When someone calls Jonathan Roumie "Jesus" at a public event, the actor has a simple response. He introduces himself. "I try to just gently introduce my own name," Roumie told ChurchLeaders ahead of the Season 6 premiere of The Chosen on Sunday, Nov. 15. After six seasons playing Jesus, Roumie says those encounters touch on a concern he has about the series. He wants viewers to come away wanting to know Christ for themselves.
Roumie said he sometimes wonders whether viewers might grow more attached to his portrayal than to the Jesus they encounter in Scripture. His response in person is brief and warm. He gives people his own name and lets the conversation continue.
The new season brings Roumie to some of the most difficult scenes he has filmed for the series. Season 6 follows Jesus' final day through the eyes of people who love him and people who condemn him. Asked whether filming those hours ever became overwhelming, Roumie said it happened repeatedly. Several scenes left him overcome as he considered what Jesus endured.
Playing those scenes also led Roumie to reflect on his own suffering and mortality. He described one of the season's most personal lessons in terms of his faith. In considering what Jesus endured, he began thinking more about what it means to unite his own suffering with Christ's and how that might change the way he faces it.
Prime Video will release the first three episodes on Nov. 15, followed by one new episode each Sunday through Dec. 6. The crucifixion story will conclude in a stand-alone theatrical finale, scheduled for spring 2027 through Amazon MGM Studios. The streaming premiere includes the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa.
