Can a Bible believing Christian survive among fires of Hollywood? In an attempt to answer this burning question, The Door's Editorial Board sent Becky Garrison on a quest to find a Christian entertainer. Alas, Charlton Heston was still in a hissy fit (thanks to our November/December Guns Ôn Moses cover) and there was no way we would subject our readers to the sounds of John Tesh (see, we do have some compassion). Alas, most of the other Christian entertainers--well, let's just say they made John Tesh seem dynamic or were too busy making infomercials.

After much soul searching, Becky caught Victoria Jackson defending her faith during one of her many appearances on Politically Incorrect. She remembered Victoria's hysterical exploits during her stint at "Saturday Night Live" (1986-91), back when it was worth watching. She also heard Victoria's new CD (Use Me) and caught her on a particularly winsome episode of "The X-Files" in February. So, she gave Victoria a ring to learn how this believer kept the faith while working with the heathens of Hellywood.

DOOR: Your bio says you were raised in a Bible-believing, piano-playing, gymnastic home with no TV.

JACKSON: I remember going to church about four times a week. I liked it a lot. There was a lot of Southern Baptist preachers and some yelling ones but mostly we had a pastor who didn't scream and I found a lot of comfort and joy and peace as a child hearing the Bible. Even when they talked about hell, it didn't scare me. It made everything make sense. It made me have like a rock for a foundation to build my life on.

DOOR: Is religion still a central part of your life?

JACKSON: I don't think of the Bible as a "religion" because the word "religion" comes from "religio," which means to "bind back to God." Religion is man's attempt to bind himself back to a relationship with God. And the whole Bible seems to be God loving us. Most religions teach works for salvation. If you give money, if you go to church, if you crawl on your knees to Mecca, if you say Hail Mary 50 times, if you give us more money or whatever, you'll go to heaven. Basically, most religions say be good and you'll go to heaven--and that's religion. (But) Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and not of yourself. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." So, to me, when I hear "religion" or "Are you religious?" or "How does religion affect you?"--I don't feel any part of religion. I think the Bible is God's gift of salvation that He gave me because I trusted in Him when I was six years old. It was a gift and I didn't earn it.

DOOR: Did the Bible play an important role to you as you entered your teen years?

JACKSON: The Bible affected my teen years in a huge, huge way. I stayed a virgin until I was 23. I didn't do drugs or drink or smoke. I made straight A's--probably because I wasn't doing any extra-curricular bad things. I got a gymnastics scholarship to college, fell in love with my true love of my whole life--who I'm married to now--and he was a virgin too. It was very romantic.

DOOR: Why did you head for Hollywood?

JACKSON: I had a diamond ring from my husband Paul but his father said that Paul had to finish college before we got married. I couldn't afford Furman because it was very expensive and my parents didn't have any money. I thought I could be a secretary in Miami, waiting for Paul to come home and marry me or I could be a secretary in Hollywood and chase my whim of acting while I'm waiting for him. I thought the only time I'd ever be able to chase a whim would be when I was 20 because I had no children and I wasn't married yet. So, I auditioned for everything and I finally got in Summer Stock in Birmingham and I met Johnny Crawford. He was the child star that used to be in a show called The Rifleman with Chuck Conners. He liked me and he thought I would be good in his 1930s-styled nightclub act because I knew a lot of '30s songs and stuff. I had a funny voice and was doing gymnastics in the show. So he sent me a one-way ticket to Hollywood.

DOOR: How did your faith help you get through auditions?

JACKSON: When you go on an audition it's very frightening. It's very scary and the whole business is insecure and you get rejected a lot. But if you believe in Christ and that your main goal with your life is supposed to be to honor Him and do His will, then you don't have as much pressure as someone who bases all their happiness on whether they're a movie star. That would be like a lot of pressure probably. So I probably wasn't as nervous as maybe some other people.

DOOR: What was it like being on the cast of "SNL"?

JACKSON: I was the only Christian on the cast, but that was cool because we all respected each others talent and mostly they respected me a lot even though I was the only Christian. Hardly anything that was ever on that show offended me. There was one sketch that I said I didn't want to be in.

DOOR: Do tell.

