Jonathan Roumie on Staying Humble Saying Without Jesus, ‘I Am Nothing’ 

Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the hit series “The Chosen,” says he has remained humble by following Christ’s example.

Roumie is a top actor, portraying Jesus in “The Chosen,” a series with 200 million viewers worldwide. He has been featured in countless ads and magazine articles, and people sometimes call him “Jesus” on the street.

Asked by Crosswalk Headlines how he has remained humble, Roumie said he looks to Christ and remembers his roots. Before landing the role of Jesus in “The Chosen,” Roumie was an actor struggling for work and was nearly broke.

“Jesus is the ultimate,” Roumie answered. “And if I’m trying to model my life after Him, He was the supreme example of humility. You look at the cross. There’s no one that was more humble than He was. And so I have to remember that everything that I have is because of Him — everything that I went through was to get to this point where I surrendered to Him. And as a result, He’s taken me out of the pit and put me here with you guys and [director] Dallas [Jenkins] and [actress] Liz [Tabish] and an incredible place.”

The series’ success grew this year when The Chosen, Season 4, was nominated for a 2024 K-Love Fan Award. “I pinch myself every day. Words cannot really adequately describe how I feel, but all of it goes back to Him. And without Him, I am nothing,” Roumie said.

Staying Grounded and Connected

He said it is essential to stay “connected to your faith” and be “grounded in your belief.” Roumie added, “I work for somebody like Dallas — he keeps me pretty humble,” smiling as he spoke.

Jenkins said he and the actors often recall the show’s first year before it grew popular. The director launched “The Chosen” following the box office failure of a film he directed, “The Resurrection of Gavin Stone.”

“All three of us, genuinely, in the months leading up to season one of the show … were probably in some of the darkest places of our lives, and that’s been true of a lot of the cast who came to the show. And I think that’s part of it,” Jenkins said, referencing the desire to remain humble. “… So many of us have embraced that we’re not worthy, and that we’re surrendered and humbled — and may that never change.”

Roumie said the cast and crew are blessed to tell Jesus’ story in a long-form TV format over several years. The role, he said, has strengthened his faith. The Prime Video series Jonathan and Jesus follows Roumie’s journey as an actor portraying Christ.

“The more time you spend with Jesus and His words, and His ministry, and the people that were impacted by His ministry, the more unavoidably shaken your soul is by His words, by His life, by His example,” he said. “For me, I’ve just gone much deeper into my prayer life, I’ve gone deeper into my own faith.”