The lead actor of "The Chosen" points out a very important kingdom-related silver lining in the coronavirus pandemic.
The first multi-season series about the life of Christ, The Chosen has become a world-wide phenomenon since it launched last year, already garnering 31.5 million views. The eight episodes of season one are being translated into dozens of languages and are now free to watch, so the momentum is unlikely to slow.
The star of the show is 45-year old American actor Jonathan Roumie, who shoulders the awesome responsibility of playing Jesus. As a committed Christian - he belongs to the Roman Catholic denomination - it is not something he takes lightly. In an interview with the National Catholic Register, he states he is certain this project "is what God put me here to do," in which case, the five years leading up to the show were evidently a perfect training ground, because he played the part of Jesus in three other productions, including one from Dallas Jenkins, creator and director of The Chosen.
As we have reported, several months ago the show launched a pay-it-forward program to fund season two and it is now nearly halfway to its $10 million goal, a goal that may have to go up because of safety measures related to the coronavirus. The illness has reportedly claimed 330,000 lives globally and, while in no way minimizing the significance of those lost, Roumie believes it may also serve to open people's eyes to the Lord.
"I think the fact that we're going through this pandemic has allowed people to reevaluate their relationships with their Creator, or even start looking for that relationship."
He adds that if God chooses to use him in this television role to lead people to Him, "I feel that is what I am here to do." And there may be an opportunity for Roumie and the rest of the cast to get back on set sooner, rather than later, because Jenkins says he will shoot the first half of season two once they've got enough funding in place for that, provided it can be done safely in terms of the situation with the virus.
If you'd like to read the entire National Catholic Register article, you can do so via this link. And to watch Roumie in the show, just download The Chosen app at Google Play or the Apple App Store.