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 Interview
with Roma Downey - by Chet Cooper
For almost a decade, families across America gathered to watch angels
Tess, Monica and Andrew help their human assignments face crossroads in
their lives on PAX TV’s Touched By An Angel. Although the
cameras have stopped rolling and the crew has long since moved on, one
of the actors refused to hang up her wings and has made the seamless transition
from on-camera to real-life angel. Her work is changing the lives of children,
their families and their communities in many of the world’s poorest
countries. In Vietnam she has personally shared in the joy of bringing
smiles to the faces of 127 children.
Born and raised in Derry, Northern Ireland, Roma Downey is the youngest
of six children; her father was a teacher and her mother a homemaker.
Downey earned her bachelor’s degree at Brighton Art College in England
before attending the London Drama Studio where she starred in many classic
productions. She has toured the United States with Dublin’s famous
Abbey Players in a production of The Playboy of the Western World,
and has starred in numerous on- and off-Broadway productions. Best known
for her Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated role as Monica on Touched
By An Angel, Downey was first noticed for her portrayal of Jackie
Kennedy in the mini-series A Woman Named Jackie and recently
hosted PAX TV’s signature series, It’s a Miracle.
Roma Downey is much more than an actor, and her gifts extend well beyond
the stage. Her first children’s book, Love Is a Family,
was published in the fall of 2001 and her debut recording, Healing
Angel, a spoken-word and Celtic music album, was released in 2002.
She is an artist and a designer, a doting mother and compassionate humanitarian.
ABILITY Magazine’s Chet Cooper recently spoke to Roma Downey
about her time as an angel, her passionate work with Operation Smile and
the exciting projects that line the horizon.
Chet Cooper: You are most recognized for playing Monica on Touched By
An Angel. How did you come across the role and what did you first think
of the character?
Roma Downey: It was pilot season of ‘94, and I was reading through
endless junk scripts that were being sent my way. Typically the roles
were to play his wife or his girlfriend—leading roles for women
were few and far between. Suddenly a very unusual script turned up. “Now
this is curious,” I remember thinking. Because I’m a person
of faith, the spiritual aspects got my attention. Also, the actress in
me was delighted to read a show that had not one but two strong female
roles—female angels. I was to audition for Monica, and I very much
liked Della Reese, who of course ended up playing Tess.
CC: Were they looking for a foreign actor for the role?
RD: The role was written American, and I remember when I read it they
said, “But Roma, you’re from overseas, right?” I thought,
“Oh, here we go again. I’ll read it Irish and that’s
all they’ll hear. They’ll forget that I can do an American
accent, and I’ll become the interesting alternative foreign choice
for the casting of an American girl.” Suddenly the dialogue came
off the page and came to life in a way that really lent itself to the
lyricism of the brogue. It just worked, it really clicked. I knew the
role was going to be mine, and sure enough they made an offer.
CC: But the show wasn’t an instant success.
RD: We were the laughingstock of that first season. When we premiered,
TV Guide labeled us as the “iffiest new show of the season,”
saying that chances were by the time you read their little blurb we would
be
cancelled. It was with great relish several years later that I received
a TV Guide award for favorite actress on television.
CC: When they presented you with the award, was there any mention of the
“iffy” comment?
RD: (laughs) I quoted it to them during my acceptance speech. How glad
I was they were wrong! The show found a following from the middle of the
country. While a lot of the more popular hits start on the coasts, in
New York or L.A., I think you can trace our success to the Midwest and
the South, the small towns and families. We had a very loyal following
for many, many years.
CC: At what point did you first learn about Operation Smile?
RD: The first season of Touched By an Angel, in 1994-1995, we
were approached by Dr. Bill Magee to build an episode with the organization
as the central theme. That was my first introduction to the work they
were doing. Last year, when our series ended after nine seasons, they
approached me to ask if I would join their board of governors and consider
the possibility of becoming a national spokesperson and going on some
missions with them.