JACKSON: It was making fun of people who are overly zealous, religious nuts, you know. They had a table where they had a Tammy Faye Bakker salt shaker, actually like Jesus' picture on salt and pepper shakers. I thought it was a good idea to make fun of overly zealous people who make Christianity look stupid, but on the other hand there was one part of the sketch where I was supposed to kneel down and pray. At the last minute, I said "Lorne, I can't kneel down and pray in the middle of a comedy sketch. It would hurt me too much because prayer is a sacred thing." He said, "OK" and he gave it to someone else. It wasn't funny, no one laughed, so it never got on the show. There weren't any problems. Now, I don't mind making fun of those preachers who steal money from people, they kind of deserve it.

DOOR: Like your parody of Jessica Hahn?

JACKSON: When I sang, "I'm Not A Bimbo," I was doing a parody of Jessica Hahn taking her clothes off and then in People magazine she said, "I am not a bimbo." Well, that's like screaming to be made fun of and deservedly so.

DOOR: What was it like for you playing the role of Jenny Barton, the church lady's nemesis?

JACKSON: It was so fun because church lady was, from the get-go, a huge hit. I thought it was a really good contrast to have a really sweet, sincere, church girl sitting next to the church lady who seemed kind of, you know, over the top.

DOOR: So you didn't have any real problems as the only Christian on "SNL"?

JACKSON: One day when I was in the writers room, Al Franken came up to me in the hallway alone and said, "I just want to tell you something. This really offends me but you act like an airhead all the time and you're really smart. And it really bugs me." It was like someone hit me in the face. Because I hate fake people and I always think I'm never fake. I said, "Well, my voice is weird and I can't help that, but maybe I act giddy and happy and silly or something because I'm over-compensating for what I'm really thinking inside, that everyone here is going to hell and I'm supposed to tell them about Jesus." And he looked at me, his face went red and he walked away. Ever since that moment he was very nice to me and respectful and he wrote me some funny stuff. He would write me things to do on Update that were promoting his liberal philosophies, but I was playing an airhead who didn't know what I was talking about.

DOOR: We've heard certain religious leaders calling Hollywood--"Hellywood," and saying the entertainment industry is of the devil. How would you respond to those people?

JACKSON: I do think that the heads of most of the projects out here are pretty totally liberal, pretty much anti-Christianity. So their ethics and morals are definitely much lower. Look at "Friends." It's such a cute show, they're having fun and they're young and they're perky and I love to watch it with my daughter. But I have to keep turning to her and going, "They're fornicating again and they're all laughing about it and swapping partners and it's all cute. But it's not. The Bible says flee fornication. That's not reality."

DOOR: If our mothers had actually said "Flee fornication" to us, it would have had a certain unreal quality about it, yes.

JACKSON: Maybe entertainment is not supposed to be reality. But the point is, yes, Hollywood is run by people most of whom aren't Christians.

DOOR: What's your solution to this problem?

JACKSON: I don't think Christians can complain because my feeling is: Make your own movies. Are Christians too stupid that we can't write a script, we can't film a movie OR we don't know how to act?

DOOR: Er, you're asking US?

JACKSON: There's a lot of money in Billy Graham's Association and in that Denver, Colorado thing, Focus on the Family. So, why can't we make Christian movies? I can't do it. I've never produced a show, I don't know how. Maybe I'll learn how, but the only thing I can do is turn down parts that would hurt my conscience.

DOOR: Speaking of immoral roles, you've played some rather loose ladies in the movies.

JACKSON: That was, my whole dilemma was that when I got my first movie part The Pick Up Artist, I was playing a loose girl. But I wasn't naked at all and I never say bad words. Whenever I get a script, I try not to say "Gosh," because my dad says it's a euphemism for God. So I always take out the bad words.

DOOR: But still, you've played characters that behave in unbiblical ways.

JACKSON: I went to my pastor at my church and I said, "What should I do? Should I take this part in The Pick Up Artist, and do the best I can and be a great actress? And then in my real life be a great married, faithful wife, good mother, church going, tithing good Christian? Or should I turn down the role and maybe God will reward me like he'll give me The Sound of Music?" That's the kind of movie I wanted to be in. I always dreamed of being Maria in The Sound of Music. That's pretty much why I went into show business because I wanted to have a guitar and sing unaccompanied, that was like my fantasy of the perfect life. Who'd of thought?

