‘The Chosen’ Delivers Its Most Haunting Scene Yet: “It’s Not Something I Would Ever Want To Shoot Again"

For the most part, Prime Video’sThe Chosenhas kept it light and bright. The first five seasons of the Biblical production followed the life of Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) as he began his religious outreach, drawing in his followers one by one. Darker scenes like demonic possessions have been scattered throughout the episodes, but, for the most part, it’s largely been a series that reflects the positive side of humanity. However, by the end ofthe most recent season, that theme flipped on its head with the arrest of Jesus at the hands of the Romans. Those familiar with the Bible know what happens next — Jesus is taken into custody, tried, and crucified.

Currently working on theupcoming sixth season, which will feature thefinal days of Jesus’ lifeand his brutal death, Roumie spoke with USA Today, revealing that the cast and crew were “about halfway through” filming the next set of episodes. Sharing some of the experience, he continued,

“It’s beenthe most difficult thingwe’ve ever done. And for many of us as actors, it was themost challenging workthat we’ve ever had to do. For many of us, spiritually and emotionally, it was excruciating; it was brutal.”

A Harrowing Experience

Therest of the casthave their hands full, depicting one of the world’s most recognizable stories and ensuring they are on their A-game as far asconveying the heavy emotionsthat will carry the next chapter. For Roumie, it’s even more real considering the actor is playing a character who is beaten, spit on, and crucified. Digging into the intense process that he’s undergone so far, Roumie added,

“You’re on a cross. You’re pretty muchin nothing but a loin cloth, and the temperature drops at night. And for me, it’s an entering into Christ’s suffering in a way that has to go far enough for me personally to be believably authentic to an audience. So there’s a certain amount of communion in that suffering that I end up experiencing, because that’s the only way to do this job… You’re covered with prosthetic pieces and wounds and stuff that are physically glued onto your body, which takes hours. And then they’re kind ofslowly ripped off at the end of the nights, unglued with all sorts of chemicals and stuff to take them off, and that’s more painful than putting them on… It’snot something I would ever want to shoot again.”