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American actor From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jonathan Roumie (born July 1, 1974) is an American actor known for his role as evangelist Lonnie Frisbee in the 2023 film Jesus Revolution and as Jesus in The Chosen,[1][2] a crowd-funded television series about the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth.[3][4] He is also a voice artist and a public speaker.
Jonathan Roumie | |
|---|---|
Roumie in January 2020 | |
| Born | July 1, 1974 |
| Education | School of Visual Arts (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Known for | The Chosen (TV series) |
| Awards | Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance for TV, Movieguide |
A first-generation American, Roumie's father was born in Egypt and is of Syro-Lebanese descent; his mother is from Ireland.[5][6][7] Roumie has stated that his great-grandparents on his fathers side were Armenian.[8]
Before his parents moved to and later met in New York City, Roumie's mother was raised on a farm in Ireland with his father being raised in Cairo, Egypt.[9] Though he was baptized in the Orthodox Church, Roumie converted to Catholicism after moving from New York to its suburbs.[10] He holds a degree in film from the School of Visual Arts.[6] In 2024, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in fine arts by the Catholic University of America for his work evangelizing through his acting career.[11]
After graduating from college, Roumie played drums in his friend's contemporary rock band. The band had recorded an album and were due to go on tour but the recording company sponsoring the tour went bankrupt. Shortly after, Roumie moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television.[12]
Roumie has appeared in television shows such as The Good Wife, As the World Turns, and Castle. He played the character of Christ for the first time in a touring multi-media project about the life of St. Faustina called Faustina: Messenger of Divine Mercy[13] and subsequently in 'Once we were Slaves/The Two Thieves'. Roumie is also the co-producer, co-director and lead actor of The Last Days: The Passion and Death of Jesus, a live performance about the passion of Christ.[14] He portrayed charismatic hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee in the 2023 film Jesus Revolution.[15]
Roumie's voice-over work includes the video games Evolve, Mafia II & III, The Darkness II and Fallout 4. He has voiced several characters in the MTV series Celebrity Deathmatch.[16]
Roumie started as a production assistant and was the location scout for Spider-Man, National Treasure and I Am Legend.[17] His first original song, "Outta Time", was released in Europe for the album Unbreakable, which he co-produced.[18][better source needed]
At one time, Roumie was involved in an entertainment fellowship for Christian entertainment professionals.[6]
He also serves as a narrator for the Catholic prayer app Hallow.[19] Jonathan Roumie appeared on the app Hallow Super Bowl 2024 commercial in which caused a huge spike of downloads of the app Hallow.[20]
Roumie is also a public speaker. He was a keynote speaker at March For Life.[21] He also was one of the revival session speakers at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress 2024[22] with over 55,000 participants in attendance.
Previous to being offered the role of Jesus Christ in 2017 for what was then a new television series, The Chosen, Roumie states he had reached a point on his life where he had completely surrendered himself to God. About that period of his life he says: "I was literally in a pit and God sort of lent a hand and brought me out of the pit. I was broke. I was in debt. I had enough food for the day to last a day."[23]
Now known worldwide for portraying Jesus in the series,[24] Roumie has been featured in numerous publications, including TV Guide, the National Catholic Register,[10] America Magazine,[25] and The Atlantic,[26] and The New Yorker.[27] He has also been interviewed on network television for shows such as The View,[28] Fox News,[29] EWTN,[29] and various religious-based news and information outlets.
Regarding the challenges of portraying Jesus, Roumie has said, "Very often, I don't feel worthy of playing Jesus. I struggle with that a lot. But I also acknowledge what God has done for my life as a result of playing Christ and how God has changed my life."[30]
Roumie has been a ministry leader and has served as an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion within the Catholic Church.[6] He is a strong advocate of the sacraments, ecumenism, humility, and charity.[31] He serves on the board of Catholics in Media Associates.[32] In 2020, he was nominated for a papal knighthood, the Order of St. Gregory the Great.[33] He was also named one of Aleteia's "10 Catholics who restored our faith in humanity" in 2021 and made it onto Our Sunday Visitor's list of Catholics of the Year in 2022.[34][32] He opposes abortion. A keynote speaker at the 2023 March for Life, Roumie told participants, "God is love, and true love gives way to life, not death."[35]
As of 2022, Roumie was residing in Los Angeles.[36]
Roumie can be found hosting live prayers on Instagram, some of which have been viewed nearly 100,000 times.[37] He prays the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy.[12]
