Excuse me, but an actor is paid to say whatever is in the script. You don't mention whether this was a high school or whatever, but actors are playing a roll, and most actors cherish the opportunity to play an evil character.
Wrong school, or wrong profession. This is not a conservative cause I could identify with.
The medical student case is not one where I know the details. As a teacher, I would demand that students be able to answer questions about the subject, even if they disagree with them. I am somewhat sympathetic to the professor because there is a famous case of a little girl murdered by a surgeon who transplanted her with a baboon heart. When asked why he would do a thing that was so transparently stupid from an evolutionary standpoint, he replied that he didn't believe in evolution.
As for the motive behind the published article, I can only point to the use made of the article. This was a journal read, at most, by three people in a very narrow field. An yet suddenly ID was real science because it had a peer-reviewed article.
The acting class was at the university level. There are still a number of professional actors who refuse to do nude scenes (such as Jim Caviezel), speak lines which deny God, etc. They simply do not accept those roles. The university's action would have derailed the student's career.
Concerning the medical student, he passed all the tests on evolution with flying colors but was not willing to deny his religious belief - a statement (illegally) demanded by the professor.