It's not surprising Ashley Judd would get involved, adding her name to the list of notables campaigning to bring Ugandan terrorist group leader Joseph Kony to justice in recent days. You may recall that she took time away from her career to get a master's degree in public administration from Harvard in 2010, the better to serve her ongoing mission against gender violence — and her work for YouthAIDS, wildlife preservation and other causes.

Ashley admits she's experienced moments of confusion over her two lives as an actress and as a humanitarian. During production of her new ABC "Missing" series, "There were times when I would wake up after my nap after lunch and say, 'What am I doing here?' And because I really love that other part of my life, I would have these long conversations with God, as I understand God, and say, 'Both things are true.' I've got this very robust dedication to human rights and social justice, and I'm a very creative person. I don't necessarily understand how they fit, but clearly God does, so I'm just going to do the next good, honest thing, have some fun and let go of the outcome."

It would be a shock if "Missing" — debuting Thursday (March 15) — turned out to be anything but a hit. With big-screen style action and a visual banquet of different European locations, the show offers a fresh burst of fast-paced escapism. Ashley plays an ex-CIA operative who'll do whatever it takes to find her kidnapped teenage son. If that places her squarely back in the spotlight, well, that's where her causes will best be displayed.

The star sums up: "My purpose is to make my life an act of worship and to walk humbly under the grace of God and be useful to my fellows. That's my definition of ambition. What that looks like for different people is really not my business, but I know what that looks like to me. Every day I wake up and say to my Higher Power, 'What would you have me do today?' And then I try to the best of my ability to do that and then, at the end of the day, get off my back," she adds, "because ultimately I am a spiritual being having a human experience, and I'm always going to do it quote unquote imperfectly."

MEANWHILE: The story of Kony and his army of child soldiers is being pushed into the forefront of global awareness via the "Kony 2012" documentary that went viral on the Internet last week (with nearly four million hits in two days), largely thanks to luminaries including Bill Gates and stars such as Taylor Swift, Hayden Panettiere, Rihanna and MC Hammer urging their followers to take a look at the film on the Invisible Children humanitarian website.

Kristen Bell got involved in the cause years ago, promoting Rescue Rallies and even meeting with White House and Senate staffers in 2009 to press the case of tens of thousands of children abducted and forced to become soldiers in Uganda. The "House of Lies" star introduced us to USC film school grad Jason Russell and fellow young filmmakers Laren Poole and Bobby Bailey — who set out to make a documentary in 2003 and wound up immersed in the bloody 23-year Ugandan conflict, relentlessly working toward rescuing the child soldiers who begged for their help. They've literally risked their lives to do so.

ANOTHER GAME CHANGER: Twelve years after Ed Harris played the iconic abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock in "Pollock," his directorial debut film, and got an Oscar nomination for best actor, his connection with the artist continues. Harris will be the honoree at this year's Stars of Stony Brook (University) fundraising gala on April 25 at Pier Sixty at New York's Chelsea Piers. According to Rich Gelfond, IMAX CEO and chairman of the Stony Brook Foundation, funds raised will support Pollock-Krasner House, the home/studio of Pollock and his wife, painter Lee Krasner, who deeded the property to Stony Brook to open a museum/study center on site. Harris is fresh from playing John McCain in the HBO movie "Game Change."

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2012 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM