Listen carefully because I’m going to tell you what is about to happen.

Jesus, I surrender myself to you.

Take care of everything and that absolute and uncompromising surrendering to a higher power things that are beyond my control.

And I was overwhelmed with emotion.

I was like, you may know Jonathan Roie as the actor who portrays Jesus in The Chosen, but what happened behind the scenes might surprise you.

He felt pain shoot through his ear, his heart racing with unexplained palpitations.

No medical explanation, just anxiety or something darker.

What happened to Jonathan Roomie while filming The Chosen has shocked even the most devout believers.

What started as a production became something deeply spiritual, filled with real moments of awe, mystery, and divine timing.

Your perspective on this cuz we haven’t talked a ton about the beginning.

We talk a lot about the process, but well, to go back to The Two Thieves, I was I was really interested in in that film uh and reading for the role of the thief, the penitent thief, and and uh I thought I had a pretty decent audition and and then when I got a call a couple days later, um I you know, to read for Jesus, my first reaction was like, “Oh, but he’s got like five lines.

” Like, I got the supporting role.

The idea behind The Chosen was simple.

to portray Jesus story in a way that felt authentic, emotional, and relatable.

Its creator, Dallas Jenkins, had reached a low point in his Hollywood career.

But just as opportunities seemed to vanish, a new path appeared.

For the next few months, I’m like, well, I I uh what’s my future now? I happen to be we won’t get into this, but I happened to be working at a church in Illinois at this time.

So, I had made certain movies.

But but but they had hired me to come make movies within the context of this uh this large church in Illinois.

And so um one of the things that I had done previously was for Good Friday services or for Christmas services at this huge church of 12,000 people which had huge Good Friday services, eight of them over the course of 2 days for 2,000 people per service.

My task was to make these short films or vignettes about Jesus.

And so going back as far as you know 2012 I was doing these little like it’s where I met Jonathan Rooney who plays Jesus and the chosen is was rather than following the usual path.

Jenkins made a bold move.

He reached out to the public and they responded thanks to crowdfunding.

The chosen became the most widely supported TV series by fans in history.

But it wasn’t just about money.

It was about connection.

The show broke down the distant, polished image of Jesus and gave us someone real, someone who laughs, weeps, and meets people in their struggles.

We witness Matthew’s fear, Mary Magdalene’s trauma, and Peter’s ego.

It’s not perfect.

It’s human.

That’s the heart of the chosen.

It doesn’t preach from a distance.

It walks beside you.

And that raw honesty sparked something the world didn’t see coming.

[Music] Oh, that though the wrong seems off so strong.

The hour is coming.

When the search began for someone to play Jesus, Dallas Jenkins knew he needed more than just an actor who could deliver lines.

He needed someone with depth, someone who could truly bear the weight to the role.

Then Jonathan Roie walked in.

It wasn’t his appearance that drew Jenkins in.

It was his presence, gentle, composed, and carrying a quiet depth, a stillness that couldn’t be taught.

A successful career as an actor, and they weren’t working.

I was on government assistance.

That ran out.

I woke up completely broke one morning 6 and a half years ago and um I was literally in in it was just I didn’t see any way out that I could figure out how to make work.

And so I literally said, “God, you take this from me.

It’s in your hands now.

It’s not up to me and I’m not going to worry about it.

” Jonathan had portrayed Jesus before in small performances, but The Chosen was something else.

It was more intense, more layered, more challenging, and Jonathan felt its weight.

He turned to prayer, fasting, and deep study of scripture, not just from an actor’s perspective, but as a man of faith.

He carried his personal doubts and experiences into the role.

And as filming went on, the boundary between him and the character began to fade.

What began as acting transformed into something sacred.

What is about to happen? This is my father’s word.

Oh, let me never [Music] forget that though the wrong seems of so strong.

The hour is coming.

Something felt different on the chosen set.

It wasn’t just the rough terrain or the sunbaked stones beneath their feet.

It was in the pauses between takes in the quiet that lingered even after cut was called.

The production recreated first century Galilee with striking accuracy.

building a full-scale model of Kaepernom right in the Texas heat.

The light would fall gently across the set, casting a glow that felt almost like a silent prayer.

I Good day.

My name is George.

I’m playing the role of John.

And I am Kim.

playing the part of Big James.

Two Jameses.

How will we solve this thing? Well, what if uh I go by Big James? But it wasn’t only the setting that carried weight.

It was the people, the actors, the crew.

