Not surprisingly, her work on the trilogy has led to many new opportunities. "It obviously opens a lot of doors," she says. "It's something that you can put next to your name that people recognize extremely easily."
Recently, Maher completed shooting the horror film, "33 Griffin Lane."
"I play a really creepy, blind woman with white eyes," Maher says of the film. "I had great fun with that because I got to scare all the children on the set!"
Up next, she will begin shooting in the fall for a film currently titled, "I Thought You Were Dead," in which she plays the lead role. "It's a romantic drama, so I'll spend most of the film crying!" she says laughing.
For many, spending countless hours in the midst of pirates, swords and horror films, could present a challenge. But when your mom works as the science director of a museum, you tend to develop some thick skin.
"I remember going into my mom's office when I was a kid and she was sitting at the computer with an iguana on her shoulder," recalls Maher. "When I was little, I thought it was completely normal to have a boa constrictor around your neck."
Maher loves to tell the story of a time back in the '80s when her mom invited someone to the museum to help build awareness about the potential extinction of Florida panthers.
"Needless to say, it's kind of hard to get a hotel room when you have a panther," Maher says, breaking into a laugh. "So this guy wound up staying at our house, in the guest room, with his panther in a cage. It was a little creepy, especially because I was about eight years old at the time and very small. I was always a very skinny, short kid. The panther definitely looked at me differently than anyone else."
While she has been granted a once-in-lifetime opportunity to be a part of one of the most successful film projects in history, Maher remains extremely grounded and down-to-earth. Part of that may be due to her interest in yoga, which originated while she was in college.
"I really love it," says Maher, who is writing a book about yoga. "It's a big passion of mine and I practice every day."
Maher, who is certified in Kundalini yoga, has turned that same passion into a valuable way of giving back and helping others, assisting the non-profit group weSpark, which is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for cancer patients and their families and friends. She dedicates much of her time teaching a modified version of Kundalini yoga to cancer patients during, and post treatment. weSpark was founded by former actress Wendy Jo Sperber, who passed away from breast cancer in 2005.
"It was a little intimidating at first, because you really have to alter the style of teaching, especially if you have people in treatment who might be fatigued and dealing with these health issues," explains Maher. "I just sort of developed a really gentle version of Kundalini that I teach and it seems to work really well.
"I think that a big part of healing is just calming down your mind and taking some time out for yourself. Hopefully, the yoga can help facilitate that."
As if there was any doubt, it's obvious that Maher's choices in life have proven to be gold for many.
For more information on Lauren Maher, be sure to visit her official Web site — www.laurenmaher.com
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