DOOR: So, what did your pastor say?

JACKSON: Anyway, my pastor said, "I think you should do the movie, do your best job being an actress and live your personal life as the best Christian you can be." I kind of agreed with that as long as it's not something like Demi Moore being naked in a stripper movie, you know, like I would never do that.

DOOR: We don't want to be too nosy here, but you were butt naked in Casual Sex.

JACKSON: On Casual Sex, they tricked me because I was playing the "good girl" and of course she was looser than I ever was. AND after 16 call backs they didn't say there was nudity. It was never mentioned, it wasn't in the script. After about two months of shooting and the whole movie takes three months, 12 hours a day, my first lead in a movie, which I was so excited to have the lead. Because then I could prove I could act and then maybe I'd be on for better parts. I could turn down stupid parts. Then after two months the director says, "OK, this massage scene, your butt is gonna be showing." I go, "No, when you get a massage, you're not naked, you have a towel over you." He says, "No, no, no. I want you to stand up across the room and be putting a towel around you so we see your butt." And I'm like, "But why can't I just be laying on the table with the towel on me to get a massage?" You see what I'm saying? If you read a script and it says she's getting her first massage and she's very giggly and nervous, I did not read it as having my butt showing. So, that was, I was petrified and I felt bad about it and some people say, "You're a hypocrite. How can a Christian show her butt in a movie?" Well, I'd turned down about a hundred auditions that had anything to do with nudity. It was just, it's like everyday you have to decide, what would Jesus do? Like that new bracelet thing. I mean, every moment you have to think that.

DOOR: So you think if you'd been offered the more sleazy Lea Thompson role that it would have been an easier thing to turn down?

JACKSON: Oh, I never would have gotten it. Because I can't play that. I think the reason they cast me as the good girls is because they couldn't find any in Hollywood. There aren't any. I mean, no one who could PRETEND that they were virginal.

DOOR: Many "SNL" alums seem to have developed drug and alcohol problems. Do you think it was your faith that kept you from falling into that abyss?

JACKSON: I've had a lot of struggles and I would be in a lot of trouble, I think, if I wasn't a Christian. I have a very addictive personality and I'm very childlike, always wanting attention. It's probably kept me from things. I'm sure that if I weren't a Christian, I would probably end up like Chris Farley.

DOOR: Why did you leave Hollywood in 1991?

JACKSON: I didn't really leave show business. It sort of turned out that way because you can't have a career and live in Miami. So basically, I called my high school sweetheart Paul, he was getting divorced. He had no kids. We started dating. I said, "I could never live here, in Miami." He said, "I know, we'll move." I said, "When?" He said, "In three years." Six years later, I'm still there. I'm like, "Paul, I love you and I want to see you everyday, but I can't stand it here." I had a house in L.A. and I had a house in Connecticut when I married him, but because of my divorce, I lost them both. I got really bored. And so this year we've made a little experiment, we're trying to live bi-coastally. I have an apartment in L.A. and the kids are here in school and we commute back and forth every two weeks to see each other and it's too hard. It's really hard to give up what you passionately love to do, (but) there's nothing in Miami, no auditions or anything.

DOOR: Some magazines like Today's Christian Woman feature Christian celebrities who say how perfect their life is and we kind of want to hit them. In love, of course. Tell us about working on "The X-Files."

JACKSON: It was so much fun and so fulfilling. But then everyday I call my husband and go, "Paul, I'd rather be with you than be in a stupid TV show." And I go, "OK, it's March 1999 and I've been here six months and I've been on four ÔPolitically Incorrects' and one ÔX-Files.' Hmmm, ÔX-Files' and ÔPolitically Incorrect' versus being with the man I love naked every night. Hmmm. I'm moving back." Then the next day I'll get some exciting audition and I go, "Oh, I have a reason to jog again." No, I think women would be happy to know my life is really icky. And whenever I get really freaked out, I sit down and I read my New Living Bible, with my red pencil. Because I have to be shading something in or I can't concentrate. And that calms me down and puts everything into perspective.

