Luke Macfarlane opens up about the importance of faith and kindness in a dark time

Luke Macfarlane, the star of Hallmark Plus’s new home remodeling show Home Is Where the Heart Is, finds solace in his religious faith during these scary times for LGBTQ+ Americans and other marginalized people.

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Macfarlane, who is gay, attends church weekly at an Episcopal congregation in Los Angeles. In that inclusive Christian denomination, he sees an alternative to right-wingers’ use of religion as a weapon.

“I just wish people [would] operate a little bit more from, How was the other person feeling? rather than telling the person that what they feel is wrong,” Macfarlane said in his interview for the March/April cover story in Out, a sister publication of The Advocate. “It’s what I feel like is happening a lot right now is less asking the question, more demanding the results. It makes me sad.”

“At least in my understanding of scripture in the life of Jesus, I don’t think that’s what he had in mind,” he said of moves to cast out marginalized people.

“I’m grateful for a continuing conversation with myself and some really smart, sensitive people about what it means to have faith and live in Los Angeles in 2025, and be openly gay and a parent — but also to surround myself with people that have dedicated their lives to understanding the Bible and scripture and gospel and thinking about that in the time we live and how to care and give back,” he added.

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He also seeks to practice a kinder version of masculinity. He dislikes a concept of that is “brutal and tough and mean,” he said.

“I used to think, Well, if I’m too nice, I’ll be a pushover, but [now] I don’t think that’s true,” Macfarlane said. “At least right now at 45, I’m feeling it doesn’t hurt you to be kind.”

The actor has starred in films including Bros, TV series such as Brothers & Sisters and Platonic, and many Hallmark movies, and he’s excited about his new reality series, premiering Thursday, which he hosts with designer Olivia Westbrooks. Home remodeling isn’t just a passing fancy for him.

“I’m an actor, design enthusiast, and a woodworker,” he says in the intro to the show. “When I’m not on set filming movies, I’m pursuing a passion for carpentry and home renovation, a skill that’s been passed down through my family.”

In his Out interview, he talked about this passion, being a father to daughter Tess, and his relationship with his husband, Hig Roberts. Read the whole story here.