The producer of an upcoming film on the life of St. Faustina Kowalska noted that in 2013, Jonathan Roumie was cast as Jesus for St. Faustina’s visions.
While The Chosen, the hit show on the life of Christ, is currently taking movie theaters by storm with its unique complete release of Season 4 on the silver screen, we’re looking to the past. Since 2019, Jonathan Roumie has captured fans’ hearts with his portrayal of Jesus Christ, but what many may not know is that The Chosen is not Roumie’s first foray into this important role.
A recent video from the YouTube Channel of Saint Luke Productions has revealed a previous project for which Roumie played the role of Jesus: an upcoming film about the life of St. Faustina Kowalska, called Faustina: Messenger of Divine Mercy. The filmmakers wanted to take special care to depict the many visitations of Jesus that St. Faustina experienced, and for that, they needed someone in the role of Jesus.
Producer Leonardo Defilippis explained that as they were scrambling to find an actor to play Jesus, actress Maria Vargo (St. Faustina) suggested a good friend of hers who might be perfect for the role: Jonathan Roumie.
“We had a Skype interview with him and we said ‘you look the part, you act the part, let’s do this,’” Defilippis recalled in the video, featured above.
Without delay they flew Roumie up and he began playing the role of Jesus for the scenes featuring St. Faustina’s visions of Christ. Defilippis noted that, as Jonathan tells it, he came across a Byzantine-style icon of the Divine Mercy within days of the casting that signaled to him that he would get the role.
While Roumie looks a lot younger than he does in The Chosen, the still shots shown in Defilippis’ explanation video exhibit the same reverence and humility for the role that he kept with him for his stint on The Chosen. Roumie, for his part, never stopped working on his role. Defilippis recalled how Jonathan asked for footage of his scenes, which he reportedly used to refine his acting chops that won him the role in The Chosen
The rest, as they say, is history.