Having played an angel for so long, you can imagine that I’ve been
asked to endorse any number of causes over the years. Obviously I have
to limit my participation with any charity, so I decided to really concentrate
on my love of children. Suddenly with free time on my hands, I jumped
at the invitation to join them and participate more actively. At the end
of last summer, I found myself in Vung Tau, which is in the south of Vietnam,
actively participating in a hospital and helping to change the lives of,
I think, 127 children on that mission. Next to the birth of my own child,
it was the most moving experience of my life. I had forgotten that it’s
in giving that you truly receive. I went there thinking I was doing them
a favor, but truth be told, I came back feeling richer and fuller.
CC: What prompted you to choose that particular location?
RD: I think Operation Smile is in more than 22 countries, mostly third
world. It just happened that my schedule opened up at the time they were
heading to Vietnam.
CC: Do the doctors work with local medical teams in the countries
they visit?
RD: Operation Smile invites the local medical teams to try to learn the
skills required. Their philosophy is that if you give a man a fish he’ll
eat for a day, but if you teach him to fish he’ll eat for his lifetime.
They’re really trying to show these local doctors how to…
CC: Fish?
RD: (laughs) Perform the operation.
CC: What medical procedures do they offer on their missions?
RD: It’s primarily the reparation of cleft lips and cleft palates.
Typically both operations aren’t done at once because it’s
an awful lot for the child to deal with. In Vung Tau, where I worked,
they’ve already planned a return trip to the same location. For
example, if a child requires both operations but just received one last
summer, chances are when we go back the following summer that child will
be on the list for the second one. I think the hardest part of the mission
for me was that we only had provisions and time for about 130 children,
but more than 400 turned up.
CC: That must have been difficult.
RD: The reading of the list was just devastating. For every joyful scream
there was a sob of heartbreak. Having a daughter myself, I was able to
identify with these moms, because you would do anything to help your child
live a normal life. What I had failed to realize was [the full extent
of] what they’ve been going through. [The children] are not just
dealing with visual deformities. If you don’t have a palate, you
can’t eat properly; therefore, many of these babies are malnourished.
Without a palate, you also can’t speak correctly, so there’s
an assumption in many of these cultures that these children are mentally
retarded, when in fact they’re not at all. I saw how the operation
affects the child, as well as the child’s family and often the village.
In an interesting way, the operation becomes almost a metaphor for hope
and optimism. A little child can have a new face with a smile restored,
and suddenly his mother’s smile is restored and his father’s
and the outer family’s…and they bring him back to the village
and the village is delighted and they think it’s a good omen. The
ripples and effects of this are fantastic.
CC: The influence of their work extends far beyond the individual. What
was your role while you were there?
RD: The majority of the children whom we had to turn down were sent home
simply because we didn’t have the resources to help. That’s
where I come in. I was making a documentary film to try and raise funds
for the organization. I was so impressed by the doctors, particularly
by the surgeons, and the intricacy and the beauty of the work that they
do in giving each operation their absolute best. They do their finest
stitching in trying to restore these beautiful little smiles and the children’s
dignity. While I can’t do that, it’s not my skill, I believe
that we can each be part of the team. It requires working together and
standing shoulder to shoulder.
CC: We can all contribute.
RD: I’m happy to use my celebrity to draw attention to this. I also
know how to ask people for money and I have no shame about doing that.
I’ve seen up close and personal how deeply this organization is
changing lives. If you have donated, these children may never know your
name, but they will never forget your kindness.
CC: Has the documentary been produced yet?
RD: Yes. We worked on it throughout the course of the year and it just
hit the airwaves with fantastic feedback. We’ve had to beg, borrow
and steal airtime. We’re basically asking people to contribute in
any way they can, but we’ve been overwhelmed by the numbers of people
who were calling up and not wanting to just make a minimum donation, but
actually wanting to buy smiles. A smile costs about $240.
CC: Who produced the documentary? You are dating somebody qualified to
do that, right?
