Actress Patricia Heaton Reflects on Faith and Creativity: ‘We Need This Message of God’s Love For All Of Us’
By Movieguide® Staff
Actress Patricia Heaton, known for EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND, recently reflected on her role as a person of faith in the entertainment industry.
The 64-year-old actress said that while many disparage Hollywood for being rotten to the core, Heaton said her experience left her grateful for God’s gift of creativity.
“God has been very gracious to me, in that the shows that he has given to me to do have never been a question of whether I had to be morally compromised,” she told Vatican News in a recent interview. “They were family-based, they were very well-written, they were beautiful shows and they were very positive. So in that way, it’s been easy as an actor and a person of faith to go in every day and enjoy my job.”
She continued: “Also, as much as people want to paint Hollywood as a sort of anti-religious place, I have found that going into work, we’re all there to do a job. We’re all there to be professional, we all respect each other. We share opinions, different opinions, and because we love each other, and we have a common goal of creating something wonderful for people to enjoy, the differences in our religion, or politics or whatever, in my experience on a set have not been a problem.”
THE STAR actress is outspoken about her faith and said she had experienced kindness from many people in the industry.
“I’ve always felt that I’ve been able to be open about who I am and what I believe,” she said.
During a recent visit to the Sistine Chapel, Heaton reflected on God as the ultimate creator.
“We are privileged to be creators, as God was a creator and has gifted us a small way for each of us to be able to hopefully bring some truth and beauty to the world,” she said. “To a world which is very divided right now. A world that is filled with trouble and poverty and war. We need this message of God’s love for all of us, of His beauty and his truth, and the love that Christ has for all of us. We need that even more.”
“Hopefully out of this, we will be creating shows and music and art that will lift people up and open their hearts to the belief that God cares about them,” she said of her visit with Pope Francis. “At the end of the day, as Christ said, ‘It is finished.’ He’s done the work, we are going toward victory. We just have to get through these battles, and we can do it together and we can use our gifts to do that.”
Read More: Patricia Heaton Discusses The Moment She Decided to Choose Sobriety