Testimony of a Catholic stunt double and actor in Hollywood

Brenda Lorena Garcia, daughter of Salvadoran parents, was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She studied journalism, then earned a master's degree in psychology and counseling. Today she is a voice actress and also brings the Catholic faith to Hollywood sets as a stunt double.

She worked for a while in a Telemundo newscast, and from there she went to the movies, participating most often as a stunt double. She was in Fast X, Avatar: The Way of Water, Transformers: The Last Knight, Ant-Man and the Wasp, and DC Comics' The Suicide Squad, among many other movies.

Her most recent work is in Harold and the Purple Crayon, in which he does all the stunt work for a child character named Mel, as well as a helicopter scene filling in for another child. She has been a stunt double for numerous children and teenagers, “because I'm short,” she explains. For example, she doubled for Jenna Ortega, an actress most recently known for the series Wednesday, for two years. 

To be able to perform her risky scenes in cinematography, Brenda has to exercise every day. “I run, do boxing, muay-thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and crossfit. I stay healthy, eat well, and take vitamins,” she says.

However, the applause doesn't go to Brenda, but to the actors she doubles for, but it doesn't affect her. “I don't want to be famous,” she says. “However, many people do know who I am, especially in the Catholic world.” 

She says, “I pray for everyone. But I pray especially when I'm on set, at work. I don't just pray for God to protect them, but for their conversion. I try not to speak so much anymore, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t call me to speak. Rather, I prefer to live lovingly, because that’s what attracts the world.”

Brenda wants them to see Jesus or Mary reflected in her. “I’m just an instrument, and that’s my mission: to help the world come to recognize God,” she says. “Grace moves mountains, and now a lot of people in Hollywood are becoming Catholic, they're getting baptized. Stars like Shia LaBeouf, Mark Wahlberg, and Russell Brand are becoming Catholics. They already know what it's like to have a lot of money and a lot of fame, and they’ve seen that this isn’t the answer to happiness; God is.” 

Brenda has always been Catholic. “I’ve loved God since I was three years old. But in the past, I didn't know him as I know him now (...) I had to go through a lot of suffering to live a re-conversion. Romans 8:28 was a reality in my life, because everything worked for my good. God healed me of many wounds, and gave me new life, and now I live it for Christ”.

For example, she recounts the time when God rescued her from a deep depression by sending her various graces.

“I was about to marry a guy I had been with for seven years. We had a house and everything together; I already had my wedding dress, but at that time he had a baby with another woman,” she recounts.

This infidelity triggered a depression that lasted for almost two years, and she lost a great deal of weight. “I didn't want to live anymore,” she remembers. But God rescued her by sending help her way. She found help on a suicide prevention hotline, friends who gave her a place to stay so she wouldn't be alone, and many other things.

“In those two years, the Lord changed me; he opened my eyes to see sin, but also the good that is in everyone; he purified me. Now I go to Mass every day in the morning, and I pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at three o'clock in the afternoon, because I want to live for God.” 

Brenda acknowledges that in Hollywood “there’s a lot of sin, a lot of Masons and Satanists who do evil and cruel things to receive more power and money, and to manipulate certain people to influence the culture in horrible ways.”

And she adds, “That's why the Lord has put me where I am, like the other Catholic actors, because if there are no soldiers of God in those places, who is going to fight for Him? He chose us for this battle.”