Hollywood has always been good at projecting faith on screen. The priest with a crisis of conscience. The soldier who finds God in a foxhole. The dying parent who makes peace with something bigger than themselves. Off screen, though, the reality is more varied – and the celebrities willing to say plainly that they don’t believe in God are more numerous, and more interesting in their reasoning, than the headlines usually suggest.
What makes the topic worth paying attention to isn’t the spectacle of fame rejecting religion. It’s the specificity. A two-time Oscar winner who says losing her mother made her certain. A comedian who decided at age eight. An action hero who once said he believes in Al Pacino. These aren’t PR stunts or casual provocations. For most of them, it’s a position they’ve held for decades, stated in interviews, worked into their creative output, and returned to when pushed. The range of how they arrived there – and how they talk about it – tells you more about these individuals than almost anything else on their Wikipedia pages.
It’s also worth noting the spectrum. Atheism, agnosticism, and what some might call “spiritual but secular” aren’t the same thing, and several of the names below have navigated that spectrum publicly, sometimes changing their stated position across years. A few explicitly call themselves atheists. Others prefer the more uncertain territory of agnosticism. And at least one famous face spent years in the atheist camp before quietly walking back out. Celebrity atheism beliefs are rarely as simple as a single interview quote suggests.
Ricky Gervais: The Evangelist Who Hates Evangelism
Ricky Gervais has been an avowed atheist since he was eight years old. According to a Rolling Stone profile, that conviction wound up helping him when a test audience gave an early version of The Office the lowest rating in the history of the BBC – and he refused to change a word of it. The logic he gave: “I’ve always done exactly what I wanted. Which is important for an atheist, because there’s nothing else. No reward later.”
He’s one of the most outspoken atheists in entertainment, treating religion the same way he treats everything else: with sharp humor and zero restraint. His five hosting stints at the Golden Globes became a recurring public venue for that stance. When he returned for a fourth time as host, he not only included the Catholic Church in his opening monologue but spoke candidly about being an atheist in media interviews ahead of the show. In one exchange, he described his view of God as belief in “a magical sky wizard or deity.”
What separates Gervais from simply being combative is that he’s been consistent about one thing: he doesn’t want to take anyone’s faith away. He has said, “As an atheist, I see nothing ‘wrong’ in believing in a god. I don’t think there is a god, but belief in him does no harm. If it helps you in any way, then that’s fine with me. It’s when belief starts infringing on other people’s rights when it worries me.”
Daniel Radcliffe: Relaxed, Then Not So Much
Daniel Radcliffe declared himself an atheist in a 2009 interview, and added that he was an admirer of Richard Dawkins, an evolutionary biologist known for his criticism of creationism and intelligent design. His initial framing was characteristically low-key: “I’m an atheist, but I’m very relaxed about it. I don’t preach my atheism, but I have a huge amount of respect for people like Richard Dawkins who do.”
That relaxed position has a limit. A big believer in the separation of church and state, Radcliffe has been explicit that he becomes “a militant atheist when religion starts impacting on legislation.” According to the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Radcliffe said in a 2012 interview that he has a problem with religion or anything else that says, “We have all the answers. We change our minds on issues all the time. Religion leaves no room for human complexity.”
By 2019, his stated position had softened slightly at the edges. Ahead of his role in the TV series Miracle Workers – in which he played a junior angel tasked with preventing God from destroying Earth – Radcliffe described himself as “agnostic leaning toward atheism,” adding “I don’t expect there to be a God and an afterlife – I would be pleasantly surprised if there was.” The Harry Potter franchise is full of resurrection imagery, chosen-one mythology, and sacrifice for the greater good. Radcliffe has always been clear that none of that made him reconsider.
Emma Thompson: The Feminist Case Against God
British actress Emma Thompson said in a 2008 interview, “I’m an atheist; I suppose you can call me a sort of libertarian anarchist. I regard religion with fear and suspicion. It’s not enough to say that I don’t believe in God. I actually regard the system as distressing: I am offended by some of the things said in the Bible and the Quran, and I refute them.”
Her reasoning shifted into sharper focus in later years. In a 2018 interview, Thompson talked about calling herself an atheist, saying she does so despite valuing a spiritual aspect of life. She says she’s an atheist because she’s seen organized religions oppress women for a long time. In her words, “The reason that I am an atheist in so far as the world religions that we have, is because I have seen them oppress so many women for so long. So, to me, religion is the history of the oppression of women.”