RD: (laughs) Yeah, but he (Mark
Burnett) had nothing to do with it. He’s way too busy. But he
did feature Operation Smile on his show, The Apprentice. Jessica
Simpson is the youth ambassador for Operation Smile, and an episode of
The Apprentice featured a team managing a charity concert she
put on. Donald Trump came on stage and pledged a donation.
CC: I saw that episode. He pledged $25,000. Craig Kilborn just donated
money as well, right?
RD: Yes, he did. I just did his show, The Late, Late Show with Craig
Kilborn. Typically this is not the material that they want for nighttime
entertainment. When I was on the phone with him during the pre-interview
I could hear the silence on the other end. I knew they were thinking,
“Well, gosh, this isn’t a barrel of (laughs).”
The deal was that he would mention Operation Smile on the front. Then
[the night of the show] we went to commercial break and he hadn’t
mentioned it, and I just said to him, “You better bring this up!”
(laughs) He’s such a nice guy and he gave me that look,
and I said, “I mean it Craig, I will not leave. I’m going
to stay in this chair. I don’t care if your next guest comes on,
I’m going to stay. You mention Operation Smile!” (laughs)
CC: That’s great…and apparently your technique worked! (laughs)
RD: Not only that, but he gave me a hundred bucks.
CC: For you to leave?
RD: (laughs) After we finished taping, I went outside and met up with
Dr. Magee who had gone to the studio with me, and I handed the hundred
bucks right over.
CC: At $240 a smile, that’s…
RD: It’s almost half a smile.
CC: You mentioned having a daughter. How has your work with Operation
Smile affected her?
RD: I have an eight-year-old, Reilly. She has been very active in her
own little world. Every lemonade stand we have here in Malibu benefits
Operation Smile. We live on a very nice street where suddenly you’re
getting five dollars for a glass of lemonade because it’s for charity.
She has raised quite a bit of money that way. This past May she made her
first holy communion. A lot of my family had come over for the event,
and they brought with them congratulations cards for her with money in
them; it is tradition in Ireland that you’re given money for your
first communion. Without being asked she put all the money together, in
the delighted way that eight-year-olds do, and then she halved it and
handed half to me. She said, “Mommy, how many smiles will this buy?”
CC: She certainly has a sense of community and an entrepreneurial spirit.
RD: Yes she does, I’m really trying to encourage her already very
loving heart. And I appreciate that she also has a business head. To be
honest, I really like the fact she didn’t hand over all of her first
communion money. I think it showed a little wisdom that she kept some
of it for herself. She’s the love of my life.
CC: Are you thinking of having more children?
RD: I’m the youngest of six children; both of my sisters are housewives
and they each have four kids.
CC: Four each? So you’re saying you need three more?
RD: (laughs) I had Reilly in my early thirties. For the longest
time, when I went home I would run into girls I’d gone to school
with who had three, four, five, six kids! Irish Catholic tradition. They’d
be pushing strollers down Main Street with children hanging off them.
At that time I’d been working primarily in theater, Broadway and
off-Broadway, and I had made news back home because of it. I’d run
into them and they’d say, “Oh, Roma, isn’t this great?
You’re havin’ a great career and you’re on Broadway,
but you have no children yet!” As if I wasn’t a real woman.
After my daughter was born, I remember dressing her up, putting a little
pink bonnet on her and proudly pushing her up Main Street in a stroller
and running into these same women, who said, “Oh, so this is your
little girl, is it? And you just have the one?” It made me laugh.
Yeah, yeah, I just have the one. I think I’m probably finished.
(laughs)
CC: Do you have plans for her to accompany you on a mission?
RD: ....
Read the rest of the interview with your order of ABILITY Magazine.
Other articles in the Roma Downey issue include— Operation
Smile, Destination Athens, Stand-Up Comedy Scholarship, Reflections on
the ADA, Ticket to Work, UN Update, Events/Conferences, Humor Therapy...subscribe!
For more information on Operation Smile, visit www.operationsmile.org
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