Jonathan Roumie Opens Up About the Challenges of Playing Jesus Christ in The Chosen

For heaven’s sake! In a candid new interview, Jonathan Roumie, better known as Jesus Christ in the worldwide hit The Chosen, opened up about the consequences of playing the son of God. The 50-year-old takes the role seriously, spending much of his time offscreen traveling to events and interacting with people of faith.

Sometimes that faith is a bit misguided. One fan brought her child in a wheelchair with hopes that Jonathan could heal him, as Jesus had on her favorite episode. “I said, ‘Yeah, that would be amazing, but I gotta be honest with you, as far as I know, I don’t have that gift,’” he told The New York Times. “‘But I would love to pray with you, if that’s OK.’”

The star, a man of deep faith, revealed that he later burst into tears, fearing that he’d let the woman down. It’s something he’s been wrestling with since taking on the character in 2017. “Psychologically they know I’m not Jesus, but they want me to be the next best thing,” he explained, adding, “I’m in this position for a reason. I was cast as Jesus and somebody else wasn’t. God only knows why.”