Jonathan Roumie’s career has experienced a significant surge in popularity due to his recent roles in the hit faith-based series “The Chosen” and the successful “Jesus Revolution” film.
The 48-year-old actor, who is a devout Catholic, has been credited in screen roles for at least two decades, including shows like “Ballers” and “Chicago Med” in 2019 and 2020, respectively. However, it is his portrayal of Jesus in “The Chosen,” a series that offers a unique perspective on the life of Jesus, that has propelled Roumie’s career to new heights, the Daily Wire reported.
Roumie was born in New York City and started his career in the entertainment industry doing voice-over work for video games and TV shows. He later worked as a production assistant and location scout for movies such as “Spider Man,” “I Am Legend,” and “National Treasure.” He made appearances in several TV shows, including “Law and Order,” “As The World Turns,” and “All My Children” before landing a role on the big screen as John Wilkes Booth in the 2012 movie “Saving Lincoln,” the outlet reported, adding:
But after a few years, the acting gigs started drying up and the star said he found himself overdrawn on his finances and with only enough food to last one day.
Roumie has previously shared that, while faith had always been a part of his life, things changed five years ago when he surrendered his career to God.
“Life literally backed me into a corner until I got on my knees in front of my crucifix and poured out my heart to God,” Roumie said in an interview with Fox News.
“I couldn’t even get a catering job, and I had bills come in and I had rent. And I got to the point on a Saturday morning in May in 2018 where I was out of money,” he noted further. “I’d always had a relationship with my faith, but I had never surrendered my career so viscerally or felt that I had no other choice before. So, I think God kind of knew that and said, ‘I need everything from you.’”
“And in order to do that, I need to bring you to the edge of the cliff and give it all to Him,” Roumie added. “And I did that day. That morning. And I said, ‘It’s no longer my problem. It’s your problem, God. So, you’re going to see me through this? Your yoke is easy. Your burden is light. I’m giving you mine. And whatever happens, happens.’”
He went on to say that he returned to his apartment later that day and found four checks in his mailbox. “All I can say is that God provided me a financial miracle when I needed it, when I completely gave myself over to his care.”
And just a couple of months later, he said got a call from “The Chosen” series creator Dallas Jenkins, and things took off for him from there.
Speaking recently on “Ozarks Live,” Roumie described the chance to play Jesus as the “greatest and most humbling honor” of his life.
“The impact has been profound,” the actor said. “Not just on viewers but on me personally. So it’s been something that I don’t think anything else can compare to.”
For his latest project, he plays “charismatic hippie preacher” Lonnie Frisbee in the “Jesus Revolution” alongside actor Kelsey Grammar. The film is based on “the true story of a national spiritual awakening in the early 1970s and its origins within a community of teenage hippies in Southern California.”
It has done surprisingly well at the box office, surpassing $40 million in gross sales.
Jesus Revolution, a faith-based film starring Jonathan Roumie and Kelsey Grammer, has surged past $40 million at the box office and has become entertainment company Lionsgate’s highest-grossing film since 2019. https://t.co/F80gRJSqeO
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) March 17, 2023
“In the film, we focus on his [Frisbee’s] time where he’s got God sort of lifting him up and sending him out as an apostle with these amazing, charismatic spiritual gifts — gifts of the Holy Spirit in very overt ways,” the actor told OSV News.
“When you talk to some of the people that saw him do … healings, (they say) it was like walking with an apostle. It was that extraordinary,” he added. “He wasn’t a god. He was a man that God used fully, to his service.”
