Albany native Erin Bethea is expanding her acting career while looking for inspiring messages

ALBANY — The daughter of Sherwood Baptist Church pastor Michael Catt, whose film career took off when the church started making movies, has come a long way from the days when she used to collect “Gone With the Wind,” Audrey Hepburn and Coca-Cola memorabilia — most of which she had to get rid of to move into her small California apartment to pursue her ambitions.

Erin Bethea, whose hometown is Albany, makes an appearance in a film recently released on DVD, “Christian Mingle: The Movie.” It is among the most recent credits for the actress, who has since branched out into production in pursuit of stories that have strong messages.

In “Christian Mingle,” she plays Jennifer, a member of a group of married girlfriends who help Gwyneth Hayden, played by Lacey Chabert, who turns to ChristianMingle.com to find a man who is right for her. Her attempts at impressing her dream guy end in disaster when he calls her out on her “faux faith” — putting her onto a journey to strengthen her personal faith.

“She looks to them to find the right guy,” Bethea said of Gweneth’s relationship with her married friends. “All the girls are wary of this new guy.”

Of the experience on the set, she was complimentary of director Corbin Bernsen — known for his on-camera work on “Major League,” “L.A. Law” and “Psych” — and of Chabert, whose credits include the 2004 film “Mean Girls.”

“The director was great to work with because he is an actor himself,” Bethea said. “Lacey is so adorable. She is the nicest ‘mean’ girl you can ever imagine.”

Bethea, 32, started pursuing her ambitions while a student at Sherwood Christian Academy by getting into the school’s theater program at age 15. She had the lead role in Sherwood’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie.”

When that happened, she was hooked.

“I was completely bit by the bug,” she said. Still, she thought she needed “a practical choice for a career, and acting didn’t seem like a practical choice. Then, I got some advice from my mom, who said to pick a career I would do for free and be good enough that they pay you to do it.”

“I’ve been very fortunate to have been able to make my living (from acting),” she said.

She graduated from the University of Mobile with a bachelor of arts in theater. Pursuing a career in live theater, she worked as a performer for Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., where she spent nearly eight years appearing in various shows across property and became a member of the Actor’s Equity Association. She made her screen debut in a small role as sportscaster Alicia Houston in Sherwood Pictures’ “Facing the Giants” and was cast as Catherine Holt in Sherwood’s “Fireproof ” opposite Kirk Cameron — which opened at No. 4 in the box office and become the top independent film of 2008.

The week following the film’s opening, Bethea was the fourth most searched for actress online according to Yahoo.com — joining a list of names like Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Megan Fox.

Since then, Bethea has hosted two seasons of the Emmy Award winning television series “OMX: On Mission Xtra” and has appeared in nearly a dozen films, including the “The Heart of Christmas,” “Amazing Love” opposite Sean Astin, “This Is Our Time” along with Eric Roberts, “The Redemption of Henry Myers” with Drew Waters, and she currently provides the voice of “Maggie” in the animated DVD series “Iesodo.”

Though she now lives in Los Angeles, Bethea still makes stops into Albany to re-visit her roots, partaking in Jimmie’s Hot Dogs every once in a while. Given the unexpected impact “Fireproof” had on the course of her career, she owes a lot to her connections in Southwest Georgia.

“When I decided to make a career as an actress, I first thought I had to get out of Albany,” she said. “Then, with God’s sense of humor, they started making movies in Albany at my home church when I moved away.”

After “Fireproof,” she said, “Opportunities opened up. I’m so much happier in front of a camera than on stage. I feel in love, and I had a huge shift in focus.”

Currently, Bethea is busy with more feature films preparing to be released, including “Altar Egos,” a comedy starring Robert Amaya from “Courageous.” She has also added a new role to her resume as a producer with her new production company, Argentum Entertainment, that she formed with Waters.

The films currently in some form of production under Argentum include “Nouvelle Vie,” “Blood Bayou”, “Junior Lifeguards,” “Hail Mary” and “Taking the Long Way Home.”

While the production company has given Bethea a different perspective on the business, it has opened up additional opportunities for acting — specifically in films of good quality with a wholesome and powerful message.

“I love the production stuff, but I see it as an opportunity for acting,” she said. “Acting is my first love. I want to help get messages out.”

In the films connected to Argentum, Bthea said, “I’m starring in one and I have small roles in two more to focus on the production side.”

For the time being, she believes she’ll be sticking with faith-based films to some degree or another, although she is looking to more into the mainstream market.

“I never want to completely abandon doing faith-based films,” she said. “They are so much of who I am … but I am branching out into the mass market.”

Primarily, she said, she looking for films with messages that inspire. “Those kinds of films are where I’d like to see myself.”

She also wants to work more in TV as well. When asked if she would work with the people at Sherwood again, she said: “At the drop of a hat.”

“That’s my family,” she said. “I’ve loved every set I’ve been on. With every movie set, it feels like summer camp — you are close for a week and don’t see them much after that. ‘Fireproof’ was different.

“I got a chance to show them what I had learned while I was away.”

When addressing the support she has had in Southwest Georgia to make a successful career, she referred to the relationship she has with people in the region as “mutually giving.”

“It is the church family that raised me, and the family that raised me,” she said. “I have a responsibility to those who have invested in me. Anyway I can give back … it’s a big calling on my heart.”

While telling the public to continue to watch for things coming down the pipe, and hoping people would continue to bring quality entertainment into their homes — she put in a final plug for her hometown.

“Albany is a well kept secret,” she said. “It is such a beautiful town. Because of some of the things Sherwood has done, and the historical things that have happened there (people are starting to notice it).

“It’s cool people are starting (to notice) what’s happening there.”