DOOR: During one of your performances on "Politically Incorrect," we noticed that you were taking some heat from Bill Maher for stating your religious beliefs. He seemed to be kind of poo-pooing you a little bit.

JACKSON: I (originally) asked if I could be on it because I knew that there's no one ever standing up for Jesus' side. It's like there's always three liberals and one conservative. The three liberals are attacking the conservative. I always thought, "That's because we're a silent majority. We've just gotta open our mouths." And I thought I should be the spokesperson for those quiet nice people who think, you know, "Abortion is murder." I have a right to say that, it's America. And when I turn on the TV, 99% of the people say abortion is a woman's choice and that I'm a freak. But, you know what, I think they're freaks. I think abortion is murder. So I thought, "Man, if I could get on ÔPolitically Incorrect,' I could stand up for our side. So I asked them and I don't know what happened but finally I got on and I turned out to be one of his favorite guests. And I know that because they just filmed his birthday show and the producer said he picked his four favorite women guests. I'm not bragging. I'm just saying that the fact that he totally disagrees with what I believe in, but he appreciates the conflict because he wouldn't have a show if everyone agreed.

DOOR: What's your take on religion, Hollywood-style?

JACKSON: It seems like they always have a new phase. Like when I first came out here, everyone was into crystals and now it's Kaballah, with New Age was in between. But my dad just gave me a book called, When the World Will Be As One, and it traces New Age back to the garden of Eden when Satan said, "Don't you want to be equal with God?" I think Hollywood and the world in general is searching for the truth. They will not look at Jesus. And there's this huge anger. "Why do they use His name in vain if they don't even believe in Him?" I don't understand why they don't say, "Oh Buddha!" when they hit their finger with a nail. They're desperately searching for meaning in their lives but they will not crack the Bible open. And that proves to me that it's the truth. They're so scared of it. They're so scared that it's gonna convict them or something. It doesn't make your life stop being fun to be a Christian. I think they're afraid to confront the truth so they find all these stupid false religions, false gives them a good feeling or something.

DOOR: Surveys show that many American families pray or at least go to church once a week, but you never see a sitcom family doing that.

JACKSON: I just wrote my first idea for a sitcom and registered it with the Writers Guild. And I wrote church stuff in there. While I was writing, because I was just copying my childhood in it, I thought that same thing. I thought, "Hey, how odd." Then I thought, "I betcha if I submit this to Nickelodeon, they'll say we love it except take the church stuff out of it."

DOOR: Why don't more Christian entertainers come out of the closet--so to speak?

JACKSON: I think they're afraid of offending part of their audience. There is an actor /singer I know and he's a Christian. I asked him why he didn't ever say it in public and he said, "Because I'll lose half my audience, I'll lose half my fans." At this point in my career, maybe God's taken away all my jobs because, right now I've nothing to lose, you know. When I was on "Saturday Night Live," I don't think Lorne Michaels would have liked me to be on "The 700 Club," for instance.

DOOR: Um, maybe Lorne had a valid point.

JACKSON: We were supposed to be hip and wild and we were supposed to have this kind of mystique/edge thing. That was sort of in between the lines of our contract. It didn't mean I had to take heroin or anything, but now I can say what I believe and my priorities are different. I always thought when I was growing up, "why aren't there Christians who have exciting, great careers and lives?" Maybe if I could ever be a successful comedian then I could be an example that Christians can also have fun.

DOOR: Charlton Heston has played some major religious figures. And he was pretty public about the fact that he seemed to have a practicing faith and he's a conservative when it isn't cool.

JACKSON: The bottom line of Hollywood is money. They don't care what you believe in IF you can make the money. There's no prejudice against any certain religion here.

DOOR: Since you did a guest spot on "The X-Files," what's your interest in our nation's obsession or interest in the issues of aliens, the paranormal, that kind of thing?

JACKSON: I think there could be other planets with people on them, and I'm just wondering, maybe they have a garden of Eden on another planet but Adam and Eve didn't disobey God and they didn't sin and so they're still living there naked in the beautiful wonderland. And maybe there's other planets where they did sin and Jesus had to go there and die too.

DOOR: Now THAT could be an interesting movie.

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