Before he starred as Jesus in “The Chosen,” Jonathan Roumie’s career in the entertainment industry included interning at “Saturday Night Live” (SNL)—where he met Chris Farley—and voicing “Celebrity Deathmatch.” Roumie made his first appearance on “The Tonight Show” Tuesday (March 17), where he talked to host Jimmy Fallon about the unexpected success of “The Chosen.”
“Thirty years ago, I was an intern for ‘Saturday Night Live,’” Roumie told Fallon. During that time, Roumie had worked in the very same building that he and Fallon were currently in.
Now, Roumie said, “I’m a guest with you, who was on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ So it’s really, it’s a crazy full circle.”
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Jimmy Fallon Asks Jonathan Roumie About ‘The Chosen’
Jonathan Roumie pursued acting for years before finding success in “The Chosen,” a historical drama based on the life of Jesus Christ. The series, which is created, co-written and directed by Dallas Jenkins, is unique in that it got its start through being crowdfunded and is now a global phenomenon.
Roumie told Fallon he interned on “SNL,” working in the research department, during Will Ferrell’s first season. When Fallon asked if any memories of “SNL” hosts stuck out to him, Roumie answered, “One of the things I do remember is seeing Chris Farley come back to visit” after Farley’s tenure on the show had ended.
Everyone on staff lined up to greet Farley and “it was clear that he was beloved by everybody,” Roumie said. Roumie decided to take the opportunity to meet the famous actor and comedian—who was not sure who Roumie was, but greeted him warmly anyway.
Fallon mentioned that Roumie also voiced MTV’s “Celebrity Deathmatch.”
“For those who don’t know,” Roumie said, the show featured “clay animated celebrities [fighting] each other to the death in the most ridiculous ways, and they needed people to sound like the celebrities. And so I wrote a letter to the casting director and said, ‘Hey, I do impressions. Could I audition?’”
, where he talked to host Jimmy Fallon about the unexpected success of “The Chosen.”){kind=link}