‘The Flash’ Season 2 Star Candice Patton Reveals Her Parents’ Important Role In Her Acting Career

If not for Candice Patton’s parents, someone else might be playing the role of Iris West on CW’s “The Flash.”

In an interview with Scottish Daily Record, Patton revealed that there was a time in her life when she almost quit acting, but the support of her mom and dad helped her to continue pursuing her dream.

“My parents have always advocated doing what I love to do,” the 28-year-old actress told the newspaper. “My dad has always said, ‘Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life’. It’s important for them to see me go fiercely after something I love. Even when I thought of quitting, they were vehemently against it.”

The Mississippi –born thespian said that after receiving tons of rejection during the early phase of her career, she came at a point where she was “seriously thinking” leaving the entertainment industry to try her luck in other fields.

“However, my parents were the voice of reason. I also didn’t have a plan B, so maybe that’s also why I didn’t quit,” said Patton, whose acting credits also include “The Game,” “Entourage” and “The Young and the Restless,” among many others.

Patton told The Huffington Post in June 2015 that she didn’t have many “day jobs” while auditioning for roles in Los Angeles, but when she first moved to the city from Plano, Texas, she worked at Bubba Gump Restaurant for just two days. “I didn’t even make it through training before I quit,” she recalled. “I just didn’t care to memorize all the different types of shrimp.”

She also worked at Pink Berry, where she stayed a little bit longer. “Maybe a year. Maybe less,” she said. “[But] one day I finally left and decided I would try to make ends meet solely on acting. I worked steadily guest starring and doing commercials and I lived meagerly off of residuals for years.”

Patton dreamt of becoming an actor from a very young age, but it’s actually her fascination about actress Lucille Ball that pushed her to achieve her dreams.

“When I was young, I was obsessed with Lucille Ball, and I loved watching her,” she said in Regard Magazine’s October 2014 issue. “I knew I wanted to do, what she was doing. Something about make believe has always been intoxicating to me. Everything between ‘action’ and ‘cut’ is what I live for.”

Catch Patton in Season 3 of “The Flash,” which premieres on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. on The CW.