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~ a few wee words from Roma ~
"Mommy, there's the angel!" a small girl exclaimed as we passed each other in a crowded mall. Awestruck, her little face looked as though she, too, had suddenly been "touched by an angel." I couldn't help but smile as those big eyes followed me, desperately hoping I would spread my wings or perform a miracle right there in the middle of the mall.
Whenever something like that happens, I realize what a responsibility it is to play Monica, the angel with the Irish lilt, on a show that has touched both children and adults.
I remember the letter from a woman whose life was changed by the episode featuring Phylicia Rashad, who played an alcoholic tearfully reconciled to her daughter. That story had given this young woman real-life courage to confront her own alcoholic mother.
Then there was a letter from a prisoner, embittered because he was living behind bars, cut off from his family. A show about a fractured relationship between a father and son motivated him to attempt to make things right with his own son.
One after the other, parents tell me how grateful they are for a series that isn't obsessed with sex and violence. They love to sit down with their families and watch the show without keeping one hand poised over the remote in case an offensive scene pops up. They seem pleased that someone actually dares to say the word God respectfully on prime-time TV.
Another unexpected benefit of my angelic role has been working side by side with Della Reese, who plays Tess, my supervising angel. Della has such a motherly touch, something especially precious to me, since my mother died when I was only ten. The love you see on the screen between Tess and Monica is the real thing, I assure you.
In fact, the initial script appealed to me because it portrayed two strong women (angels in this case) who liked each other. It was such a contrast to other roles I'd been asked to consider: girlfriend, lover, wife, secretary. As an actress, you often feel you've been cast as a decorative element, to make the male lead look good. It's difficult to find really strong parts. Since I refused to consider roles that required me to do nude scenes, whether in movies or on TV, that seemed to narrow my choices even more. In Touched by an Angel I found a script that felt right, a script where the main characters loved and respected each other.
But finding the script and landing the job were two different things entirely. People tell me my Irish accent is charming, but it's often a liability in the acting profession. The script was originally written for an American Monica, but the producers wanted me to read with my native accent instead of the American voice I had perfected. Though they loved the way I read the part, they told me that they had already offered it to a major star. Auditions were a precaution in case she didn't accept.
Fortunately for me, she passed on the role, and I was thrilled to be next in line. Still, I had only landed the lead in a pilot, not a series. I knew as well as anyone that most pilots never made it to prime time. Once CBS bought the original pilot, they hired Martha Williamson as executive producer. Martha completely revamped the script and retooled the show's vision. Still, a lot of people didn't think we'd make it.
We sort of hiccuped our way through the first season, and then the series really caught on. It was a hit even though the media seemed to ignore us. Della and I used to joke about how available we were for interviews. We couldn't figure out why the press wasn't knocking on our doors. I wondered if some journalists had become so cynical that they found the mention of God offensive. But that's beginning to change now that there's so much grassroots enthusiasm for the show.
After our first year on the air, John Dye joined us, playing the role of Andrew, the angel of death. His talents have really filled out our team.
Even though I'm as human as the next person, I enjoy playing the high-flying Monica because, like all of us, she grapples with real-life heartaches and dilemmas.
I also find her idiosyncrasies endearing. Her penchant for different kinds of hats, for instance, generates lots of fan mail asking where she gets them all. And people are always sending coffee to satisfy Monica's love affair with caffeine.
The show has become more popular than anyone is the cast would ever have dreamed-anyone besides Della, that is. Despite the odds, she believed that it had a great future. But then that's her story, I'll let her tell it. ~
Roma Downey
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