Amber Tamblyn Finds Religion

Whatever God is paying his agent, it ain't enough. The man upstairs hasn't had as hip a showcase as Joan of Arcadia since Moses parted the Red Sea. The CBS hit has even made, if not a believer, a questioner of its leading lady, Amber Tamblyn. Being on the series, she says, "hasn't changed [my spirituality] that much, but it's definitely helped me to be more interested in religion in general."

The daughter of Twin Peaks' kooky Russ Tamblyn, the General Hospital alumna wasn't taught to put her faith in "a specific religion," she admits. "But I was raised to believe in God. The [basics] of what my father taught me growing up was to find something that I truly believed in, not necessarily to follow his path. He likes to influence me, definitely, [by telling me to] read different things. But he never pushed anything on me."

Between her pop's open mind and the all-embracing subtext of Joan, Tamblyn was overdue for a metaphysical eye-opener. Now, she happily reports, it has arrived. "For me to narrow anything down [in terms of choosing a religion at] 20 years old is practically impossible. It would be foolish of me to do.

"There's actually a book that I just bought — it's this big!" she continues, spreading her hands far apart. "It's filled with beautiful illustrations of every religion from all over the world. You just go through it, and all the cultural history that we have is amazing. So, if anything, I would say [playing Joan] has been a nice open doorway to whatever spiritual path I'm taking."