‘The Chosen’ cast share faith and life stories in Nampa - ‘Sometimes, we just need to surrender’ to Jesus—Kirk B.R. Woller, ‘Gaius’ on the popular streaming series

The Chosen cast members were at the Ford Idaho Center on Feb. 1 to share their experiences playing their respective roles on the hit streaming series. From left, Shaan Sharma (Shmuel), Luke Dimyan (Judas), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdelene) and Kirk B.R. Woller (Gaius). (Courtesy Photo/Kelly Jenkins)

By Philip A. Janquart

ICR Assistant Editor

Unity, surrender, and God’s timing were key elements of "The Chosen: A Celebration of Jesus Christ" held at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa on Feb. 1.

Thousands attended the two free shows brought to Idaho by Christian Outreach Multimedia Events (C.O.M.E., Inc.). People of all faiths were invited to hear from “The Chosen” cast members as they shared spiritual insight and stories of personal growth through their respective character roles.

On Friday, Jan. 31, organizers held a special VIP dinner to thank the many volunteers who worked to bring the event to fruition.

Cast members Elizabeth “Liz” Tabish (Mary Magdelene), Luke Dimyan (Judas), Kirk B.R. Woller (Gaius), and Shaan Sharma (Shmuel) answered questions from a group of about 80. Shaan Sharma, who moderated the question-and-answer session, asked each cast member what they hope people take away from their respective portrayals and what the experience has meant to them.

Liz Tabish said she hopes people will see that God forgives regardless of our sins, pointing out that Mary Magdelene, who she said was possessed and in the ‘depths of despair,’ was the first to see Jesus after His resurrection.

“She gets to experience the most joyful moment in history,” she said, adding that, despite our past, joy can be found in the end.

“I hope people who might identify with Mary Magdelene and see themselves in her see that their lives can have a very happy ending,” said Tabish. “Usually, when you do portrayals of women who have gone through assault and PTSD and trauma, it’s not a happy ending.

“But with The Chosen … we see a complete transformation and a very realistic portrayal of growth, which is a little, ‘two steps forward and one step back.’ It’s a little messy, but also real and relatable and a reminder that if you make a mistake, God still loves you and you have to keep trying.”

Luke Dimyan, who plays Judas in the series, added that it’s not our duty to judge others, regardless of their past or present.

“There is no such thing as justifiable hate, no matter how far someone stumbles,” he said. “It’s easy to label someone simply as a villain or a miscreant, and it is quite literally in Christ’s teachings that we give them a second chance; everyone should be afforded that.”

He expanded on Tabish’s thoughts on having a “happy ending,” explaining that we must be ready to receive forgiveness when asking Jesus for pardon. But Judas, he said, could not overcome the consequences of his actions.

“Judas doesn’t even make it to the Crucifixion because he was so wracked with guilt and heartbreak, realizing that his betrayal of Jesus wasn’t just a trial, it wasn’t just a face-off with the Pharisees, it was a death sentence,” Dimyan said. The actor mused that we can assume Judas must have “begged for Jesus to be released” before the Crucifixion because Judas killed himself apparently from guilt and despair. "It’s more complicated than a simple villain story," he said.

While there is no official teaching of the Church on the eternal fate of Judas, Dimyan spoke to those gathered at the Friday event, saying, “I hope that through this portrayal, you can see that there is salvation, no matter what you have done, what you are doing, or how people see you. I promise you, He won’t turn you away, no matter what. But you have to forgive yourself first; that’s first and foremost.”

Luke Dimyan is surrounded by fans during a meet and greet Feb. 1 at the Ford Idaho Center. (Courtesy Photo/Kelly Jenkins)

Shaan Sharma, citing his role as the Pharisee Shmuel, spoke about judging others. While visiting a local school, a teacher asked him how it felt to be “the Pharisee of Pharisees.”

“Essentially, it was, ‘How does it feel to be the worst person ever on the show?’” he chuckled. “I told him I didn’t see it that way.’ I pointed out to him, ‘What has Shmuel done that is so wrong other than to protect his people?’ We all think we are right about something and have to find out painfully that we were wrong. Does that mean we are villains? Saul wasn’t so great before he was Paul. Shmuel is a fairly young man. He has time to come to God; it’s on God’s time.

Kirk Woller spoke about his role as Gaius, based on the royal official who asks Jesus to heal his dying son in the Gospel of John (4:46-54). “The first line in that scene (Season 4, Episode 4) is ‘Lord,’” Woller said. He texted Dallas Jenkins’ wife Amanda about the meaning of the word.

Kirk B.R. Woller plays 'Gaius' in The Chose series. (Courtesy Photo/Kelly Jenkins)

Amanda provided him with a definition of “Lord,” from which Woller understood “surrender.”

He elaborated on the impact of the word for himself, saying, “Look, I’m German. I’m meticulous. I want to be in control of everything. I work hard, and I’m disciplined … but sometimes you just have to surrender. Just let it go, dude; just let go.”

The actors also shared about the way the show has generated community around the world.

“Before going to Rome, I was very crushed … very isolated, very sad, lonely and lost,” Tabish said. “And playing this character, I got to watch her (Mary Magdelene) grow, and I got to grow with her. I watched Jesus teach and hear His parables and saw how this show affects everyone around the world.

“I went from being such an isolated woman to having an enormous community of loving, faithful, wonderful people … all of these different cultures and communities connecting on this one thing. I felt a kind of burst in my heart, and I don’t feel isolated anymore. It has brought so much joy in my life.”

Sharma added: “One of the things I want to impart … is that it takes four seasons for Simon and Matthew to hug it out and let it go, and yet they stayed at the table, following Jesus and did so much good along the way,” he said. “So, you can severely disagree with somebody and still follow God, work together and do good for the community and doing that might actually bring the two of you together.”

Chosen casting director Beverly Holloway, a resident of Meridian, Idaho, shared a personal story about God's timing in her life and the inexplicable journey that led her in a direction she did not anticipate.

With a home in Orange County, California, and an office in Culver City, a historic film and television production center, she felt a persistent urge to uproot and move to Meridian to be near her sister.

In 2018, Holloway, who was baptized Christian at a church camp in middle school, followed her intuition, not knowing what the future would hold.

“I had no clue; I just knew I was supposed to move,” she said. “I thought, ‘This is ridiculous; this is crazy.’ I said, ‘God, you know I’m in the film business, right? There is no film in Meridian.’”

Soon after, she found herself unexpectedly divorced, her sister and brother-in-law the only family to lean on.

“I celebrated my 25-year wedding anniversary on March 13 and was up here by April 1. By June, my marriage was over, and I had no idea what was coming,” she said. “But God absolutely knew where I needed to be. He made sure I was in a place where I was safe and secure, where I could thrive.”

Not long after, director, writer, producer, and friend Dallas Jenkins called to request her services for a new project.

“Dallas called me and said, ‘Hey, I’m doing this show, this series. We are just doing the first four episodes. It’s kind of never been done before. We have no money, and people aren’t really going to understand what it is, but we are going to cast it.’ I was, like, ‘OK.’

“So, I did the commute to L.A., back and forth, and in the midst of all this stuff that was going on in my life, I discovered how much God loves us. You will never know what a gift he handed me in that phone call from Dallas at a time when there was so much instability.”

But God was not done with her. Six years later, she met the love of her life and was married.