Patricia Heaton is best known for the two long-running sitcoms that she starred in, “Everybody Loves Raymond” and “The Middle.” This week, before her new CBS sitcom “Carol’s Second Act” premiered on Thursday night, Heaton gave an interview in which she pledged to never stop working.

In her new show, Heaton plays Carol, who retires from teaching and decides to become a doctor at the age of 50. She then goes about obtaining an internship at a hospital with all the recent medical school graduates, who are in their 20s.

“There are people that have done that, that have gone late in life to do a completely different career,” Heaton said. “It’s unusual but it’s a very cool thing to sort of encourage and inspire people who feel like they need a change in their life, to tell them it’s not too late.”

Heaton got the part on this show right after “The Middle” ended, and she found herself at a crossroads in life.

“My kids are pretty much out of the house, and my second long-running show was done, and I was feeling a bit at sea not knowing what I was doing,” Heaton said. “I’m no longer a full-time mom and I don’t have a job as an actress. I very much felt the things that a person like Carol would feel of ‘who am I without these things?'”

Given all the experience she has in television, Heaton knows the anxieties that come with a premiere all too well, and she shared some of her “actor’s nightmares.”

“I’m driving on Vine, and I stop my car in the intersection, and I can’t get my hands out of my pocket,” the 61-year-old Christian star said. “I have to abandon the car because I’m supposed to be at a table read that I actually miss. That was last night. So I think it’s a good sign that I’m excited about this.”

Heaton also said that she has no intention of ever retiring.

“I think my perfect scenario is that I would die on a sound stage,” Heaton jokingly said. “That’s how I want to go. Full hair and makeup when it happens so that the photos are good. As long as I’m No. 1 on the call sheet when it happens, so I get top billing in the news article.”

Even if she couldn’t act, Heaton explained that she would get another job.

“I’ve been working since I was about 16,” Heaton said. “I started at a department store in high school because I never wanted to have to ask anybody for money. I wanted to be able to make my own decisions about what I want. I value that independence. So, I’ve been used to working for a really long time.”

When she isn’t working, Heaton gives back by using her platform to support humanitarian causes, as an ambassador for the NGO World Vision.

“I was just recently in Rwanda to talk about a water project and reconciliation programs since it’s the 25th anniversary of the genocide,” Heaton said. “I’m very psyched to be a part of bringing clean water to about 100 countries.”

“I think it’s important to have other interests and to be well-rounded,” she concluded. “Also, it gives you more things to bring to your acting. The more experiences you have in life generally will make you a better actor because you have more experiences to draw on.”

Find out more about “Carol’s Second Act” in the video below.