Julie MolinaThe Chosen literally goes against the current".Derral Eves: "Producing The Chosen is not just a job; it is a vocation".Jonathan Roumie welcomes journalists in Madrid with a warm smile and a serene energy that seems to reflect the same depth that he brings to his interpretation of Jesus Christ in The Chosen. With more than 600 million views worldwide, the series has made Roumie a reference for millions of believers and viewers.
During our conversation, ahead of the European premiere of the series' fifth season, we talk about his experience in bringing to life the most momentous role of his career, the impact of the series on his personal life and the challenges of playing Jesus. Between laughter and reflection, Jonathan Roumie invites us to discover the man behind the character.
Actors usually play characters who are archetypes, but you play the one man who was once a real human being and then an archetype. Does that make you feel a special responsibility? How does it change the way you play yourself in The Chosen?
- I don't know if the idea changes my interpretation or even my approach to Him. I think I have to approach Him as I would any character, who is a person, a representable human being. Of course, the case of Jesus is special, being fully human and fully divine, but I am not trying to interpret divinity, because I cannot identify with it.
I can only identify with the humanity of Jesus, and not entirely because his humanity was perfect, and I am far from perfect. So, I think all I can do is surrender my own humanity and offer him my desire to know him in depth, the conception I have of his love for humanity and try to exude that in the process of interpreting him.
Does it scare you that so many people relate you to Jesus in The Chosen? Does that affect the way you act in your private life?
- I think most people know that I'm not really Jesus (laughs). Maybe there are some people who think so, but I don't know any of those people. I think when people are affected by my interpretation, and the series in general, what they want is to have a similar encounter with Jesus Christ.
It's a big responsibility how much influence I can have on how other people feel, but I try not to dwell on it. I try to take that weight off my shoulders a little bit, because what other people think of me is really none of my business. But I try to be grateful and kind to people when I meet them. The Chosen has led me to meet a lot of people from a lot of places and I want to leave a positive impact on them.
Are there any characteristics of Jesus that you had never considered before but have discovered in interpreting him?
- I don't know if I would say that I have discovered a new characteristic. Rather, I think there were details of his personality that I had never noticed because I hadn't gone deeply into them, and by thinking about Jesus' day-to-day life, I have discovered how intimate he would be with his friends and disciples. I hadn't thought this kind of thing through so deeply until I started interpreting it. In the end, that's what we convey in The Chosen: the intimacy of the twelve apostles, of all the followers of Jesus.
