Ricky Schroder is reflecting on the potential pitfalls of a career in Hollywood.
The 53-year-old actor recently launched the Reel American Heroes Foundation, a nonprofit organization that produces films, documentaries and television series that promote patriotic and traditional values. During an interview with Fox News Digital, Schroder, who started as a child actor in the 1979 movie “The Champ,” shared the advice that he would give his younger self.
“Don’t lose sight of the Lord,” he said. “Because in Hollywood, it’s easy to lose sight of the Lord there.”
Ricky Schroder shared the advice that he would give his younger self. (Mike Pont/WireImage)
Actor Ricky Schroder poses for a portrait during the Summer TCA Tour on Aug. 13, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images)
He continued, “You get tempted by so many things, and temptation can just kind of get you off track. And so, I would say if I could speak to my younger self, it’d be, ‘Read your Bible more.’”
“There’s no real regrets,” Schroder added. “As I look back on my life, as far as professionally, I had the best opportunities I took when they came along. I tried to develop opportunities as best I could.”
“But I never fit in Hollywood,” he admitted. “It was never sort of a desire of mine, let’s say. I was put into ‘The Champ’ when I was 7 years old and turned 8, making ‘The Champ.’ And so it’s been an interesting path to to go down – when you didn’t make those choices originally. Other people made choices for you and put you on a track. But today I make my own choices. And so, that’s why I sort of decided to leave Hollywood, moved back to Colorado, and I still want to tell stories. But a different forum, a different platform.”
WATCH: RICKY SCHRODER SAYS HE LAUNCHED PATRIOTIC FILM FOUNDATION BECAUSE OF HOLLYWOOD’S DIVERSITY GUIDELINES
Schroder’s Reel American Heroes Foundation will focus on telling the stories of “veterans, active soldiers, first responders, Gold Star families, as well as past and present heroic figures,” according to the organization’s website. “Our goal is to inspire, raise awareness, entertain, and educate.”
The “Silver Spoons” alum told Fox News Digital he was motivated to found the nonprofit after the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced its new diversity and inclusion guidelines for Oscars consideration in 2024.
In June, the Academy Awards released its Aperture 2025 initiative – a sweeping set of regulations designed to make Hollywood more equitable and diverse.
Per the initiative, which took effect this month, film producers and directors are required to submit to the Academy a dossier that indicates the race, gender, sexual orientation and disability status of their film’s cast and crew members.
Schroder became the youngest recipient of a Golden Globe Award after starring in the 1979 movie “The Champ.” (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
“They came up with some diversity, equity and inclusion guidelines that said you had to have certain story themes and characters, LGBTQ+ and minorities, inside your content to be eligible for the Oscar for Best Picture,” Schroder said. “And I was really offended by that.”
He continued, “I thought, ‘That’s not right.’ You know, [the 1998 war drama] ‘Saving Private Ryan’ today wouldn’t be eligible for the Best Picture category because of these guidelines.
“And so it gave me the idea to start a foundation that we could build into sort of… hopefully a ‘Patriot PBS.’ It’s an aggregator for good kinds of stories with values and principles that uplift America instead of tear it down.”
Schroder explained that Reel American Heroes Foundation’s initial goal is to produce a “mix of scripted, dramatic films and documentaries,” noting that two of the nonprofit’s projects are currently available on the organization’s website.
As part of Reel American Heroes Foundation’s mission, the organization established the Council on Pornography Reform (CPR), which aims to “promote a safer and more responsible digital landscape by advocating for comprehensive reforms in the realm of explicit adult content,” according to a website for the council. “CPR is dedicated to safeguarding individuals, particularly minors, from the potential harms associated with unrestricted access to explicit material.”
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Schroder told Fox News Digital that Reel American Heroes Foundation is developing projects to advance the goals of the Council on Pornography Reform and currently has a documentary titled “Erotic Erosion” in the works.
“We’re making a documentary that looks at the disastrous effects of 45 years of internet pornography that’s been pushed into our culture and our society,” Schroder said. “When internet pornography first came into the world, it was in the .xxx URL, and for various reasons, they shut down the .xxx URL and they moved it all into the .com world. And so one of our goals at the Council on Pornography Reform is to move all adult content back into the .xxx URL, where it’s easier to control it.”
Schroder explained that the Reel American Heroes Foundation is also seeking submissions of real-life heroes’ stories for future projects.
“We’re hoping to get your stories,” he said. “We are hoping other people will contribute and send us stories. And we can aggregate these stories and restart reprogramming America away from the DEI programming – diversity, equity and inclusion – to the real principles and values that built this great nation.”
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Schroder recently launched the Reel American Heroes Foundation to help promote patriotic and traditional values. (Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for DIRECTV)
Despite his misgivings about the entertainment industry, Schroder, who became the youngest Golden Globe winner in history after starring in “The Champ,” told Fox News Digital that he is “extremely proud” of several of his Hollywood projects, including the police drama “NYPD Blue,” the Western miniseries “Lonesome Dove,” the war drama TV movie “The Lost Battalion,” as well his directorial debut “Black Cloud.”
“A few projects stick out to you, over the course of a lifetime,” he said. “And those are a few of them.”
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The actor recalled his fondest memories from his stint on “NYPD Blue” from 1998 to 2001. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
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The actor also recalled his fondest memories from his stint on “NYPD Blue” from 1998 to 2001, noting that he was particularly impressed by the writing for the show.
“The writing that I got to say – David Milch, the writer for the show – and there were other writers, but he was the main creative force. Just getting to go to work with his dialogue and his words,” Schroder said. “And my costars were incredibly talented. It was like acting boot camp for me, ‘NYPD Blue.’ I was 28, I think, when I started it. And I learned a lot there.”
“It was a great memory. Great times,” he added.
