Late-night TV isn’t typically where you go looking for faith — but in the past few years, it’s quietly become a space for honest conversations about God, purpose and redemption. Whether it’s a comedian reflecting on their roots, a musician sharing a hard-won hope or a worship artist bringing the Gospel to prime time, these moments stood out not just for their boldness, but for their humanity.
Brandon Lake Brings Worship to Late Night
Brandon Lake made his Jimmy Kimmel Live! debut with a powerful performance of “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” joined by genre-blending hitmaker Jelly Roll.
The emotional anthem — a raw, gospel-tinged reflection on pain and perseverance — marked one of the rare times a worship artist has taken center stage on late-night TV alongside a mainstream artist, unapologetically singing about redemption.
Since its release, the song has gone platinum and spent 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, making it one of the most commercially successful Christian collaborations of the year.
Jelly Roll called the experience “such a blessing,” telling Kimmel, “I felt like it was God in every way. Brandon Lake is the real deal.”
Steph Curry Talks Purpose and Philippians
Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry is no stranger to sharing his faith. But on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he offered a simple reminder that even in the heat of the game, he’s grounded in something deeper.
Written on his shoes is “413,” a nod to his favorite verse, Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
“That’s my source of strength and determination and my purpose,” Curry said. “Anything that you do in life is going to require that undying faith in yourself and the belief that you can conquer anything. And for me, through Christ as my strength — I can do all things.”
He added, “You’re always searching for purpose and why you’re here — and for me, that’s it.”
Chris Pratt Talks Fasting, Fame and Inner Light
In a 2019 appearance on Colbert that’s recently resurfaced just in time for Lent, Chris Pratt opened up about doing the Daniel Fast — a 21-day spiritual diet of “no meat, no sugar and no alcohol” inspired by the biblical book of Daniel.
“It was actually amazing,” Pratt said, laughing at himself for enjoying three weeks without processed sugar or steak. Colbert quipped that Daniel’s real challenge wasn’t carbs — it was surviving a den of lions. Pratt shot back, “Lion fighting is sick cardio.”
But the conversation took a serious turn when Colbert asked if being a celebrity ever felt like its own lion’s den. “Yeah,” Pratt said, “sometimes it does feel like that.” He shared a line he heard in church that stuck with him: “If the spotlight that’s shining on you is brighter than the light that comes from within you, it will kill you.”
Originally attributed to Christine Caine, the quote hits even harder in an era of constant performance — whether on stage, on screen or online.
Nick Cave Preaches Hope on Late Night
Nick Cave has never been one to shy away from the big questions. But during a recent Colbert appearance, the legendary musician might have delivered the most unexpectedly spiritual monologue of the year.
He recounted a letter he received through his Red Hand Files project, from someone wrestling with cynicism and despair. His response — shared live — was a poetic defense of hope itself.
“Much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt,” Cave said. “It was a position both seductive and indulgent … It took a devastation to teach me the preciousness of life and the essential goodness of people.”
Cave called hope “the warrior emotion that can lay waste to cynicism.” And then, with the weight of lived experience behind every word, he reminded viewers: “Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like — such as reading to your little boy, showing him something you love, singing him a song, or putting on his shoes — keeps the devil down in the hole.”
Paul Walter Hauser Finds Redemption on Set
While promoting his Emmy-winning role as serial killer Larry Hall in Black Bird, Paul Walter Hauser opened up to Colbert about the real transformation that happened behind the scenes — one that saved his life and his family.
“This really changed my life because I ended up getting sober in the middle of the shoot,” he said. “I was in a rough place personally. I was not the best version of myself — to put it vague and safe.”
Filming in New Orleans — “a spiritually thick place,” as Hauser described it — forced him to confront some darkness in himself. “I started going to therapy,” he said. “It was the catalyst for all these wonderful things that happened, including healing my family.”
Hauser now wears an “I Am Second” bracelet and shared about participating in the Christian video series of the same name. “If you look it up on YouTube, you can see my wife and I, our whole story,” he said. “We very vulnerably talk about our problems and how we mended them and how we got back together. It’s a beautiful story.”
Dustin Nickerson’s Fallon Debut Keeps the Faith Funny
Christian comedian and former youth pastor Dustin Nickerson made his Tonight Show debut with hilarious takes on marriage, aging and why sleep just keeps getting harder.
Nickerson, who’s built a loyal following for his clean stand-up and subtle faith references, joked about hitting 20 years of marriage — “I’ve been married longer than Billie Eilish has been alive” — and navigating midlife exhaustion.
He’s no stranger to late night, having previously appeared on Comedy Central, The Late Late Show with James Corden and After Midnight alongside Taylor Tomlinson. But the Fallon set marked a milestone for Nickerson, who manages to keep his material sharp, honest and refreshingly free of cynicism — something increasingly rare in comedy these days.
Taylor Tomlinson’s Christian Comedy Detour
Let’s end this list with a bit of a zig instead of a zag. Comedian Taylor Tomlinson’s origin story includes a stint in the Christian comedy scene — one that ended with a tweet and a tour cancellation.
On Colbert, the After Midnight host recalled opening for a popular Christian comedian in her teens. But just before a show, she tweeted “an innuendo” that promptly got her dropped from the tour. “I was 16,” she said. “I didn’t know.”
The experience forced her to rethink her material — and her career. But in hindsight, it was the push she needed to find her true comedic voice.
