By Gavin Boyle
THE CHOSEN’s Jonathan Roumie and HOUSE OF DAVID’s Michael Iskander discussed their experiences of playing heroes of the faith and how the Lord has kept them rooted despite their shows’ success.
“What does it mean to play Jesus? I think for me, I mean, it’s the role of a lifetime, much as I imagine playing David is for you,” Roumie said. “What I didn’t expect was just how impactful and how personal it was going to be for people on, like, a daily basis. Like, encountering people, you know, everywhere; from grocery stores to department stores to church to everywhere.”
“And in cities that I didn’t anticipate it having that kind of impact, like New York City, where I’m from, [or] Los Angeles, and so anytime I get recognized in any of those cities that are known to be a bit more culturally removed from the faith identity, I’m always shocked,” he continued. “But something that I’ve come to realize is that playing this role, for me, is a part, I think, of God’s mission for my life. And it’s one that I’ve chosen to accept, and everything that comes with it. The joys of playing the character and the pains of playing the character.”
Part of the reason Roumie feels like playing Jesus is part of God’s mission for his life is because he’s though about the role since he was 12 years old, reimagining the crucifixion in his own backyard. Only a few months before he began working on THE CHOSEN, he fully surrendered his career to God, asking Him to have his way. Iskander, meanwhile, had a surrender moment while on set of HOUSE OF DAVID, when he gave up control over the show to the Lord.
“There was a moment where everything felt like it was just coming down,” Iskander said. “I tore my shoulder slinging, and I had injured my hands and they got infected and I couldn’t close my fists. There was a lot of other stuff. And there was this moment, I was just crying to God and I was in so much pain, and I said, ‘God, why does it have to be so difficult?’ — It was my first time on a set, so everything was shocking — Like, ‘why does it have to be so difficult?’”
“‘But, if this is the way that it must be I would go through it one hundred time over.’ And it only got harder,” Iskander continued. “But I think it was all just to humble me. God was truly brining me down to my knees and telling me, this is me. It’s not you, it’s me.”
Having been in the spotlight for a biblical role for much longer than Iskander, Roumie confirmed that God humbles him every chance He gets in order to keep his ego in check and to keep him from thinking he is responsible for the show’s success.
“[God] has a knack for humility when it comes to playing roles that are this kind of iconic in salvation history and biblical history,” Roumie said. “I realize that I’ve been involved in playing this character now over the course of the last seven years and there’s not one opportunity to humble me at any step of the process that the Lord doesn’t be like, ‘Yeah, we’re going to let that happen now.’”
Related: Jonathan Roumie on the Influence of On-Screen Portrayals of Jesus
“It’s what I think we need when playing these kinds of characters because the propensity and the potential for the credit to be taken by us…is infinite and constant. And so, I have to say to myself, ‘Thank you God for humbling me. Thank you for showing me that this has nothing to do with me and that I am merely a vessel that shows up to be filled with your spirit that people can then draw from me,’” Roumie continued. “That’s been one of the most eye opening lessons that I’ve had to learn playing this role and I fully expect to have to continue to bear that in mind long after we finish shooting.”
THE CHOSEN will release in theaters tomorrow with Part 1, Episodes 1-2. Part 2, Episodes 3-5 will arrive on April 4, followed by Part 3, Episodes 6-8 on April 11.
“In this season, you’re going to see these big, epic moments that we all know and we’ve all heard about — but especially you’re going to get to see the intimacy and the authenticity and the relationships,” showrunner Dallas Jenkins said.
Paras Patel, who plays Matthew, said he would describe Season 5 as “chaos.”
“There’s just a lot happening,” he told PEOPLE. “Season five kind of elevates the emotion a little bit, and you really see the disciples and followers just trying to navigate what is actually happening.”
Read Next: Jonathan Roumie Recalls How He Surrendered His Career to God’s Plan
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