“Touched by an Angel” star Roma Downey talks about the joy of creating

Derry-born actress who was leading star of CBS series Touched by an Angel

Downey knows she is an example of the American Dream in action, and she’s certainly grateful for the blessings she’s experienced.

“At the height of the run of Touched by an Angel we had 25 million people watching the show. It was a huge hit. It was like a lifetime we spent working on it and we all became so close in the filming of it,” Downey says.

“Five years in I got to re-negotiate my own contract, and that meant I’d never have to work again. I never would have dreamed of that growing up in my modest three up three down house in Derry.”

Actors depend on the emotions they have lived through themselves, she says.

"I think that sometimes born out a great personal hurt is the ability to find compassion and empathy for people who might be hurting. Having developed that skill it was a way to bring that role to light,” she says.

Compassion, empathy and healing hurt have been themes in her work for years, and now with Little Angles she's hoping to pass those skills on to a new generation. The inspiration was easy to come by.

She just had to look at her own daughter.

“Little Angels is a big departure for me, but it’s something I’ve been working on for 18 months and I’m hoping that families will recognize they have value. When I was raising Reilly I sometimes had to sit her down with a DVD while I took an important phone call and it occurred to me it would be better if she could watch something that supported our values, you know?"

To get the word out this week Downey's coming to New York to do The View and Rachael Ray and then on to Chicago to talk to Rosie O'Donnell.

“I’m committed to Little Angels and I’m in it for the long haul,” she says. "I really believe once families discover it, it will speak for itself you know?

“The challenge is to let people know that it’s out there. All I ask is that you get along to Target or Best Buy and check it out!”

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Nster.com