The joyful persona of Hollywood African-American actress, Mara Hall, was in no way dampened by the rain as she stood on the well-covered red carpet at the star-studded Movieguide®’s Annual Faith & Values Awards Gala held on Friday, Feb. 10, at the Universal Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California.
Mara Hall, who played Nurse Kathleen in the hit show, Grey’s Anatomy, shared her joyful story with ANS founder, Dan Wooding, at the event also known as “The Christian Oscars,” an event always held close to the Academy Awards, which honors the best, most family-friendly movies and television programs honoring God and inspiring audiences with messages of faith, hope, goodness, justice, redemption, forgiveness and true divine love.
In her interview with Wooding, which was part of his Inside Hollywood TV show aired on the Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network (http://hsbn.tv ), she mentioned she has been on the show since 2013, covering four years and seven episodes, and added: “I’m a good nurse—one that always spreads love and joy!”
Mara told Wooding she did a casting workshop with Jamie Castro, who is one of the casting associates on the show, and auditioned for the part. “Well, I did the workshop, and then she remembered me and called me in for an audition. I booked the job and I’ve been recurring ever since.”
Mara explained why she was attending the event, saying, “I’m just here to support all of the wonderful nominees for the Movieguide® Awards because this is such an amazing show that spreads love and positivity and upliftment in the community. So I’m just here to spread love and joy.”
Asked about her own faith, she said: “I was born and raised apostolic in Detroit, Michigan, at the Greater Grace Temple Church, so I’m a believer in the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and I am blessed and totally highly favored!”
When asked if it was difficult to work as a believer in Hollywood, she replied, “No, I don’t think so. I stay grounded and steadfast in all of my beliefs. I never let anything sway me from that because that’s the way I was raised, and that’s what I believe in. It’s what I hold myself accountable for.”
What does Mara think about the current spate of family friendly films that are being made?
“It’s a true testament of what people really want to see,” she told Dan Wooding. “They want to see good content, and parents want to see ‘variety positive’ shows for their children and also for their families. So I just think it’s great. We need more faith-based films and programming on the TV networks too.”
If Mara gets to be in a family film would she take the opportunity?
“Absolutely,” she said with a huge smile on her face. “I would love the opportunity to be in a faith-based film and just be able to spread love and joy like I always do. So it would just be an extension of who I really am.”
As far as any other future plans and other roles coming up, Mara said: “Yes, I play Caledonia on Bounce TV’s ‘Saints and Sinners,’ which is also a show about the church. But (it) also shows the good and the bad side of the church. That airs on March 5 when our Season Two starts, so I’m very excited about that.”
About the controversy at last year’s Oscars and the lack of racial diversity, Mara said: “I really hate that we live in a world that does not appreciate all races, ethnicities, colors and creeds—and I hate that Hollywood only represents one facet of it. Now that all of that happened—with the Oscars (being) so white last year—I think there has been a change in the conversation, [It] has changed so there’s been a lot of advances with more projects that cater to people of color and also women.” {eoa}
This article originally appeared on Assist News Service.
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