After almost calling it quits on an unsuccessful acting career, Jonathan Roumie booked his breakout role, portraying Jesus in “The Chosen.”
Before he even knew about the role, Roumie said he had to “surrender my entire life and my career and everything that I had up to that point over to God.”
Interview: Jonathan Roumie Almost Called It Quits as an Actor
Prior to his role in “The Chosen,” Jonathan Roumie took on small roles in shows including “The Good Wife,” “The Mindy Project,” and MTV’s “Celebrity Deathmatch.” The actor also worked as a location scout to help make ends meet before he moved to Los Angeles and attempted to act full-time. The journey was harder than he expected.
Roumie quickly found himself doing small jobs—like ridesharing and catering—and running out of money and gumption. “I got to the point where I was broke,” Roumie recalled on a recent appearance on “The View.” “I was out of food. I was out of even government assistance for food. And the only thing I hadn’t done at that point was the [only] thing left to do.”
“[I had to] get on my knees and surrender my entire life and my career and everything that I had up to that point over to God,” said Roumie. “Because there wasn’t anything, I realized, I could do on my own.”
Roumie was raised in the faith, but it wasn’t until that broken moment that he said, “Jesus, I surrender myself to you. Take care of everything.”
“And, that day, I received this incomprehensible financial miracle that changed my life,” Roumie said. “Three months later, I booked ‘The Chosen.'”
More than 175,000 people have viewed the interview and thousands have shown their support of the Roumie and the hit series.
