How Jonathan Roumie Really Feels About Playing Jesus

Published: April 13, 2026

By Kayla DeKraker

Jonathan Roumie got real with Father Mike Schmitz about the weight and responsibility that comes with portraying Jesus in THE CHOSEN.

“The things that marks this time is the number of people whose lives have just been transformed by this show, who just want to tell you the story about how Jesus has changed their lives, how this show has transformed their lives, and how you portraying Jesus has impacted their hearts,” Schmitz told Roumie at ChosenCon. “And in so many ways has unlocked, and this is my experience too, has unlocked how they see the Son of God who died for their sins, and to be part of that.”

He then asked Roumie a heavy and sobering question: “What is that like to be the one who is…there’s a whole generation of people who, when they think Jesus, they think of your portrayal of our Lord?”

“I don’t think I can really put into words what that experience is,” Roumie responded, “and the humility that I feel, having been put in this position and having been given this opportunity to portray Jesus for generations, a generation, maybe generations to come. I don’t know. But, yeah, He put me here for a reason, so I’m assuming He knew what He was doing.”

He added, “It’s probably the most important thing that I will ever do as an artist in my life. And then everything I think will ultimately point back to, to this project in how it’s, allowed me to walk deeper with the Lord and introduce this portrayal of the Lord to so many people who had never met him before. So, I’m forever grateful.”

Roumie then touched on what it was like to act out the crucifixion, the most pivotal moment in history, which appears in the upcoming season of THE CHOSEN.

“The commitment as an actor, as an artist, as a performer to doing this authentically brings you to a point spiritually where you are no longer pretending you are participating in his passion,” he said.

“You have to reconcile that within yourself, either as a character playing Jesus, as an actor playing Jesus, as a Roman soldier, as one of the women crying, as the disciple John standing at the foot of the cross. You have to reconcile what’s happening if you are living truthfully and authentically in these moments, and the Lord allowed us, each of us in our own ways, to experience the heartbreak and the sorrow of that.”

THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART 2 won Movieguide®’s Epiphany Prize® for Inspiring Movies at this year’s Movieguide® Awards gala. Part of the review reads:

THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART TWO is compelling and well-made. The actors do an excellent job bringing Jesus and the disciples to life. As Jesus, Jonathan Roumie delivers a masterful emotional turn portraying the Savior grappling with His fate. The movie has a strong Christian, biblical worldview. It features Jesus preaching to crowds and his disciples. THE CHOSEN: LAST SUPPER – PART TWO takes some creative liberties to deepen the characters and add to the drama, but it stays close to Scripture. LAST SUPPER has no objectionable content, but it does have mild violence. Otherwise, it’s acceptable for nearly all viewers.

THE CHOSEN Season 6 premieres on Prime Video on Nov. 15, 2026.

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