‘The Chosen’ Cast Gets Real About the Show’s Life-Changing Impact and Talks Power of Season 5 (EXCLUSIVE)

The life-altering nature of The Chosen is no secret. The television drama series, which depicts the life of Jesus and his disciples, first aired in 2019 and has slowly become the largest crowd-funded TV show in history. Millions of fans from all across the globe have reacted to the show with overwhelming positivity making it the largest crowd-funded show in history. 

The Chosen: Last Supper, Season 5—with part 1 premiering March 28, part 2 premiering April 4 and part 3 premiering April 11—hit theaters and was an immediate success, raking in a total of $11.5 million in revenue the debut weekend. (Purchase tickets here.)

Many fans have commented over the years that the show has brought them closer in their relationship with God—and it’s not uncommon to hear that people have had their lives eternally changed by the show as they learned more about the life of Jesus. 

As pivotal as the show has been for viewers, it has also been transformative for the cast. Here, Woman’s World sat down with three of The Chosen cast members to hear their amazing stories of how the show has changed their lives forever.

‘The Chosen’ cast member Jonathan Roumie on playing Jesus

For many of The Chosen cast members, the show propelled them from struggling actor status to lead characters in a hit show and changed their lives in both practical and spiritual ways. “I was struggling for eight years. I was trying to hustle several different side gigs and got to the point where I woke up one morning and I was completely broke,” Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus, tells Woman’s World. 

“I was out of food. I didn’t have food for the next day, and I knew the only thing I had left to do—which I hadn’t done—was to get on my knees and completely and totally surrender myself, my career, my circumstances to God.”

Roumie admits it wasn’t easy for him to let go of the control he thought he had. “I never really gave God control of my career,” he admits. “I kind of held onto the things that I was in charge of. But when I did that, I received a financial miracle only hours after I made that prayer. That became a watershed moment in my life, a turning point where I turned everything over. Then three months later, I booked this show. It’s never been the same since.”

Beyond the career boost and financial stability the show has provided, Roumie says there have been even greater benefits. “I have 20 new brothers and sisters. That’s how I see it,” he says with a smile, sitting on the Texas set where The Chosen is filmed. “I love each one of them so dearly. They all bring something special, tender, heartfelt, an enigmatic morsel of their own souls to their work. It’s just a joy to watch and they are a joy to be around.”

Elizabeth Tabish on playing Mary Magdalene in the ‘The Chosen’ cast

Elizabeth Tabish, who plays Mary Magdalene, shares Roumie’s affection for her castmates, and like Roumie, she was also a struggling actor. 

Tabish was living with her mom because she couldn’t make rent and nearly gave up on acting before she landed the role. But the show changed her life in much more important ways than the size of her bank account. It renewed her nearly bankrupt soul.

“In my 20s and into my early 30s, I was trying to find that answer, trying to look for the peace that comes with Christ,” Tabish shares. “I was exploring the world and going down paths that were not for me and I was numbing a lot of that pain. I would drink a lot to avoid my emotions and was involved with boyfriends that didn’t really care about my heart or my soul, and if you do enough of that over the years you can get really lost. It’s very easy to just shift into that place of despair and that’s where I was when I booked this role.”

Though she had grown up in a Christian home, Tabish admits she had become disillusioned with organized religion, but playing Mary Magdalene renewed her faith. “Playing out these scenes, being reminded of what Jesus was teaching and who he was, has slowly renewed the sense of faith and joy and peace and enthusiasm for life,” she smiles. “It has really cracked open my heart in so many ways and reminded me of what life could be.”

If she could go back to that difficult time in her life, Tabish says she wouldn’t do things differently. “I wouldn’t change anything because it was those experiences that helped me understand Mary and because of that I was able to book a role of a lifetime,” she says. “I don’t think I would have been able to understand her experience or what she was going through, her emotional state had I not gone through some of those things.”

‘The Chosen’ restores faith in actor who plays Judas

Like his co-stars, Luke Dimyan, who portrays Judas, was battling a career slump when he was cast in The Chosen. “I had just come out of college, and I was lucky to book a steady form of gigs, but then I had a dry spell in 2019. I thought 2020 would be my year and then the pandemic hit,” Dimyan says.

In addition to the career slump, he suffered a family tragedy. “I also lost my grandfather during that time and then out of nowhere, this show came. I got the regular acting gig that I could bring to my family and be like, ‘Your faith in me is resolved. I can do this!’ Now I’m here and I couldn’t be happier.”

Blessed by ‘The Chosen’

Both on screen and off, The Chosen has been a blessing to those who create it and those who view the powerful series. It’s also created a close-knit work family among the cast. “It’s a very egoless group.  Everybody is there for each other,” says Shahar Isaac, who plays Peter. “It’s a very close group of friends so we’re really in tune with each other and making sure that we are all doing the best that we can to help each other do the best job that they can because it’s making the show better.” 

Catch Season 5 of The Chosen in theaters now—and all 3 parts soon to streaming!