Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie,
who plays Christ in the series
The Chosen, is pictured in a scene depicting the Sermon on the Mount. Photo: CNS The Catholic actor who portrays Jesus in the hit crowd-funded series The Chosen has revealed how handing his life over to providence lifted a weight from his mind.
The show now has 250 million views online, but it is success that Jonathan Roumie does not take for granted.
He met the Pope at the Vatican last week and revealed that several years ago, before the show, he was living in Los Angeles and says he had “pretty much hit rock-bottom in a lot of ways: emotionally, financially, spiritually”.
Despite “juggling six or seven jobs”, Mr Roumie was in debt, his bank account was overdrawn, he “had no food” and wasn’t sure how he’d pay his upcoming bills.
Desperate, he turned to the prayers of his Catholic childhood. “I’m going to leave all of these anxieties, all of these worries, all of these problems that I have. I’m going to leave them with you and I’m not going to worry about it and I’m just going to trust you to take care of it,” he prayed.
That very day, Mr Roumie says he “literally received a financial miracle in my life” when three unexpected cheques came in the mail. It allowed him to right his financial position. God, however he believes, was not done: three months later the actor landed his role as star of The Chosen. It still makes him marvel.
“I scratch my head every day and thank God for everything he’s given me. I take nothing for granted and am grateful to be here,” he said.
Mr Roumie described meeting Pope Francis at the Vatican last week as a childhood dream realised.