Actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the multi-season TV series “The Chosen”, says the show is impacting people around the world, including “lifelong atheists” who have now become Christians.
Roumie appeared on ABC’s “The View” earlier this week to discuss details of filming Season 6 and to promote a 25-day Advent prayer challenge from Hallow, a prayer and meditation app.
The 51-year-old actor told the hosts that the show’s impact is far-reaching and shared an example about two of the show’s fans. He explained that the fans directly messaged him through Instagram to share their stories.
“Both of these people who wrote to me happened to have been lifelong atheists and never had any interest in God,” Roumie shared. “And somehow, somebody sent them the show, and all of a sudden it’s like that first episode just kind of grabs hold of you.”
“If God wants to, He will find you. He will follow you. He will go after you,” he continued. “Through the process of the show, they became interested in the Bible, and then they started going to the church, and they had both converted to Christianity. Lifelong atheists. To me, that’s remarkable.”
“The Chosen” seeks to read between the lines in depicting the day-to-day ministry of Jesus, telling the Gospel story through the eyes of those who encounter Him. The series is the largest crowdfunded television project in history and has continued to climb to new heights of success.
The show has now been seen by more than 280 million people in 175 countries since Season 1 premiered, and in September, it was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most translated season for a streaming series in history.
Dallas Jenkins, the show’s creator, writer, and director, told Deseret News earlier this year that it is “all about impact.”
“We’re all about reaching eyeballs, and then what God does after you see the show is not up to me. But the more people I can get it in front of, the better,” he said during the show’s Season 5 premiere.
Meanwhile, Roumie shared on “The View” what it was like filming the upcoming season, which centers on Jesus’ crucifixion.
“It’s not just the physicality of recreating that; it’s the emotional impact that that has. It’s the mental, the psychological impact of entering into Christ’s crucifixion and His torture…and I asked God to allow me some sense of what that would be like, and He didn’t disappoint, and it’s something that I’m still actively processing right now,” Roumie said.
Before the show’s production kicked off in April, Roumie asked for prayer from fans and followers.
“I’d be lying if I said it’s ‘business as usual’. Or easy. Or ‘fun scenes to film.’ It’s not. It’s heavy. It’s humbling. And it’s holy. But in preparation for, and amidst this profound responsibility, I’ll be uniting myself more intentionally to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the very heart that broke for us,” Roumie shared in an Instagram post.
He added, “If you feel called, please continue to keep me in your prayers. Myself, our cast, and crew need them now more than ever. It’s been a period time of mental, physical, and spiritual warfare.”
The first episodes of Season 6 are expected to launch in late 2026.
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