Even the extras felt they were part of something greater than a series.

Some days were filled with laughter, but others saw tears flow.

Unscripted, unrehearsed.

Emotion rose unexpectedly as if the place itself carried sacred energy.

I’m uh not always confident to speak.

Slow to speak.

It’s a very good quality to ask you a question.

Please.

You’re sending us out with the ability to heal the sickened lane.

Yes, that that is what you said.

Yes.

So, you’re telling me that I have the ability to heal? Forgive me.

I just find that difficult to imagine my condition which you haven’t healed.

At times, the atmosphere on set grew so intense, even the crew couldn’t ignore it.

A grip would suddenly stop what they were doing, caught off guard by a line spoken in the distance.

One camera operator reportedly set down their rig, hands shaking, quietly saying, “Did you feel that?” They weren’t just filming scenes about miracles.

Sometimes it felt like a miracle was unfolding right there.

something unseen but deeply present as if heaven itself leaned in for a closer look and those who were there none of them walked away the same.

So it seems like he has a heart for everyone.

He he’s his heart is open to everyone.

But if need be, he can kind of step right in and be forceful in love and put people in their place in a loving way.

So I just I love that about him.

How has the series changed you personally? Well, there’s it’s a lot um from booking the role to being influenced and affected by uh a lot of the behind the scenes people who are believers and uh being introduced to their friends and and running in their circles and starting to seek out God through them.

One of the most unforgettable days came while filming the sermon on the mount.

Hundreds of extras stood on a sun soaked hillside wrapped in robes and linen, waiting in silence.

The heat was relentless.

Then action.

Jonathan Roie stepped forward as Jesus, his voice echoing over the valley.

The moment felt larger than the production itself.

These weren’t just lines from a script.

They were words that had changed the world.

And in that moment, they felt alive again.

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

” But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

And if anyone should slap you on your right cheek, turn and give him the other one also.

And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let them have your cloak as well.

But then something changed.

Jonathan would later reveal that as he began delivering those lines, he wasn’t acting anymore.

Time seemed to slow down.

The words didn’t just come from his mouth.

They came from somewhere deeper, pouring straight out of his spirit.

In those few sacred moments, he wasn’t portraying Jesus.

He felt embraced, seen as though something far greater had entered the scene with him.

I took a look around and I thought, “The next time I see this place, I will have completed the last supper in the Garden of Gethsemane.

” And I was overwhelmed with emotion.

I was like, He described it as overwhelming, like being filled with light and broken open at the same time.

His knees almost gave out.

There was no sound, just the beating of his heart and the weight of those words echoing inside him.

The camera kept rolling, but Jonathan, he wasn’t on set anymore.

He was on holy ground.

as you know, seven years ago, I was his standing for two seasons on an HBO show and then, you know, I just we just kind of clicked and kept in touch and and next thing I know, here we are and he’s getting baptized and it’s God bless him.

You know, you can never um can never predict God and how he’s going to work in and through people and uh and everybody’s at, you know, everybody’s at a crossroads at some point in their lives.

and all I hope to ever do is to just support and be, you know, a faithful witness and an example and a worry about it.

And I was relieved because I really felt now it wasn’t my choice.

And then 3 months later, the chosen comes along and I thought, okay, I just needed to submit.

I know that you’re a practicing Catholic.

Yeah.

Uh what does your faith allow you to give to the role that um a non-believer or a non-atholic might not be able to give? I feel that it lends an authenticity to the role.

After the scene ended, Jonathan stepped away, his face soaked with tears.

He couldn’t speak.

Crew members slowly gathered around him, some with tears in their eyes, though they couldn’t explain why.

All they knew was that something had happened, something they couldn’t quite name, something beyond this world.

And it wasn’t a one-time thing.

There were other moments that left the team stunned.

In the middle of an intense take, the sound cut out without warning, but no one moved.

The silence felt heavy.

During playback, crew members noticed flickers of light catching Jonathan’s face.

Glows that hadn’t been staged or lit.

Maybe it was the lens, or maybe something else.

Strange things continued.

One crew member swore the lights flickered on their own just before a major scene.

Another recalled a sudden breeze sweeping across the set during a healing moment.

No wind machines, no cues, just perfect divine timing.

Jonathan would later describe the experience as one of the most spiritual of his life.

It didn’t just shift the way he performed.

It changed how he prayed, how he moved through the world, how he believed.

And as he carried that experience into every scene, it showed.

