Stephen Collins' estranged wife blasted disgraced 7th Heaven star for taking on role of pedophile priest in new indie short
- Collins, 67, appeared in Jeff Wolfe's award-winning 11-minute short Penance, which was filmed in 2013
- Collins' wife, Faye Grant, sent him an email titled 'Is this some sort of joke?' lambasting him for taking on the role
- At one point in the film, Collins' priest looks at school photos of children
- The actor is being investigated for alleged sexual abuse of three girls
By Snejana Farberov for MailOnline
Published: 12:03 EST, 17 October 2014 | Updated: 08:07 EST, 18 October 2014
The estranged wife of embattled actor Stephen Collins has taken him to task for starring in a new short film about a pedophile priest, it was revealed today.
Collins, 67, who is being investigated for allegedly molesting three girls in the 1970s and 80s, appeared in Jeff Wolfe's 11-minute short titled Penance, which was filmed last year and premiered in March.
The movie follows David Lyons as a tormented man who visit Collins' pedophile priest to 'clear his conscience and discover exactly what it means to find forgiveness...or give it.'
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Under fire: Actor Stephen Collins has found himself embroiled in a child abuse scandal centering around his alleged confession
Art imitating life: A year before the allegations against Collins came to light, he starred in a short film titled Penance playing a pedophile priest
Award-winning flick: The 11-minute movie premiered in March and won a prize for Best Narrative Short at the Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival
In one cringe-inducing moment in the film, Collins is seen looking at school pictures of young children.
Wolfe's independent flick was shown at the Catalina Film Festival on September 27, less than two weeks before TMZ released an audio recording in which a man believed to be Collins could be heard confessing to molesting three girls, among them a young relative, during a couple's therapy session.
According to the gossip site, two weeks after the film's debut, Faye Grant sent her husband a sternly-worded email titled 'IS THIS SOME SORT OF JOKE?' blasting him for taking on the role of the perverted clergyman.
'You sexually molested a child using your role as a minister to engender trust. YOU ARE BEGGING TO BE INCARCERATED, STEPHEN,' Grant reportedly wrote.
The actor's wife had previously accused the TV star of using his best-known role as a pastor on the long-running show 7th Heaven to gain the trust of a couple whose child he later allegedly molested.
In an interview about the film given in April, Collins described the experience playing the fallen clergyman as 'very intense'
Creepy: At one point in the film, Collins' priest looks at school photos of children (pictured)
Confrontation: Collins starred in Penance opposite David Lyons (left) as a tormented man who visit the pedophile priest to face off against his demons
Jeff Wolfe, the Emmy Award-winning stunt coordinator who directed Penance, told TMZ he knew nothing about Collins' alleged exploits when he tapped him for the role.
In another interview with People Magazine, the filmmaker stated: 'I found the recent allegations particularly shocking, as my film is meant to speak to victims of abuse and the idea that the effects of abuse never really go away.'
Wolfe has vowed to donate all the proceeds from the film to the James Storehouse Foundation - a non-profit organization dedicated to helping abused children.
Speaking to entertainment website Nerdacy at WonderCon in April 2014, Stephen Collins called the experience of playing a priest in Wolfe's film 'very intense,' Us Magazine reported.
'We got a chance to do something so different from what we do,' he gushed. 'It's probably going to be in a bunch of festivals next year. It's very intense, very quiet in a different way.'
According to a Facebook page dedicated to Penance, the flick, which won a prize for Best Narrative Short at the Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival, has been pulled from two movie showcases in Denver and San Jose.
Wife's wrath: Collins' wife Faye Grant (left) allegedly sent Collins, who also played a priest on 7th Heaven for many years (right), a stern email excoriating him for taking on the role of a pedophile cleric in Penance
Small-screen star: Collins is best known for his role as the pastor dad on '7th Heaven' series. Here the actor is pictured with his TV family in 1999
Ron Truppa, director of the Catalina Festival, told Inside Edition that the bombshell revelations about Collins left everyone stunned.
'It's just one of those things that are really uncanny, when art imitates life like that,' he said in a recent interview.
Collins has not been charged with any crime, but after the release of the taped confession last week he was dropped from the upcoming comedy Ted 2 and the drama series Scandal.
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Jack, Washington DC, United States, 2 days ago
Why is the news
desertpalm2014, Palm Springs, United States, 2 days ago
Why does his ex continue to text him. I would want NO communication at all with him. She is as crazy as he is.
The D, Detroit, United States, 2 days ago
He probly thought he would never get caught. Why would they Hes covered!
ioniancat21, NYC, United States, 2 days ago
Looks like the wife is the brains of the family. I'm unsure of his guilt, but he should be smarter than this surely.....
Anywherebuthere, Ny, United States, 2 days ago
Is it bad that I hate her more than him
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