Playing the devil’s role

Former Liberty student lands role as female portrayal of Satan in new film

The Christian film “40 Nights” featuring former Liberty University student Rebecca Lawlor earned four nominations from the International Christian Film Festival, one of the largest Christian film festivals in the world.

The film received nominations for Best Picture, Most Inspirational, Best Lead Actor and Best Musical Score.

It was one of 30 films to receive nominations out of more than 500 submissions from more than 40 countries.

“I feel beyond blessed, and we’re very, very grateful,” Lawlor, actress and executive producer, said. “If you had told me four or five years ago … that we would be nominated, I would have said, ‘I don’t think that’s possible.’”

“40 Nights” follows the pre-ministry life of Jesus, focusing on the 40 days and 40 nights he spent in the in the wilderness and the temptations he faced at the hands
of Satan.

Lawlor played the role of the temptress –  a beautiful female form that the devil took on in the film to tempt Jesus.

“Playing Satan, you realize the hate that Satan really had for God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit,” Lawlor said.

She said at first she had wrestled with the idea of playing Satan, but after praying about it and talking with a spiritual advisor, she decided that she could use the role for a positive purpose.

“Even if you’re playing a bad role, it’s a good role because you’re educating and you’re bringing light,” Lawlor said.

Lawlor hopes her role will help people to recognize when Satan is tempting them in subtle ways so they can resist and choose instead to do what is right.

DJ Perry, writer of “40 Nights” and CEO of Collective Development, Inc., starred as Jesus in the film.

He hoped the movie would help people see Jesus as a real person instead of as a myth.

“The goal is to get people thinking, talking and really seeking,” Perry said. “If truth is constant, anyone seeking truth will get closer and closer as they seek.”

“40 Nights” is the first of “The Quest Trilogy,” which includes the newly-released “Chasing the Star” and “The Christ Slayer,” scheduled for release in early 2018.

“This first film … presents a relatable Jesus that for many viewers has brought them closer in their understanding of Jesus, the man,” Perry said. “With ‘The Christ Slayer,’ the third film in the trilogy, audiences will get to see … a much more powerful Jesus, unclouded by the human experience and the elements that had previously presented such a challenge during his life.”

The “Quest Trilogy” provided a way for Lawlor to combine her love for acting and ministry, two interests that began early in her life.

“When I went to Liberty I really wanted to be in the ministry,” Lawlor said. “I think that there’s really no better way to bring any kind of awareness to the world than through film.”

Lawlor attended Liberty in 1987, during the same time as Jonathan Falwell and Toby Mac, she said.

“I love Liberty,” Lawlor said. “It was a highlight of my early years.”

She spent three years studying psychology and drama, but when her father became sick during her junior year, she moved to Hampton Roads, Virginia. 

There she continued to pursue acting and participated in beauty and Miss USA pageants where she found her niche in dramatic monologues.

Eventually, she acted in several films with DJ Perry, but partway through filming one movie found that she and her husband were going to have a baby.

“I had always wanted to be a mom and knew at that time I had to make a choice,” Lawlor said. “I chose to be a mom.”

During her parenting years, Lawlor founded and directed the Hearts of Hope Foundation, which helps children facing various types of abuse.

But now that her daughter is a college student, Lawlor has picked up acting right where she left off.

“Rebecca’s passion to get behind positive, faith-based endeavors is why these films ever got made,” Perry said.

According to Perry, the Best Picture film nomination was wonderful, but the Most Inspirational award nomination made him the proudest as a writer.

“I was trying to … bring the Bible back to life,” Lawlor said. “Think what Jesus went through personally for us – he didn’t have food, he didn’t drink water, he was tempted by everything … and he continued to have his eyes focused on the end result — which is us — because he wanted for us to have life everlasting with him in heaven.”

Lawlor will find out if any of the nominations she received will become an award during the International Christian Film Festival this May.

Pors is a feature reporter.