( CNN ) -- Academy Award-winning actress Mira Sorvino is dedicated to ending human trafficking . She serves as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , and she frequently travels abroad to raise awareness about the issue . Sorvino also been involved with CNN Heroes since 2007 , the first year of the campaign . She recently sat down with CNN Heroes producer Brittany Stahl to talk about the campaign and her humanitarian work . Below are excerpts from that interview . Brittany Stahl : Tell me about your work fighting human trafficking . Why did you get involved , and what exactly do you do ? Mira Sorvino : Trafficking is the worst kind of human depravity that you can imagine . And it involves children and the most vulnerable , the poorest of the poor . So , everywhere I go with the U.N. , in addition to doing our official duties and holding our press conferences , I interview victims . I basically consider myself a victim 's advocate . I feel like that that 's the best way that I can expose the really horrendous nature of the crime to the public and try to produce swifter results . Because once you get to know individuals who have suffered at the hands of traffickers ... who have lived to tell the tale , it is so disturbing and heartbreaking that you feel compelled to act . You feel compelled to work against it . It 's definitely a cause worth fighting for . Stahl : What is a hero to you ? Sorvino : A hero is someone who braves extraordinary risk and gives so much more of him or herself ... to uplift someone or many people who are suffering . Stahl : Do you have any personal heroes ? Sorvino : The first one that comes to mind for me is Martin Luther King . He was always my hero . That was always who I aspired to be like if I could be like anybody in a moral , human way . I read all of his speeches and his autobiography , and I just try to learn from his path and what he did . Stahl : You were a presenter at the first `` CNN Heroes : An All-Star Tribute '' back in 2007 . What was that like ? Sorvino : It was really amazing . I was extremely moved by all the extraordinary things that all the various Heroes had done . And that the emphasis of such a prestigious show -- on acts of altruism and selflessness and service -- is exactly what the world 's focus should be on . It combats the ridiculous frothiness of reality TV and the consumerism that has sort of become our national religion . Human acts of kindness and love -- and love borne out by action -- is really what life is all about . It 's about how much you 're giving , not how much you 're getting . So it 's an extraordinary show , and I was really , really proud to be a part of it . Stahl : Did any of those CNN Heroes particularly inspire you ? Sorvino : You know , they all did . I was just sort of in awe , one after the next . Wow . They just inspired me further to do what little I can on my side in any of my activism or things that I 'm trying to do . It 's just like : `` OK , yeah , you can do this . You can get involved , and you can try to make a small difference . '' Stahl : Why do you think we need to honor everyday heroes ? Sorvino : It 's really inspirational . But you know there 's lots of ways to be a hero , too . There are many people who are heroic in their everyday life and their everyday generosity . Some people are gigantic heroes who save people from burning buildings , and some people are just saving people by loving them in a constant and almost superhuman way . I think it 's a wonderful thing .
Actress Mira Sorvino is a U.N. ambassador raising awareness about human trafficking . She has also been involved with CNN Heroes since it began in 2007 . Sorvino : CNN Heroes `` inspired me further to do what little I can on my side ''