Jonathan Roumie Shares How Playing Jesus Impacts Fan Interactions
By Movieguide® Contributor
Jonathan Roumie never wanted to give up his anonymity in public, but if there’s one role he’s happy it happened with, it’s Jesus. Roumie won Movieguide®’s Grace Prize® for his portrayal of the Savior, and THE CHOSEN won the most recent Epiphany Prize®.
The simple task of attending a noon Mass service is something that Roumie can no longer do without getting recognized. In a short piece with The New Yorker, the actor revealed just how much his role on THE CHOSEN changed his life.
As Roumie walked into St. Patrick’s Cathedral, he was spotted by fans.
“We just want a picture with Jesus!” said one woman.
“Oh, my heavens, my husband is going to just die,” said another woman as they posed for a picture.
“You have just touched our hearts in ways they have never been touched before,” explained a third as they entered the cathedral.
Roumie never imagined he would play a role as powerful as this. Having found little success during his twenty years in entertainment before THE CHOSEN, he attributes his fame completely to God. Now a public figure, he cherishes the opportunities the role brings.
Unlike other actors who portrayed Jesus in the past, Roumie desires to use his Jesus image to encourage people’s faith.
“Jesus is the only character who I would hope to stay in character as all the time,” he told The New Yorker. “But some people want a spiritual encounter, and that can be hard to live up to. I’m not Jesus.”
After the noon Mass service, for example, Roumie was surrounded by fans who wanted a word from him. He obliged, giving a brief blessing before leaving the cathedral.
“I don’t feel like a responsibility to be Jesus to people. I have a responsibility to to play this role as authentically as possible knowing that it will impact people in a way that only God can understand,” he told CBN.
“I do feel a little overwhelmed when people are looking at me as if I’m the 21st-century personification of the relationship they hold most dear to their own hearts,” Roumie added.
As an introvert, Roumie admits that it is not always easy for him to interact with fans.
However, he recalls an interaction he had with a celebrity one time that left him feeling like a nuisance. This experience fuels him to always treat his fans with kindness and respect.
Roumie never wants his fans, who often address him as Jesus, to walk away feeling like they were a nuisance to him.
Besides, being recognized has its perks too. The New Yorker article shared that someone paid for the actor’s lunch during his interview with the publication.
“It’s like every step of the way I get these little reminders that [God’s] got my back,” Roumie said.
Movieguide® previously reported:
“I believe that God has had this plan for me from the time I was 12 years old,” said Roumie of playing Jesus in the breakout hit series THE CHOSEN.
Movieguide® previously reported how Roumie had next to nothing when he was about to give up his dream. It was when he surrendered everything to God that the Lord provided even more than he could imagine.
Now, Roumie said, “I found my mission, so I don’t stress about how I’m being taken care of, even in a pandemic I put all my faith, my trust in God.”
The actor had always had faith in God but revealed that his faith grew “exponentially” while working on THE CHOSEN.
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