It’s Never Too Late: Facing Fear, Overcoming Rejection, and Living Your Dream At Any Age

“We wander off because we want to do things our own way. But blessings are on the path of obedience.”

Apr 22, 2026

What if it’s not too late to pursue your dreams or live the life you always imagined?

Join me on the podcast for a conversation with Anona Tolar, an actress who began pursuing her dream at 50 years old.

From landing roles in films like Ride Along to working alongside industry icons like Glenn Close and Ron Howard, her story is a testament to God’s perfect timing and faithfulness.

Below is a snippet of our conversation. You can listen to/watch the full conversation on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Tell us your story.

When I was 16, and I was at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan studying theater, my sweet mate was a Christian and she started sharing more with me about asking Jesus into my heart.

And so she led me in a prayer and I remember, probably because I’m an actor and feelings are more important, I was like, I don’t feel anything. And while I was there, I had read Run, Baby, Run and The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson. And that made me have this hunger.

And so anyway, I asked her to pray with me again because I didn’t feel anything. And then I went outside in the interlock and it was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen in my life. And I mean, I just started crying.

So it’s funny that that’s where I started my journey really. I mean, I knew the Lord. I prayed when I was little girl growing up. But that’s where I really started to have a walk with Him.

And there’s more to that too, because back then I thought at that point I either had to be a Christian or be an actor. There was no one who told me I can do both. And so that was a struggle because I about gave it all up because I thought that.

So then I went to Asbury College, which is a Methodist college, and I still wanted to major in theater, but they didn’t have what they do now, so I minored in theater.

But it was really just a good place to grow in the Lord. And it wasn’t just my faith that caused me to not continue with acting then. There’s a lot of rejection in acting. And I don’t think I had what it took because I couldn’t have handled the rejection back then. And you had to live in New York or LA to be an actor at that time. And I don’t like big cities.

So there was a lot involved in why I didn’t pursue it when I was young, even though I was in training and I loved it. It was like my first love as a child. That’s all I ever wanted to be besides a mom.

What made you finally decide to pursue acting at 50 years old?

Well, I raised my kids and I thought, you know, my dream was always to be an actor. Also, at that point, I had gone through a really hard first marriage, but I had a very supportive husband at that time, met him in church. And so I thought, you know, I’ve done my other dream, my kids are grown, I’m gonna pursue this dream.

And right from the beginning, I was like, Lord, if you want this, you open the door, if not close the door.

So I had a lot of theater experience and training but no film and TV and it’s almost impossible to get an agent without film and TV. And I was looking on the South Carolina Film Commission website one time to see if there were any reputable agencies that had come up.

And I saw this man’s name and was like, I know him. He and his wife used to come and see me in plays in Summerville, South Carolina. So I messaged him and went to his office where he started this new talent agency.

And he was telling me about the agency and what they were planning and blah, blah, blah. And I said, well, if you decide to have me, you know, I would blah, blah, blah. And he goes, no, no, I’ve seen you act. Of course we want you in this agency.

So that was an open door. I didn’t have to jump through hoops. And within the first year, the first thing I had was a local movie, no pay or anything, but it was so good because it taught me that there’s a boom microphone right above your head. In theater, you project to the back of the room. So I had to learn how to make my voice real, just like a conversation.

And then, almost at the end of the first year, I got an audition for Ride Along with Kevin Hart, Universal Pictures. So that was the very first big thing. I got the role of a bearded biker wife. So it was fun.

And then I got to be a stand in for Glenn Close in The Hillbilly Elegy. The extras casting director contacted me from Atlanta and she said, would you be interested in being a stand in for Glenn Close?

And at first I’m like, yeah! And then I texted her back after and I said, I don’t think I want to do it because I’m a homebody. I didn’t want to be in Atlanta all summer. I didn’t want to leave my husband and my dog.

And then I started thinking about it. And I thought, as actors, we need to take acting classes to keep current. And it’s not much as a stand-in, but I would get paid to watch the master, Glenn Close, and Amy Adams was in it.

So I texted her right back and said, I do want to do it. She goes, I was going to give you a day or two. I thought you needed to think about it. So that was amazing.

And Glenn Close was so kind. It was directed by Ron Howard. And just meeting him, he’s amazing. A really nice person. And the whole atmosphere on that set was so kind and helpful, which I think flows down, just like in a job, from the boss. But it was a wonderful experience.

Talk a little bit about your journey overcoming fear and rejection.

Not being enough is like the theme of my life. And there was a little local movie that I was going to do, but I almost stopped it before it started because the day I was supposed to do a read through of the script, I was like, I’ve never done film. There’s probably really good actors there. Like I’m not going to be okay.

But that morning I turned on the station that I always watch, Joyce Myer, because she’s so inspirational. But I turned it on and it was Shania Twain singing the song “Today is Your Day.”

And I started crying. It starts out: “You got what it takes, you can win. Today is your day to begin. Don’t give up here, don’t you quit. The moment is now, this is it. I know that you can and you will get to the top of the hill. Part of the fun is the climb. So you just got to make up your mind. Today is your day and nothing can stand in your way.”

