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'I can't live up to that': The Chosen's Jonathan Roumie on the pressures of playing Jesus

'I can't live up to that': The Chosen's Jonathan Roumie on the pressures of playing Jesus

CBC14-04-2025

When you think about the biggest shows streaming on TV right now, you might picture Severance or The White Lotus. But there's one show that's been watched by an estimated 280 million people worldwide that you might not even be aware of.
It's called The Chosen, and it's a historical drama that chronicles the life of Jesus, played by Jonathan Roumie. While Roumie is not the first actor to portray Jesus on-screen (Jim Caviezel famously played Jesus in The Passion of the Christ, Ted Neeley in Jesus Christ Superstar and Victor Garber in Godspell), he says The Chosen differs from anything else that's come before.
"We get a deeper glimpse into the fullness of the humanity of Jesus as a character," Roumie tells Q guest host Garvia Bailey in an interview. "As Christians, we believe that Jesus was both fully human as well as fully divine, and most of the depictions in cinematic history tend to focus on the divine and on the mystical side of Jesus, the ethereal aspect, with a very nominal, at best, amount of his humanity thrown in.
"I think one of the most recent and rare glimpses that people had ever seen of a human side to Jesus was with Mel Gibson's The Passion in 2004, where there's this sort of flashback moment that Jesus has, thinking about building a table as a carpenter, and his mother is asking him questions. He goes then … to wash up and he splashes her with water. And it's just this fun, light moment in the midst of this very heavy drama."
But big roles often come with a lot of pressure — and playing a holy figure like Jesus takes that to a whole other level. Roumie remembers being conflated with his character during a fan interaction, when they expressed their hope that he could heal them.
"I spoke at this event with Pastor Greg Laurie. He's a well-known evangelical pastor in Southern California," Roumie says. "I was getting ready to leave [when] security outside the room … basically said, 'Hey, there's a woman outside that wants to meet you, and she has a son with her who's in a wheelchair. Do you want to meet them?'"
After agreeing to meet the woman and her son, Roumie realized that the son had a condition that left him largely incapacitated and unable to move from the neck down. The mother told Roumie that their favourite scene from the show was from an episode in Season 1, where Jesus heals a man who's paralyzed.
WATCH | Jesus heals the paralytic:
"She says, 'That's our favourite scene. We love that scene. We came here wanting to hear you speak and I just thought to myself, wouldn't it be great if God healed my son?'" Roumie recalls.
"She's looking at me and I'm thinking, does she expect me to do that? And the only thing I could muster in this sort of slightly awkward silence was, 'Yeah, that would be amazing. I don't have that gift, but I'd be happy to pray with you if that's OK.' And she said, 'Yeah, sure, sure.' I just burst into tears because on some level … she must have been disappointed…. But I can't live up to that. I couldn't live it up to it."
Roumie says playing a figure like Jesus — "the ultimate role model of humanity" — sets an impossibly high standard that he can't live up to as an actor. The best he can do is to try and follow His example.
"There is never an end to the journey of self-improvement," he says. "And I think [Jesus] challenges us to love the people that we find the hardest to love."

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Bell Media and Disney Entertainment Announce Disney+, Crave, and TSN Bundles in Canada

Cision Canada

time4 days ago

  • Cision Canada

Bell Media and Disney Entertainment Announce Disney+, Crave, and TSN Bundles in Canada

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‘The White Lotus' creator Mike White is coming back to ‘Survivor'

Toronto Sun

time28-05-2025

  • Toronto Sun

‘The White Lotus' creator Mike White is coming back to ‘Survivor'

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Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account White was among the 24 all-star cast members announced Wednesday. The season will feature previous contestants, including Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, who appeared on the show's first season in 2000, all competing for a $1 million prize. 'In between writing and directing seasons of 'The White Lotus,' Mike White is back,' 'Survivor' host Jeff Probst said. 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‘Duck Dynasty' patriarch Phil Robertson dead at 79
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Global News

time26-05-2025

  • Global News

‘Duck Dynasty' patriarch Phil Robertson dead at 79

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Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'Phil's not doing well. I think I spoke on the 1000th podcast. We were trying to figure out the diagnosis, but according to the doctors, they are sure that he has some sort of blood disease causing all kinds of problems,' he said at the time. Story continues below advertisement Jase said that the disease had 'accelerated, and it's causing problems with his entire body.' 'And he has early stages of Alzheimer's. So, if you put those things together, he's just not doing well. He's really struggling,' Jase added. He told fans of the family that his father wanted to return to work. 'I'm like, 'Well Phil, you can barely walk around without crying out in pain, and your memory is not what it once was.' He's like, 'Tell me about it.' 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Over time, the disease leads to serious memory loss and affects a person's ability to do everyday tasks. There is currently no cure. 0:36 Willie Robertson of Duck Dynasty says he has 3 things in common with Trump Phil and his extended family became wealthy manufacturing duck calls — called Duck Commander — and were turned into TV and pop culture stars by Duck Dynasty, which has set cable ratings records for a non-fiction series. Story continues below advertisement The series ran for 11 seasons before the family announced the show was coming to an end. 'After five years, we've decided … as a family for this to be the final chapter of the Duck Dynasty series,' Jase said. The immensely popular show premiered in 2012 and broke multiple records for viewership right out of the gate, averaging more than 11 million viewers in Season 4. In the past years, people slowly stopped watching the show, due in part to Phil's well-publicized homophobic comments. 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