Roumie is a talented illustrator, and won awards in high school for this work.[9]
In 2022, Roumie did an Instagram live stream on his official Instagram to debunk the false rumors that he is married and has children.[38] Roumie stated on his live stream that he never has been married nor does he have children.[38]
| Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Movieguide Awards | Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance for TV | The Chosen, Episode 1.8 – "I am He" | Won | [39] |
| 2022 | Movieguide Awards | Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance for TV | The Chosen, Episode 2.8 – "Beyond Mountains" | Nominated | [40] |
| 2023 | Movieguide Awards | Grace Prize for Most Inspiring Performance for TV | The Chosen, Episode 3.3 – "Physician, Heal Yourself" | Nominated | [41] |
| 2024 | GMA Dove Award | TV Series of the Year | Jonathan and Jesus (TV series) | Nominated | [42] |
| 2024 | K-Love Fan Awards | TV/Streaming Impact | Jonathan and Jesus (TV series) | Won | [43] |
| Year | Name | Role | Ref | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000–2002 | Celebrity Deathmatch | Various | Voice only | |
| 2006 | Oh! Be Joyful! | Jim James | Television film, also executive producer and writer | |
| 2007 | As the World Turns | Jim Fellows | [44] | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Law & Order | Richie Citrone | Episode: "Excalibur" | |
| In the Now | Jonathan | 5 episodes | ||
| 2009–2010 | Wonder Pets! | Loch Ness Daddy, Critic #2 | 2 episodes, Uncredited as Critic #2 | |
| 2010 | 3rd & Bird | French Crab | Episode: "Ahoy!" | |
| Roomies | Sam's Date, Answering Machine | Television film | ||
| 2011 | All My Children | Guy #1 | ||
| 2012 | Parenthood | Cop | [44] | Episode: "Everything Is Not Okay" |
| 2013 | Joe, Joe & Jane | Waiter | Television film | |
| 2014 | Castle | Serge Belmonde | [45] | Episode: "Dressed to Kill" |
| Hart of Dixie | Jeffrey | [44] | Episode: "Carrying Your Love with Me" | |
| NCIS | Officer Gerard | [44] | Episode: "The Admiral's Daughter" | |
| Interns | Felix | [46] | ||
| Preying for Mercy | Dominic Capistrano | Television film | ||
| The Newsroom | Bartender | [44] | Episode: "What Kind of Day Has It Been" | |
| 2015 | Dog with a Blog | Dr. Monfore | Episode: "Stan Has Puppies" | |
| Ridin' with Burgess | Raddigan, Theater Guy | Television short | ||
| NCIS: Los Angeles | Perry Gaffney | [45] | Episode: "Defectors" | |
| 2016 | The Good Wife | Monte Ecklund | [45] | Episode: "Shoot" |
| 2017 | The Mindy Project | Dr. Montpellier | [44] | Episode: "Danny in Real Life" |
| 2019 | Ballers | Splyce Owner | [44] | Episode: "Players Only" |
| 2020 | Chicago Med | Christian Edwards | [47] | Episode: "A Needle in the Heart" |
| 2019–present | The Chosen | Jesus | [48][49] | Main cast (32 episodes) |
| Year | Name | Role | Ref | Notes |
| 2001 | Be My Brother | Undercover Cop | Short | |
| 2005 | Prime | Bakery Counterman | [45] | |
| 2007 | West 32nd | Lloyd | [50] | |
| Then She Found Me | Partygoer | Uncredited | ||
| 2008 | Revolutionary Road | Party Guest | [51] | |
| 2012 | K-11 | Rookie Stewart | [45] | |
| 2013 | Saving Lincoln | John Wilkes Booth | [50] | |
| A Day In The Country | Hal | [52] | Short; Canon Imagin8tion Contest Winner | |
| Half-Life: Raise the Bar | Gordon Freeman | Short | ||
| Lunar | Control | Short; Voice only | ||
| Another Man | Josh | Short | ||
| 2014 | Once We Were Slaves | Jesus | [6] | Short; Renamed The Two Thieves |
| Cinderella Pose | Jesse | Short | ||
| You & I, My Dear | Ken | [53] | Short | |
| 2015 | Nostradamus | Radio Voice | Short | |
| The Funeral Guest | Luke | |||
| 2016 | Trunk | Nate | Short | |
| Let It Bleed | The Sadist | [48] | ||
| Dead Bullet | Viktor | [45] | ||
| 2017 | Life Hack | Greg Scheckler | ||
| 2018 | Last Kiss | Narrator | Short | |
| 2020 | Reality Queen! | TV Assistant | ||
| 2021 | Washingtonia | Voice only | ||
| 2022 | Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again | Merenkhare | [54] | Voice only |
| 2023 | Jesus Revolution | Lonnie Frisbee | [55] | |
| Year | Name | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Batman: Dark Tomorrow | Tim Drake / Robin, Robber #1, Guard, False-facer | |
| 2010 | Mafia II | Italian Civilian, Gangster, Greaser | |
| 2012 | The Darkness II | Enzo, Additional Voices | |
| 2013 | The Bureau: XCOM Declassified | Asaru, Dr. Murphy, Pete Weaver | |
| Lost Planet 3 | Renard Laroche | ||
| 2015 | Evolve | Additional Voices | |
| Fallout 4 | Jack Cabot, Doc Weathers, Honest Dan | ||
| 2016 | XCOM 2 | Soldier, Additional Voices | |
| Mafia III | Additional Voices | ||
| 2017 | Agents of Mayhem | Pride Trooper | |
| 2018 | God of War | Additional Voices | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 | Various Voices | ||
| 2019 | Days Gone | Russell | |
| Death Stranding | Mules | ||
| 2020 | Ghost of Tsushima | Additional Characters | |
| 2022 | Saints Row | Character Voices, Saints Characters | |
| 2025 | Death Stranding 2: On the Beach | Puppet |
| Year | Name | Role | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Anaconda (*Best of Hollywood Fringe – 2012) | Phil Becker | |
| 2013 | Trainspotting | Sick Boy | [56] |
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