That’s a different argument from most celebrity atheists, who tend to frame their non-belief in terms of evidence, logic, or science. Thompson’s is a moral indictment. She’s not saying she can’t find proof of God’s existence. She’s saying the institutional record of religion is reason enough to reject it.
Jodie Foster: The Atheist Who Loves Ritual
Foster was brought up in an atheist home with very little exposure to religion. But her atheism doesn’t stop her from celebrating the differences in other people. A 2007 CNN profile noted that Foster told Entertainment Weekly she was an atheist, adding: “But I absolutely love religions and the rituals. Even though I don’t believe in God, we celebrate pretty much every religion in our family with the kids.”
What’s striking about her position isn’t the label itself but the lack of hostility in it. She doesn’t see religious ritual as something to be mocked or dismantled. She sees it as culturally rich and emotionally valuable, even if the metaphysics don’t add up for her. The two-time Academy Award winner has never softened her atheism to make it more palatable, but she’s also never weaponized it. When her children asked whether they were Jewish or Catholic, her answer was: “Well, I’m not, but you can choose when you’re 18.”
Ian McKellen and the Causes He Carries
Sir Ian McKellen, best known for his roles as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men films, has listed atheism among the causes he cares most about. He has said, “I’m an atheist. So God, if She exists, isn’t really a part of my life.” In one interview, McKellen added, “I don’t understand religion. I don’t get it at all.”
McKellen has not only talked about his atheism but has also been a vocal advocate for humanist principles and gay rights, intertwining his personal beliefs with his activism. For McKellen, the two are inseparable. Religious institutions’ historical treatment of LGBTQ+ people is part of why, for him, atheism and humanism belong in the same sentence.
Keira Knightley: The Honest Inconvenience
Keira Knightley’s take on her atheism is one of the more self-aware in any celebrity interview. She thinks it limits her fun, and has joked that she’d prefer to be a Catholic. “If only I wasn’t an atheist, I could get away with anything,” she said. “You’d just ask for forgiveness and then you’d be forgiven. It sounds much better than having to live with guilt.”
There’s a moral seriousness buried in the joke. Knightley isn’t saying religion is ridiculous. She’s saying atheism comes with a price – that without confession or absolution, accountability sticks. You carry it yourself. Knightley has supported a number of humanitarian efforts, from anti-domestic violence campaigns to raising awareness for the global refugee crisis – not despite having no religion to motivate her, but apparently in spite of it.
Julianne Moore: Loss as the Proof
Julianne Moore has talked about how her atheist beliefs became stronger after her mother passed away. Losing her mother made her certain about not believing in God. She thinks that we created religions to make sense of the world. Explaining her thoughts, she said, “I learned when my mother died five years ago that there is no ‘there’ there.”
The phrase “there is no ‘there’ there” is doing a lot of work. It’s not angry. It’s not triumphant. It’s the language of someone who looked for something when they needed it most and found nothing. In an earlier television interview, Moore had been asked what she would like to hear God say to her at the gates of heaven. She replied, “Well, I guess you were wrong. I do exist.” That was the joke. The grief made it real.
Seth MacFarlane: The Atheist With a Platform
Through shows like Family Guy and American Dad, Seth MacFarlane regularly questions religion and challenges organized faith. Off screen, he has confirmed he’s an atheist and credits science with shaping his worldview. MacFarlane has said religion never made sense to him, even early on.
He’s been quoted as saying, “I do not believe in God. I’m an Atheist.” His framing of atheism as a civil rights issue is perhaps his most pointed statement on the subject. When asked about his outspokenness, he said: “It’s like the civil-rights movement. There have to be people who are vocal about the advancement of knowledge over faith.” Whether or not you agree with the analogy, it captures something about why MacFarlane has never stayed quiet about where he stands: he thinks visibility matters.
Helen Mirren: The Christian Who Doesn’t Believe
Helen Mirren’s position is one of the most unusual on this list. The Oscar-winning actress has come out publicly as an atheist, sharing with a women’s lifestyle magazine in 2013: “I’d describe myself as a Christian who doesn’t believe in God. I can’t help being Christian because I was brought up in Britain and the morality of Christianity is part of the fabric of this country. But I don’t believe in God. I do believe in treating other people as you’d want to be treated and being empathetic.”
