VONORE -- She walked across the muddy gravel parking lot and
newcomers on the movie set did a double take, much like the ladies
of Wisteria Lane would if they saw her likeness reappear in their
neighborhood one day.

``Desperate Housewives'' co-star Brenda Strong, who appears and
narrates the series as deceased suburban housewife Mary Alice, had
finished a day of shooting for the second part of ``The Work and The
Glory'' series Thursday and was headed toward the dining tent.

She faces an intense schedule this summer for the epic independent
series of Mormon films while juggling her work on the popular
television series.

Strong believes the series will appeal to people outside The Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faith. The first movie, ``The
Work and the Glory,'' was released on DVD May 3.

``I'm not Mormon, and what appeals to me about the film are common
themes of love, of fighting for something you believe in, of losing
faith,'' she said. ``You don't have to be Mormon to have that appeal
to you. I think everyone on a daily basis struggles with, am I doing
the right thing in my life? I think those are things that come up in
almost every scene -- `Am I on the right path, or am I deluding
myself?'''

``The Work and The Glory'' is a love story set against the backdrop
of religious intolerance in the American frontier in the 1800s, in
Palmyra, N.Y. After homesteading in Vermont, the Benjamin Steed
family makes their way to Palmyra where they attempt to settle
peacefully. Eventually they find that the family they hired to help
clear the land is at the center of a religious controversy -- a
controversy that threatens to tear the family apart.

Strong plays Mary Ann Steed, the matriarch of the Steed family.

``I came from pioneer stock,'' said Strong, who is from Portland,
Ore. ``My great-grandfather came across the Oregon Trail with one
pair of boots that he saved for winter. He actually came across
barefoot. My own grandmother and my mother were not dissimilar to
the character of Mary Ann.

``Mary Ann Steed has a lot of the qualities I admire in my own
lineage -- women of strength, women of moral character, women who in
the face of difficulty found a way to keep their families together
in a loving, positive way. And faith being part of that connection.
My grandmother was the daughter of a minister.''

She likes the contrast of the historical film to the modern
sensibilities of work comprising her 20-year acting career. She has
been seen in some of the country's most popular television shows,
such as ``Seinfeld,'' ``Murphy Brown'' and ``Cheers.''

While working on a movie and a television series, Strong, her
husband and son, have explored Tennessee. She said she's hiked in
the Cherokee National Forest, been to the Grand Ole Opry, taken a
day at a spa in Knoxville, dined in Maryville and caught a late
showing of ``The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' at the Foothills
Theater.

The foliage of Tennessee reminds her of Oregon, where she grew up.
Her next film project is a comedy written by Tom Arnold called ``The
Kid and I.''

In the meantime, there is the mounting popularity of ``Desperate
Housewives.'' She's hopeful but cautious about is longevity.

``After so many years of being on shows that got six episodes, or
only had a pilot and never got picked up -- 20 years of that you
kind of go, `Oh well, we'll see.'''

``Desperate Housewives'' was a hot property from the start.

``We were all very aware that this was a coveted script from the
beginning, because everybody wanted to audition for this script and
everybody did,'' she said. ``And (producer) Mark Cherry's genius
script was the reason for that. Even if you've been disappointed or
not, you kind of go, `Let's hope this puppy has legs.' But we didn't
know it was going to be a greyhound.''

She is optimistic about the character Mary Alice's longevity on the
show. After all, her character can't be killed, and her husband
can't divorce her. They can't move her out of the neighborhood,
either.

But how long the show will go she wouldn't project. Strong does have
an idea of what kind of future roles she'd like, and one of them
involves creating stories instead of interpreting characters.

She and a writing partner have film and television treatments in the
works.

``I think my next role is going to be more as a producer, as opposed
to as an actress.''