The Role of a Lifetime

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."

That's the best compliment I can have.

When an actor plays a role, you try to get into the character as much as possible. But this woman lived a very extreme life. Do you think you could've lived like that?

Hussey: When I was a little girl, I used to walk around with a towel on my head, pretending I was a nun. And then one day my mother said, "Why don't you just become an actress and then you can pretend you're a nun."

I've always believed in a higher power. You can call it God, you can call it Jesus, Krishna, Buddha, Allah, I don't care. I really believe we are all a part of God. So there's a part of me, especially when I was younger, that would say, "I think I could go become a nun, a missionary and help others." But then I had my children and that kept me home a lot. But there is a part of all of us that wants to help other people. You don't have to become nuns to do it.

What most impresses you about Mother Teresa?

Hussey: I think what impressed me most was that she picked up that first dying human being on the streets [a scene depicted early in the film]. That person died in her arms, and she never stopped again. She saw the face of her Lord in every destitute and dying person.

Mother Teresa's commitment to the poor impressed Hussey

And she didn't just talk about it, she really got out there, rolled up her sleeves, she started an order of nuns helping the poorest of the poor and she had complete conviction of faith in what she was doing. And she made a difference, she really did. That's what most impressed me about her, that she put her actions where her words were.

If you could have met Mother Teresa, what would you talk about?

Hussey: I don't think I'd do much talking. I think if she were alive today, I would certainly commit myself to at least a month a year of going there and pulling my sleeves up and working with her. I think I'd just say, "How can I help?" or "What can I do?"

I understand Mother Teresa was finished in time for her beatification in 2003?

Hussey: Yes, we rushed through it in order to have it ready for her beatification in Rome. The film was screened in two parts on Italian television for 10 million people the first night and 12 million the second night—the night of her beatification. Zefirelli, who is still my friend, came to the beatification ceremony with me, and we sat with all the missionaries. It was beautiful. And I got the blessing of the pope, which was incredible. The whole thing was really a gift from God.

Olivia Hussey today

So you met the pope?

I did meet the pope, finally. I did a film years ago called The Jeweller's Shop (1988), which was written by Karol Wojtyla [later Pope John Paul II] when he was a young archbishop in Poland. I went to Krakow, shot it and made it. It never got released to theaters, but I always wanted to meet him. So it was exciting when I did [in 2003], but he was very ill by the time I met him.

It was really the culmination of wishing that I could meet him. My mom was a devout Catholic, and she died quite a few years ago. I just wish she had been alive to see me getting the pope's blessing. That would've been so special to her.

You've played Mother Teresa, the Virgin Mary, and Esther. Do you tend to gravitate toward these roles of spiritual women?

Hussey: In a perfect world, I only act when I really want to. I don't do most of the stuff that is out there, but it's a joy and a pleasure to do anything that promotes this higher power—this light, if you will. I just think there aren't enough projects in the world that do that. There are so many projects that focus on negative things like killing. Let's have some light out there. Let's start changing conditions.

I've got a 12-year-old daughter. You've got to be careful what you rent nowadays, because you never know when there's something inappropriate. People keep saying, "The world is in such a sorry state, I wish we could change it." Well, start changing it by releasing feel-good movies, things that are good and positive. Enough of all this darkness.

Let's back up to Romeo and Juliet. What do you remember most about auditioning for the part?

Hussey: I was 14½ years old at the time, doing a play called The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie at Wyndham Theatre in London. I was in the dressing room and heard two girls saying, "Ooh, there's this Italian director called Franco Zefirelli, and he's casting this television special called Romeo & Juliet here in London." I quietly thought in my head, That's it. That's what I've been waiting for. Two months later, I went to this audition—800 girls in London alone—and that's where I met Zefirelli. I went through months of grueling auditions.

Do you remember the day you were told you got the part?

Hussey: Franco told me long before they released it in the papers. I did the potion scene [at the audition], which was never put into the film, but that's what really got me the role. Franco came and put his arms around me after the audition, when I was crying on the floor, all dramatic—you know, I was 15!—and he said, "Darling, you're going to love Italy." That's when I knew.

Do you have a favorite film or role, as you look back over your career?

Hussey played Juliet when she was just 15

Hussey: A favorite role? Well, Juliet, I was 15, and it's one of the best female roles ever written. Shakespeare! It was a joy and a pleasure. I've done a lot of different films, but I think my three favorite roles were Juliet, Teresa—I just wanted to portray this incredible lady I admire so much—and the Virgin Mary. It's an honor to play the Mother of Christ. How could any actress not want to do that?

Playing roles like that brings such great responsibility. Did you feel the weight of having to play these parts?

Hussey: Not really. I don't think like that. I gave it my all, did the best that I could. You know I meditate; I've been meditating for 37 years. I learn my lines, I do my homework, I sit in my trailer, I do my meditation, give it to God, and hope for the best.

At her official website, Hussey sells caftans made in India, with a portion of the proceeds going to the Missionaries of Charity, the ministry founded by Mother Teresa.

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