Mother Teresa of Calcutta was an icon of the 21st Century. Her position as a woman dedicated to helping those around her is the outward story that most are aware of when they hear of her name.

Yet, one rather untold story about the nun was that as her fame grew, her faith in God was actually evaporating slowly.

"She felt that God had abandoned her," actress Juliet Stevenson told Latin Post in a recent interview. The actress is taking on the role of Mother Teresa in the new movie "The Letters," which centers on this very theme of doubt and how the nun ultimately goes about serving those that are also abandoned and desolate.

Stevenson cited that doubt as one of the major reasons she ultimately took on the role despite initial trepidation about being director William Riead's first choice.

"I have no idea to this day [why] it was me that he chose," she noted. "I'm not at all like Mother Teresa and I'm not a Catholic."

Yet she saw the role as an opportunity to explore a person that was full of anguish and pain over her spiritual crisis.

"The loneliness and agony that she feels during this time is actually very moving. She kept doing her work anyway and she was determined never to let the world know about this private anguish," Stevenson noted.

For the actress, seeing the rise of the global figure counteracted by the painful "private reality" was powerfully dramatic. She even suggested that it might have been this sense of abandonment that drew Teresa to help the abandoned people in the streets of India.

"She connected with abandoned and knew what it was [like] to be lonely and left. That might have fueled her desire to clean up the mess on the steps," Stevenson added.

Emphasizing that playing a real person meant that she could study footage from interviews, Stevenson prepared for the role by watching documentary films and listening to radio interviews in addition to reading several books.

She even went to speak with nuns in a convent of Mother Teresa's order in West London, some who worked with her.

Throughout her research, she came upon a number of unique facts, even the contradictory aspects of the character, many of which were not explored in the film.

"There are aspects and points of view of her that are very complex," she stated. "Her views on contraception and abortion and homosexuality for example. They are difficult things to accept, particularly now and from where I come anyway. It would have been interesting to explore where those points of view came from."

Her research also allowed her to see new aspects on the Catholic Church's inner workings.

"[Seeing the church through] her eyes is complicated," Stevenson added. "She went to see the Pope and asked for permission to start order. He granted it. She never actually split with church, but only with immediate representatives, like her mother superior.

"There is a lot of in-fighting going on."

Aside from her work as an actress, Stevenson has been active in helping out with refugees for around 35 years. It all started years ago when she was taking on the role of a Chilean torture victim. Since she had no understanding of their point of view, she sought out a Chilean Refugee Community where she learned about the experiences. It was a life-altering experience and she maintained contact with the community thereafter.

In the current refugee crisis, Stevenson has been very active, helping the Islington Refugee Center in its drive to raise 30,000 pounds and remain open for the rest of the year.

"I just felt that I needed to be doing something. I couldn't sit back and watch this," she emphasized.

The center takes care of refugees that have "no home, no job, no money and now no country" providing them with English classes, food and even workshops for writing and the arts.

"It's a very creative and welcoming place," she concluded. "I am happy to be a part of helping out those in need."

Mother Teresa would have felt the same way.