The road to success isn’t an easy one. Patricia Heaton was more than willing to take the hard road if it meant she’d become a star.

The actor was frank about her career during an interview with the Springfield News-Sun. Today, audiences recognize Heaton for roles like Debra Barone of Everybody Loves Raymond. With her comedic talent and charisma, it may be easy to assume that Heaton was an overnight success, but that simply wasn’t the case.

“People don’t realize that Ray was my fourth sitcom,” said Heaton. “I came to Hollywood at the ancient age of 32, which put me out to pasture like Sea Biscuit! I had no agent, no manager, and nothing to show for hanging around in New York for nine years.”

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Strangely enough, it took a break from Hollywood to help jumpstart Heaton’s career. The actor recalled that she briefly volunteered at an orphanage in Mexico, and the experience gave her a new perspective on life.

“I did some work there for a weekend,” said the actor. “And I came back thinking, ‘I don’t need to be an actor. I could go right back to that orphanage and just work there for the rest of my life.’ It was so fulfilling.”

This new outlook served as the catalyst for Heaton’s success. “Almost the instant I made that adjustment internally, it just relaxed me, and then I started getting work,” said the actor. “It was so interesting. It was like, I let go of it and then it came back to me.”