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Jodi Benson, who many know as the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, is opening up about having a Christian faith in Hollywood.
Benson has always followed God's lead when it comes to what work she says yes to, which includes voicing Ariel back in 1989 to Barbie in the Toy Story franchise, to now Nia in season two of the animated Christian series The Wingfeather Saga.
"It’s really neat, to see the tapestry that God has created and the puzzle pieces that have come together within my career," Benson said in an interview with CBN News. "But, for me, it’s a ministry. I really do feel that God places me exactly where He wants me. He opens the door exactly where He needs me, and it’s never usually about the job."
The character of Nia is the role of a mother to these adventurous children and Benson shares what it means to her.
"I love my character," says Benson. "She is an incredible person in that she is brave, courageous, she is royalty, as well as an incredibly kind, loving, and patient mother."
Looking back on her career of 38 years in the business and how voicing Ariel was the beginning, Benson shares what a continued blessing it's been.
"My focus was doing Broadway musicals — my passion," she said. "And this door opened up for me to be able to randomly audition for it, and here I am, almost 38 years later, and I’m still recording my voice, and still Ariel is a huge part of my life and my family’s lives, and we are just so grateful."
The film industry took a hit recently in two ways, according to Benson. First with the pandemic shutting down everything and then with a strike. Some actors are also concerned about sharing their opinions because of cancel culture.
"We’re going to see this kind of roller coaster going on; people can feel like they can speak out, but then, you know, they’re going to possibly get hit with cancel culture. And that can be earth-shaking. You can lose your job, you can lose your paycheck, you can lose your film, your television, your agency, and your manager all in one day — so it happens a lot."
She says it's important to her to walk by faith in everything, rather than by sight.
"[God] is ultimately in control. He’s got everything in His hands. I can put everything onto Him, and trust Him, because I just trust Him — I just do."