It’s Christmas in Paris and Les Champs-Elysees is appropriately adorned. We are, after all, in the so-called Elysian Fields, paradise, heaven on earth. Red illuminated trees line both side of France’s most famous avenue, stars fill the sky and the red carpet is laid out in front of the prestigious Gaumont cinema. The welcome is fit for royalty. And, on cue, Jesus turns up.
Paris may be a far cry from Bethlehem two thousand years ago, but tonight sees a different long-awaited arrival: the French language national television release of the hit series The Chosen and a premiere with the man who plays Jesus –Jonathan Roumie.
This is probably the most successful television show you have never heard of. Over 150 million people have streamed this dramatisation of the life of Jesus, told through the eyes of the disciples. It is the biggest crowd-funded television series in history with fans raising $40 million to cover the production costs of the first two seasons, and a third season is already in credit. Jonathan Roumie has already started to collect awards, as has the director Dallas Jenkins.
Tonight in Paris it’s a game changer. ‘The Chosen’ will air on Canal Plus’s national free to air channel C8 at prime-time over the festive period. As I interview those on the red carpet at the premier screening, everyone I speak to is astounded that Europe’s most secularised nation (40 per cent say that they don’t follow any religion) has agreed to dedicate these highly sought-after television slots to a detailed retelling of the biblical story of Jesus. How has this religious coup-de-grace been made possible? It seems that the controversial billionaire owner of Canal Plus, Vincent Bollore, may have something to do with it. Rumour has it that he has been personally impacted by the story behind the film.
He’s not the only one. Around the world some 2.5 billion people claim to follow Jesus. That’s some pressure on any actor that dares to play him, let alone on the man who stars in the most-watched depiction of his life in the world right now. How does Jonathan Roumie deal with that pressure? He tells me in his humble and self effacing way: ‘I pray a lot.’ Roumie explains that he is ‘excited’ about the national release because it is going to allow French people ‘to have it available in their own language. I almost prefer the voice of Jesus in French to my own voice.’
Roumie reminisces on the day he was offered the role. Sat in a flat he could not pay his rent on, out of desperation he began to pray to God. One unexpected phone call later, and Roumie is offered the role to play Jesus, a role that will take his own faith to a whole new level. Now a profoundly convicted Christian, he has since hosted online prayer meetings attended by thousands from around the world.
Secular audiences of The Chosen, Roumie believes, may have a similar awakening: ‘What they think they know about Jesus and what he represents is completely at odds with the reality of who he was and what he did. I think they are going to be surprised and deeply touched by what they see. It will really spark curiosity to go deeper into his story.’ In a divided and increasingly polarised world still facing the ravages of the pandemic Roumie believes the story of Jesus offers ‘consolation, encouragement and hope through the struggle.’
Perhaps this is why Roumie carries the weight of his role so seriously. It is personal to him. Roumie had heard about a 19-year-old young woman who had written a suicide note and had made plans to end her life when, just at that moment someone sent her a link to the show. Starting to watch it changed everything for her. She found ‘that her life meant something; that God loved her and a year later she was stood there telling me about it.’ It’s stories like this that keep Roumie going. And, with five series still to film, former cast member from Chicago Med and game voiceover artist is going to need the inspiration.
What relevance has Jesus got for our polarised and secularised world? He sees the fact that the show is going out on national French television as not only something of a miracle, but a confirmation that Jesus really does have something to say to people today.
As people exit the theatre on Les Champs-Elysees into the crisp December air, I sense the relief from people who have just seen the show for the first time. They comment that the show is surprisingly engaging, and not the embarrassing piece of proselytising propaganda they half expected. Words like ‘human’ and ‘authentic’, are being repeated around me. Viewers have been touched by the fact that Jesus smiles, winks, makes jokes, and speaks in colloquial contemporary language, yet without deviating from the Jesus they know from the New Testament. Back on the red carpet I meet IT workers, priests, law students, teachers, business men, TV producers, film makers, journalists. Although many have some kind of faith others clearly don’t. But they do have one thing in common: they all want a selfie with Jesus.
The first two seasons of The Chosen are currently available in the UK to stream right now free of charge. https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen
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