Jonathan Roumie says ‘The Chosen’ Season 6 deepened his understanding of redemptive suffering

Jonathan Roumie and “The Chosen” cast reflected on the spiritual impact of Season 6, sharing lessons on suffering, forgiveness, and redemption.

The first three episodes of the highly anticipated sixth season of the hit series “The Chosen” will be released on Prime Video on Nov. 15.

The upcoming season focuses on the 24 hours of Good Friday — culminating in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Season 6 of “The Chosen” will include six episodes — the first three of which will debut on Nov. 15 on Prime Video, followed by the release of a weekly episode through Dec. 6. The season finale will be a stand-alone theatrical release on March 12, 2027.

Catholic actor Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the series, has spoken openly about how difficult filming the sixth season was and the impact it had on him, not only professionally but also personally.

“Portraying Jesus’ suffering has given me deeper insights into the concept of redemptive suffering and how do you offer your suffering up so that God can use it in a way that can save souls,” he told EWTN News in an interview.

Roumie shared that portraying this difficult moment during Jesus’ life on Earth has given him “a little more insight” into questions like “How do you find grace in suffering? Where do you get it from?”

“I donʼt claim to know how all of it works, or what all of it means, or that I even understand it really completely, but I think Iʼve been given at least an opportunity to have a deeper insight to it, because of how itʼs changed how I see the cross now and how I experience the cross just as a Catholic,” he said.

During the filming of Season 6, Roumie said he relied heavily on prayer to get him through the tough moments.

“Prayer became a sort of a constant conversation throughout the process because of the difficulties of filming and the challenges and the physical, kind of, what I refer to as these micro mortifications that persisted for weeks and then over the course of months at a time,” he recalled.

While the sufferings Roumie experienced were an “indefinably modest version comparative to what he [Jesus] actually went through,” the actor said “for me it was enough.”

He added: “It was a continual dialogue of just ‘help me get through this. This is for you. Itʼs for the salvation of souls. I give it back to you … Help me figure out how to understand the scene. Help me figure out how to have these conversations and ultimately let your heart and voice and face and spirit shine through so that I am not there but you are there and you are present in the scene and Iʼm just a vessel for that.’”

Bringing Judas and Pontius Pilate to life

The heaviness and difficulties of Season 6 were not only felt by Roumie.

Luke Dimyan, who plays Judas, and Andrew James Allen, who plays Pontius Pilate, also felt the immense weight through the portrayals of their characters.

Allen described Pontius Pilate in Season 6 as having an “internal conflict.”

“We see him in a very different place than he started,” he said. “In the beginning, heʼs very, sort of, light and funny and petulant and then as the weight on his shoulders grows, heʼs more and more conflicted about what to do.”

Allen pointed out that in many depictions of Pontius Pilate in media he’s typically “in the background a bit and he comes into this one big scene and then kind of leaves.” However, in “The Chosen,” Allen said he believes audiences get to see Pontius Pilate “as a human being for the first time.”

“I hope the audience sees that heʼs a real person and that heʼs actually in some ways going through the same thing that Jesus is,” he added. “He is being persecuted by the people around him and by the people of Judea in the same way, not to the same degree, but in his own way, heʼs suffering.”

Dimyan echoed similar sentiments regarding his character, saying he hopes Judas’ story will leave audiences with “a sense of understanding and with patience, not only with others but with themselves.”

“I understand how people easily connect to Judas with the idea of betrayal. Itʼs very common. Itʼs very easy,” he said. “But I hope, especially with this his final chapter, that they see itʼs less so much about the betrayal and itʼs more about learning and hopefully knowing to forgive yourself because thatʼs what ultimately leads to redemption.”

He added: “Iʼll be surprised to meet a singular person on this earth who hasnʼt made a mistake that they regret. But itʼs knowing that that mistake doesnʼt have to define you forever, which I hope thatʼs what they take away from Judas. That even though you have done something horrible and youʼve lost your way and you do truly regret your decision that youʼre not past being forgiven.”

Dimyan then posed a question that he hopes audiences will consider when watching Judas’ final moments: “Is there a doubt in anyoneʼs mind that if he [Judas] had waited, that if he had lasted three days, and asked forgiveness from Jesus, that Jesus wouldnʼt forgive him?”

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