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Olivia Hussey was just 15 when she played the lead role in arguably the greatest love story of all time, Romeo and Julet, the 1968 classic directed by Franco Zefirelli and for which she won a Golden Globe award. Less than a decade later, she played the Virgin Mary in Zefirelli's Jesus of Nazareth, one of the best-ever films about Christ. So, after playing two of the most famous women of all time, what other role could she possibly aspire to?

Olivia Hussey

For Hussey, the answer was easy: Mother Teresa, a woman she's admired for more than 20 years. She got her wish a few years ago, starring in a made-for-TV drama, Mother Teresa, which releases for the first time on DVD today (Fox Home Entertainment). The film is a poignant look at the selfless nun who brought hope and love to the poorest of the poor in the streets of Calcutta, India. The Missionaries of Charity heartily approved this film, giving Hussey great praise for her depiction of their founder.

Hussey, 55, probably wouldn't describe herself as a Christian. She recently went on a spiritual journey to India to participate in a course at Oneness University, where she practiced "reflection, meditation, and receiving 'Deeksha,'" according to her website. "Deeksha," says Hussey, "means the transfer of energy thru the Golden Ball of divine grace. This is an energy that travels through a person's 'charkas' (energy center) and begins a subtle and wonderful transformation."

Okay.

At any rate, Hussey says she's a strong believer in God who once thought of becoming a nun—and we have to admit she does a marvelous job playing the lead role in Mother Teresa, bringing the revered woman to vibrant life, showing her spunk and her unconditional love for the poor. Hussey recently spoke with Christianity Today Movies about playing what she calls the role of a lifetime.

I read somewhere that this role was your life's dream. Is that accurate?

Olivia Hussey: One of them, yes. I had played the Virgin Mary in Jesus of Nazareth and I had done Juliet at the age of 15. People said, "Where do you go from playing Juliet and the Virgin Mary?" And I said, "Mother Teresa of Calcutta."

That started over 20 years ago, and the project almost happened a couple of times and then fell apart. I said, "Okay, God, I'm just going to surrender this to you. I want to do it if it's right." And I let it go. Then I read books on her and saw documentaries; the woman was really a living saint. She really put her actions where her mouth was. She just devoted her life and saw the face of Jesus in every human being she helped.

You say this was a project you wanted to do for 20 years?

Hussey: Yes. We had a script about 20 years ago, and Mother Teresa had initialed every page and approved the script, and said yes to me playing the role—and then the whole thing fell apart. Then it almost happened another time, but it didn't. So I said, "I really want to do this, but I've got to surrender this to God and just let go of it." And out of the blue comes this offer: "Could you be in Rome in five days? We want you to play Mother Teresa of Calcutta." I flew to Rome five days later, and two weeks after I got the offer, I was on the set. That's when you know something is coming from the Divine, when it flows like that.

Did you ever meet Mother Teresa?

Hussey: No, but I've become friends with Mother's only living relative, her niece Agi Bojaxhiu, and Agi endorsed my performance.

What were some of Mother's mannerisms that you picked up on? I see you were hunched over a bit in the role, like she was much of the tim?

Hussey captured many of Mother Teresa's mannerisms

Hussey: Yes. And she had a very strong gait; she would walk with a purpose, and she swung her arms a lot. I don't physically resemble her, so we didn't want to go for a mask or something that would totally look like her. I said, "If I can just get the feeling of her, that would be more important."

The Missionaries of Charity had a screening, and they loved the performance. They said, "Even though you didn't totally look like her, you had her presence, you had her mannerisms, we felt like we were watching Mother." And Agi said to me, "It was like watching my auntie. I just cannot believe how much like my auntie you are."

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