Anyway, the whole song is like that. And I just started sobbing. And then I thought, you know, He gives us just what we need at just the right time. I thought I needed to hear Joyce Meyer, but that song is what I needed and I’ve played it over and over.

But rejection is a lot. I stopped counting at about 500 auditions, but in the last 14 years, I’ve been rejected 500 times. So I’ve pulled out that song at different times. And at the same time, saying, if this door is closing, if it’s You, I’m okay. But not to quit because of my own fear.

And actually in the acting field, it’s not really rejection. My friend, Patrick Roper, who tapes my auditions here in the Savannah area, he posted this thing and it was about this guy talking about a florist shop.

So this lady walks by the florist and she might need that but she doesn’t need it today. She loves those roses but she doesn’t need it today. One day she walks in and she needs a carnation or whatever it was. That day she needed it and she bought it.

And when we get an opportunity to audition for a casting director, it’s not that it’s a rejection. It’s not that we’re not enough. It’s that they didn’t need us for that. But they’ll remember someday and someday they’re going to need us.

And also William Mark McCullough, in one of his classes, he’ll say, ‘If you’re an orange and they’re looking for an apple, don’t try to be an apple. Be yourself. Be an orange because someday they’re going to need an apple.’

So it’s having the perspective of knowing it’s not rejection. It’s just they don’t need that right now.

What’s been one of the biggest challenges in your walk with the Lord?

The thing that has been hardest for me from forever is believing – and that goes along with I’m enough – that I’m loved. You know, I’m 64, I’ve followed Him since I was 16. And I’ll still say like, why do you love me? How do you love me? How can you love me?

And I had some verses to share…one is from Romans 8:37-39: “I know in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us for I’m sure that neither death nor life nor angels nor rulers nor present things to come nor powers nor height nor depth or anything in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God.”

And then Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save you, rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with his love. He will exalt over you with loud singing.” And I was thinking, who ever sings over you? He does.

And remember when Lauren Daigle’s song came out, You Say I Am Loved? I was in an acting class with my absolute favorite acting teacher, William Mark McCullough, and it was probably within the year that that song had come out.

And because of being trained in theater and theater being my first love, I love an acting class because there’s an audience. The other students are your audience. So when it’s time for you to do your scene, I come alive because theater makes me feel that way. Cameras are different.

So it was my turn to do this scene. I had just had an audition with this scene. I knew it backwards and forwards, got up to do my scene, you know, pretty confident.

And I couldn’t get it. I couldn’t remember the lines. I was struggling, struggling, struggling. And I just turned to Mark and I said, I am so sorry, Mark. I know this scene. I know this. And he said, okay, Anona, take a deep breath and say out loud, ‘I am enough.’

And so, in an instant, the room full of people that felt like an audience to me, like 20 to 25 people, became people who were looking at me, ready to judge me.

And I look at this audience, I look at the other fellow actors, and I said, tears streaming down my face, ‘I am enough.’ And then I’m just like crying, crying.

And he goes, okay. Now take another deep breath. Now do this scene. And who’s to say this judge – it was a judge in a courtroom – who’s to say this judge just didn’t have a really hard day and you don’t know what happened to her before she got up there. So use all that emotion that you’re feeling and do the scene. And I did. And I must say, nailed it!

But that was such a pivotal moment for me because it wasn’t just the acting that I realized I hadn’t felt like I’m enough. Am I this for the casting? Am I pretty enough? Am I old enough? Am I just enough?

But the whole ride home, I was just crying like, Lord, You say I’m enough. You say I’m enough. And I have to start believing it. And it changed the course of my acting career too because I started to believe I’m enough.

How would you encourage people who maybe feel like it’s too late to pursue their dreams?

Well, it’s never too late And actually, when I first started, I met older ladies that were wanting to do this or that, open a business, write a book, something. And so I loved that I could share that it’s never too late, especially if it’s God’s plan.

And when my kids were little, I used to tell them: blessings are on the path of obedience. There’s this path. You know, God had this path for me to be an actor. But we wander off because we want to do things our own way. But blessings are on the path of obedience.

So someone who wants to write a book or open a business or whatever, the path is there, but we stop it by fear or like, I’m not enough or blah, blah, blah. But it’s never too late to dream the dream, to live out your dream, to walk out your dream.

And honestly, my other dream, my biggest dream was being a mom. And I loved being a mom. So if this dream doesn’t get any more than where it is right now, it was still enough. It’s still enough.

It’s like how they say…if You hadn’t parted the sea, it would still be enough. If You hadn’t this, it would still be enough. So what He’s done so far is enough, if He doesn’t do any more. Of course, I want more. I want a recurring role or a big movie role.

But to encourage other women, it’s never too late. It is never too late.

Listen to or watch the full conversation on Apple, Spotify or YouTube.

Thank you for being here,

Katharine

P.S. Eternal Echoes is free today. But if you’d like to partner with me in passing on faith and wisdom to future generations, I’d be so grateful if you consider supporting my work. I thank you truly, kindly and sincerely.

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