That formulation is more honest about the cultural function of religion than most people ever get. She’s not claiming a logical impossibility. She’s distinguishing between the metaphysical claim and the moral inheritance. The ethics stayed. The theology didn’t.
Javier Bardem: The Funniest Answer to a Serious Question
A cover story in 2012 noted that Spanish actor Javier Bardem is an atheist. He is quoted as saying, “I’ve always said I don’t believe in God; I believe in Al Pacino.”
It’s a deflection, but not an empty one. Bardem plays villains who operate outside any moral order the universe might impose. His most famous role, Anton Chigurh in No Country for Old Men, is essentially a philosophical argument about randomness and the absence of cosmic justice. Whether or not he intended the parallel, “I believe in Al Pacino” is the answer of someone who finds meaning in human creation – performance, character, the intensity of a face on screen – rather than in divine design.
Billy Joel and Hugh Laurie: The Straightforward Cases
Some people on this list have written essays about their non-belief, hosted conventions, and built entire TV careers around it. Billy Joel simply answered the question when it was asked. In a 2010 radio interview, asked whether he believed in God, Joel replied, “No. I’m an atheist.” He identified with his Jewish heritage culturally while rejecting the religious practice entirely.
Hugh Laurie, who brought skepticism to life on screen as the curmudgeonly Dr. House, is an adamant atheist off screen too. Laurie has hosted atheist conventions and used humor to challenge religious concepts. In 2018, he was the main guest speaker at the American Atheists convention.
Jack Black: The Bar Mitzvah Atheist
Comedy icon Jack Black is open about being an atheist. Although raised Jewish and celebrating a Bar Mitzvah, he went on to reject religious practice. Black has conceded that bringing up his children in Jewish customs is “a little hypocritical” because he doesn’t believe, yet his candor, blended with humor, has made him one of Hollywood’s most refreshingly open voices on religion.
That admission of hypocrisy is worth noting. He’s not pretending to have resolved the tension between cultural identity and theological disbelief. He’s holding both and naming the contradiction out loud.
The Brad Pitt Asterisk
Brad Pitt belongs on this list with a footnote. He spent years giving interviews that positioned him as agnostic or atheist. Then, in a cover story for GQ, he pulled back. According to HuffPost’s coverage of the interview, Pitt said he then called himself an atheist for a while, as an act of rebellion. “I wasn’t really. But I kinda labeled myself that for a while,” he said. “It felt punk rock enough.”
It’s a more honest account of how a lot of people arrive at a stated position, whether for or against religion. Rebellion, identity, peer group, geography. Pitt’s retraction doesn’t discredit the others on this list, but it does complicate the narrative that celebrities’ atheism beliefs are always arrived at through rigorous philosophical inquiry. He was raised in a devout Southern Baptist family in Missouri, and his GQ admission suggests that the label “atheist” functioned less as a conclusion than as a costume for a particular chapter of his life.
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What These Positions Actually Have in Common
The thing that connects most of the celebrities on this list isn’t a shared argument. Gervais’s atheism is performative and polemical. Moore’s is grief-inflected and personal. Mirren’s is cultural and quietly paradoxical. Thompson’s is feminist and political. Radcliffe’s is evidential and cautious. They arrived from different directions, at different ages, for different reasons.
What they share is that they said it out loud. In an industry where religion and faith still carry considerable weight in audience demographics, where a wrong word in a press junket can cost box office points in the American heartland, the ones who named their non-belief weren’t making a trivial choice. Some paid for it in coverage. Some found that their audiences didn’t care as much as the publicists feared.
The more interesting question isn’t whether these celebrities are wrong about God. It’s what their willingness to say so publicly tells us about how the cultural conversation around faith has shifted. A few decades ago, the list would have been shorter and the statements more hedged. Now the hedging tends to come from the other direction – from people who believe but aren’t sure they should say so in certain rooms. Some of these patterns go back further than any single interview does. Naming that isn’t a verdict. But it is where the real conversation usually starts.
AI Disclaimer: This article was created with the assistance of AI tools and reviewed by a human editor.