Jen Lilley Says DAYS OF OUR LIVES Role Taught Her ‘Empathy’
By Movieguide® Contributor
Jen Lilley is sharing the “lessons in empathy” her role in DAYS OF OUR LIVES taught her.
“There have been times when I have taken a job because I needed a paycheck, and they weren’t necessarily the best projects,” Lilley told Fox News. “But I don’t regret them because I try to live my life—and I’m not perfect, I’m so aware that I need Jesus—but in general, I try to live my life with intention.”
She continued, “I often pray, ‘Close the doors that need to be closed, open the doors that need to be opened,’ and really mean that. I think that you can find yourself in circumstances that maybe aren’t the best set of choices, but God can still use them, and you can still minister to people.”
Lilley then spoke about her role as Theresa Donovan on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.
“I really judged her,” she said of her first impressions of the character, adding that she didn’t even want to audition for the part, thinking, “What am I going to tell people? How am I going to say I’m a Christian and play this character?”
Her manager encouraged her to pray about the role, which Lilley did.
“And I heard Holy Spirit,” she shared. “And I don’t mean audible…it was like an outside-of-my-body thought, but I knew it was the Lord. And He said, ‘This is your role.’”
Lilley continued, “God said to me, ‘Because Theresa is in the exact same condition that the world was in when I sent my son to die for them, and that audience needs to know that there is no pit so deep that they could ever find themselves in that my love cannot find them still.’”
The actress said she “learned so much” while playing Theresa, including that she is “not the judge of people.”
“I’m really grateful for [the role of Theresa] because I really needed a lot of lessons in empathy, and it’s informed a lot of my life,” Lilley concluded.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Actress Jen Lilley, a devout Christian and co-host of the 2020 Movieguide® Awards, says each role she plays has something in common: She’s prayed and sought the Lord’s will for what project to take on.
“The truth is Jesus hung out with tax collectors and harlots,” Lilley said. “I’m open to doing roles that are maybe edgier, as long as there’s a redemptive message to them, which is why I played the role of Theresa on DAYS OF OUR LIVES.”
The DAYS OF OUR LIVES spot was initially not one Lilley was interested in, until she said the Lord spoke to her clearly about why that character mattered.
She said the Lord told her, “Somebody has to play that role, and I’d rather it be a Christian because you can play the unspoken moments when the guy leaves the room. You play the emptiness the girls actually feel where they’ve sold themselves short of their value. Those are the exact condition of humanity that I sent my Son to die for. You know, I died for broken people. I didn’t die for perfect people. And she’s not beyond redemption and there’s no pits so deep that my love cannot find someone still.”
Lilley often speaks about the impact playing Theresa Donovan had on her.
“Playing Jeanne Theresa Donovan off and on for the last 10 years has taught me so much about empathy and grace. I have enjoyed every moment of her hilarious sass and ferocity, layered with brokenness,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Remember there is no pit so deep you could ever find yourself in where God’s love cannot find you still. You are never beyond redemption. You are called by grace and marked with love.”
Lilley is one of many Christian figures in the entertainment industry who are excited about the current wave of high-quality, faith-based movies and shows.
“I’m so sick of bad Christian entertainment. I’ve been part of it and I hate it. I find it unpalatable and gross,” Lilley explained. “We’re called to do things with excellence.”
She continued, “I really think that people who are plugged into the Holy Spirit…We should be the most creative, the most innovative, the most loving, the most inspiring people on the planet, and we’ve fallen short of that, for whatever reason. And I find that there are finally projects out there like THE CHOSEN who are doing storytelling well, and it is like good medicine in a time when people really just want love.”
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