Whether you were behind the camera or watching from your screen, you felt it because when the divine touches the human, something timeless remains.

Word of what happened spread quickly across the set.

Crew veterans, people who had spent decades in the industry, said they had never experienced anything like it.

Some stepped aside to gather themselves.

Others simply stood in silence as if they were in the presence of something sacred.

I say to you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment.

That whole moment has wrecked him because he’s really, you know, as Matthew, he really seeks to learn.

He just wants to understand things and the way he asked them may not be the most finessed.

It’s very good.

Matthew, when you said to be reconciled to your brother, can you elaborate on Matthew? Perhaps we can talk about this some other time.

He truly wants to learn.

So, while he’s listening to the words of Jesus in this in the sermon, it’s he’s realizing things that he needs to rectify.

The shift wasn’t just felt by Jonathan.

It rippled across the cast.

Paris Patel, who plays Matthew, described a strange stillness during certain scenes, as if the very air had thickened with something sacred.

Liz Tabish, who portrays Mary Magdalene, once found herself crying in the middle of a take, not because the moment called for it, but because something deeper stirred inside her.

These weren’t isolated incidents.

After long days of filming, the cast would often gather, not to rehearse lines, but to pray, talk, and share pieces of their own stories.

Bonds were forming, rooted not in performance, but in something spiritual.

Some even spoke of dreams, vivid, almost prophetic dreams that mirrored scenes they hadn’t yet shot.

One extra dreamt of Jesus calming the storm, only to find that scene scheduled for the following week.

Was a coincidence? Maybe.

But many on set felt like the story was being written through them, not just by them.

Even the crew, lighting technicians, camera ops, set designers began to approach their work with a new reverence.

The way sand was brushed from a costume or how light framed a doorway.

Every detail began to feel purposeful, sacred.

Whatever was unfolding on that set, they all felt it.

And no one left untouched.

Yeah.

If you were to have a cup of coffee with Jesus.

Yeah.

What’s that one question you would ask? How did I do? Wow.

Did I get it close? That’s good.

That’s really good.

Now, some of the You got me.

Yeah, me too.

It’s a good question.

Going on.

When The Chosen began airing, something extraordinary started happening beyond the set.

Viewers from every walk of life began writing in, sharing how the show wasn’t just entertaining, it was healing something deep within them.

People spoke of tears they couldn’t explain, of finding peace they hadn’t known in years.

Some wrote about turning their lives around, forgiving old wounds, or even stepping back into faith after years of feeling distant.

And at the center of much of this response was Jonathan Roy’s performance.

Roomie didn’t just play Jesus.

He invited people to feel him.

His calm eyes, his gentle smile, the depth in his voice, it all felt real.

Viewers said it was like seeing Jesus for the first time.

Not as a figure from stained glass, but as someone who might sit with him at the kitchen table and say, “I see you.

” But this chosen that they made is God.

It’s like through the roof.

How many people have watched this show? What is it about? Uh Christ and it was uh Jesus.

I think it’s through the perspective of the the people.

You know, most things are through Jesus’s perspective and this is through the uh like people that around theirs perspective.

I don’t know a ton.

I’ve only seen I’ve only seen like a little I haven’t got to watch the whole thing, but it’s got it the views of it.

It was I think you can buy it on Amazon now, but they just made their own app.

Roomy’s own faith, his personal encounter on set gave a pulse to the performance.

And that heartbeat reached across screens and time zones, across languages and denominations.

It bridged the ancient with the now, the sacred with the struggling.

In a world hungry for meaning, the chosen offered something simple and profound.

A glimpse of grace through a face that felt like home.

What Jonathan Rooney experienced on set didn’t stay with just him.

It became the pulse of the chosen.

It echoed through every scene, every performance, changing not only the cast and crew, but millions of hearts around the world.

His encounter with something greater gave his portrayal of Jesus a depth that can’t be taught only lived.

You know, being such a a flawed and and sinful human being in on this planet and like how did I end up here and why am I deserving of this opportunity? you know, I I I’ve struggled for many years as an actor here, and I’ve never struggled with my faith, per se, but I’ve had moments where, you know, as we all do, where I’m questioning God.

I’m like, why are you bringing me through all of this if if it’s not going to amount to something? You know, this is what happens when stories are told from a place of truth, with soul, humility, and reverence.

These aren’t just stories to watch.

They’re stories that wake something up inside.

And in a world longing for authenticity, that kind of storytelling is everything.

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