Prayer and faith in God helped Hollywood star Jesse Metcalfe get and stay sober, he has revealed.

The star of God's Not Dead 2, who is known worldwide for his roles in John Tucker Must Die, Desperate Housewives and Dallas,  told Fox411 that faith had become really important to him. 

"I really discovered a connection with a higher power and with God as I understand him probably five years ago when I got sober through the 12 steps of Alcoholic Anonymous," he said.

He went into rehab in 2007. He said: "A large part of that program is giving the will and character life over to God, or a God as you understand him, and prayer is also a big part of that program as well. I feel that that really helped me overcome a difficult time in my life and since then has really deepened and enriched my life in a lot of ways."

Metcalfe, 37, plays a lawyer in God's Not Dead 2, the sequel to God's Not Dead, about a teacher who finds herself under attack after she answers a student's question about Jesus by quoting Scripture.

Metcalfe said: "Discovering my own faith and my own connection with God, I brought some of that emotional foundation to the character so the character would be really connected and really fighting for something on a deeper level and that the emotion would come through. It was a lot of preparation."

The movie also stars Melissa Joan Hart, Robin Givens, and Pat Boone.

Givens told the same show: "I grew up without my dad. I think that role is so important and in many respects God has sort of been the only father I know. I can't imagine not having that belief in my life."

The film's producer David White recently defended the plot after it was criticised by atheist blogger Hemant Mehta who accused it of promoting a "fake" Christian persecution story.

White told The Blaze: "It's an interesting thing, because, if it wasn't real, why do they get so offended by it? I don't think it would annoy people if it wasn't true."