famous family of actors.

"The purpose of the book 'The Unusual Suspect' for me is just the 'Gospel according to Stevie B.,' so to speak," he said in an interview with Judy Faber of TheShowbuzz.com. "It's just me talking about … my life experience, telling crazy stories. … So I'm not trying to hit anybody over the head about Jesus, I'm just talking about what's happened to me and what it means to me."

Life experiences? Check. Crazy stories? Check.

But Jesus?

Baldwin's wife, Kennya, daughter of Brazilian music legend Eumir Deodato, became curious about Christianity after conversations she had with a housekeeper who worked for the family while Baldwin was shooting the TV show "The Young Riders" in Tucson, Ariz.

The woman, who was also Brazilian, told Kennya that she had traveled to the United States to work for her because she had a vision that the Baldwins would become born again and start their own ministry.

After Baldwin and his wife moved back to New York, Kennya started attending a charismatic church, praying and reading the Bible twice a day. He noticed a change in her that he found inspiring.

"She became more gentle, she became less judgmental, she just changed," he said.

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