As a Christian in the entertainment industry, Laura Osnes had to “get really good really fast at discerning” what kind of jobs were right for her. In fact, after winning “Grease: You’re the One That I Want!” in 2007, which guaranteed the young singer a lead role in her first Broadway show, she distinctly remembers her mom telling her, “You’re going to be a lamb amidst lions in New York City.”
That didn’t deter the now-38-year-old though, who felt called to use her God-given talents to “bring light into the world” despite the struggles she would inevitably face. She recently sat down with The Washington Times’ Higher Ground to share some of the hard lessons she had to learn during her prolific career, and how God’s faithfulness sustained her along the way.
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“There were definitely some jobs I turned down early on that I just didn’t feel were going to be God-honoring,” she said. “I think we had to get really good really fast at discerning and honestly, I was not perfect. I had to learn some lessons the hard way … It’s learning to discern that still small voice and go ‘Do I actually feel peace about this?’ … And not giving into the pressures of the world.”
One of those pressures came in the form of the COVID vaccine, which Ms. Osnes declined to get after doing her research and talking with her doctor. The decision ultimately led to her pulling out of a benefit concert in 2021 that required all performers to be vaccinated.
The lifelong Christian thought that was the end of it, but when false stories flooded the Internet about her getting fired for not getting the vaccine, she soon found herself in the crosshairs of a cancel culture that effectively ended her 15-year career on Broadway.
“It was the most painful kind of heartbreaking thing that I’ve ever gone through,” she admitted. “But for better or for worse I think I put a lot of my identity in my job, and God had to teach me that lesson of going ‘If I take that all always is who are you actually? What is your identity actually rooted in?’ And I had to learn to let go of what people think and trust that one voice, that His is the only voice that matters.”
After that, Ms. Osnes and her husband, who she describes as an “incredible rock and encourager and a sounding board for me throughout my life and my career,” ultimately made the decision to leave New York. The couple settled in Tennessee where the performer continues to pursue singing and acting.
“God has shown up so many times in my career,” she said. “Doors that He’s closed that I thought I wanted or a lesson I had to learn when things didn’t go my way, but His faithfulness and His provision in such a roller coaster of an industry has been something that has been such a foundation for me to know that I don’t need to try to control everything, that I can trust God with this very uncertain career and just use the gifts that He gave me to ultimately glorify Him and try to be a light in others.”
That’s why when Candace Cameron Bure approached the Tony Award nominee about taking on the lead role for the new Great American Family movie “Just in Time,” Ms. Osnes jumped at the chance.
“I loved the script and I think it tackles a topic that isn’t seen in the media very much [or] represented in film with a couple struggling with infertility and my character learning to have to surrender and ultimately find the Lord in this movie,” she noted. “And I just think it’s so beautiful. It’s uplifting, it’s hopeful. There are so many redeeming messages and lessons of patience and perseverance that can be learned from this film. I’ve never done a faith-forward project like this and it was really, really rewarding.”
And while Ms. Osnes is open to doing other things beyond faith-based projects, she does want her work to “make a difference.” In fact, she hopes to inspire and encourage others through her work the way God has done in her own life.
“The most fulfilling art is art that you get to make that affects and impacts and challenges or inspires your audiences,” she noted. “God has taught me perseverance and endurance and fortitude and standing in the face of adversity and again brought hope. And through that, through having to walk through the fire, [I] feel like I’ve been refined.”
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
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