By Juliette Buerkle and Patrick Lorenz
Don't jump back in fright at the sight of this guy. Yeah, he may be the Angel of Death on "Touched By An Angel", but in real life he's
a man who follows Christ, and through his acting is pumping a lot of life back into Saturday nights in front of the TV.
YOUTH BEAT: Does the cast has a touch of faith that holds it together outside of the show, through your belief in Christ?
John Dye: I think so, yeah. It's very dicey to talk about religion, but what is an easier thing to talk about on a broader spectrum is the
issue of spirituality... I think this is the emphasis of the show, that individually we are all believers, as it were, and I think that
helps define the characters and stuff, but at the same time, we have great ambition and drive.
YB: Do you find it amazing, since it deals with faith, that this show is so popular?
JD: I am surprised by the enormity of the success, just the because the odds are so rare. It's so rare! It's very gratifying, but no one
could have predicted we'd be a top-10 show.
YB: What difference does your faith make in your professional world, and in what you do?
JD: I can only speak for myself, and I know that it informs every aspect of my life. There's no way that I can imagine leaving my
belief system at the door as I pursue my profession. That's just anathema; it's an impossibility. So, does it inform my whole life,
as well as my professional life? Yes it does.
Because you make choices on a daily basis... on an hourly basis (on the set as hard as we work) about what is the most loving way to
approach this problem, or the fact that I've been working 16 hours and I'm exhausted, and I just really want to bite someone's
head off. You know, that's want I want to do. You can't, because they're working just as hard as you are. So yeah, that all comes
from my belief system.
YB: Are there any spinoffs in the works?
JD: There is a spinoff this season, called "The Promised Land." Andrew goes over to Promised Land, and it's a special two-parter so
it's kind of fun.