The Catholic Weekly 12 July 2020

catholicweekly.com.au 4 NEWS 12, July, 2020 T he biggest crowd-funded media project to date is a multi-series TV show launched last year about Jesus Christ. It’s called The Chosen . The brainchild of Evangel- ical filmmaker Dallas Jenkins and with an advisory team including a Jewish Rabbi and a Catholic priest, the histor- ical drama is inspired by the Gospel stories and intended to encourage viewers to read them for themselves. Christ is played by LA- based actor – and also devout Catholic – Jonathan Roumie. In the virally popular series the figure of Christ is present- ed through the eyes of those who encountered him. The 46-year old actor was struggling in Hollywood when he decided to put his life and career into God’s hands. Shortly after, came The Chosen opportunity. The Catholic Weekly spoke to Jonathan about what the show means to him and how with growing fame comes a greater sense of responsibility to share his faith tradition. 1 Your depiction of Jesus has got the attention of the Catholic world in a big ¾ ¾ Marilyn Rodrigues way. How did you come to imitate him in this way? Yes, once COVID and the quarantine period hit, Catho- lics we’re like, ‘Hey, what is this?” And we were like, “You’re finally arriving to the party!” The approach from which I’m portraying him has been from a point of infinite compassion and mercy. I think the greatest attribute that God possesses is mercy. His infinite ocean of mer- cy is what makes him so in- describably and unuttera- bly worthy of adoration and praise and that’s been spoken of through the Bible in both the Old and New Testaments. That’s where I have to start otherwise it’s just a very pale representation of who I un- derstand him to be. 2 Is this an approach partly inspired by Pope Francis’s emphasis on God’s mercy? Absolutely. Pope Francis is a beacon of hope and mercy for humanity, and a true lead- er of the Church in our times in trying to communicate compassion for all of society, especially the most downtrod- den and poorest among us. I also have great love for the Divine Mercy devotion. I’ve been praying it online in the last few months since the outbreak of COVID-19. 3 Was that scary to come out to the world as a chaplet-praying Catholic, es- pecially in your industry as a Los Angeles-based actor? This was something that was put on my heart to do, and I was kind of like, “Really God? You want me to pray the Divine Mercy chaplet online? I’ll be really outing myself as a Catholic!” And he’s like, “Yeah”. It was scary at first but then it became easier and I did that for about 40 days up until Di- vine Mercy Sunday. I hadn’t premeditated the timing, that’s just how it turned out. Every day the minimum prayer was the chaplet and maybe a couple of litanies. Everything else that came was inspired, because when- ever I tried to plan something it didn’t work out so I left it to the Holy Spirit to let things unfold. 4 Recently you had up to 10,000 views on Face- book of you praying the ro- sary in your home late at night, explaining the Eucha- ristic presence and sharing a ‘fun fact’ about St Padre Pio. How do you feel about the response you’ve had? It’s been wonderful. I’m just very matter of factly while Working on this show is living proof that creatives, leaders, humans of all denominations can truly work together despite their theological and denominational differences.” Jonathan Roumie Filming takes place on the set of The Chosen. PHOTO:THECHOSEN.TV , CC BY-SA 4.0 The role of a lifetime Actor Jonathan Roumie reveals what it’s like playing Jesus in the virally popular TV miniseries, The Chosen