Bear Grylls says Jonathan Roumie carried ‘weight of the world’

When Bear Grylls sat down around a campfire with Jonathan Roumie during filming of “The Chosen in the Wild,” the former British Special Forces soldier and Everest mountaineer said he sensed the actor portraying Jesus was carrying an extraordinary burden.

That conversation, the 52-year-old author and TV host told The Christian Post, became one of the most meaningful moments of his decades-long television career.

“I kind of look back on that, and out of all the ‘Running Wild’ seasons we’ve done … in terms of my heart, that one was really beautiful,” Grylls said. “I just kind of sensed here’s a guy really carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. It must be a really brutal thing to have to carry and to play that.”

The six-part reality series, releasing Aug. 9 on Prime Video, pairs Grylls with cast members from “The Chosen” — including Roumie, Paras Patel (Matthew), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Noah James (Andrew), Luke Dimyan (Judas) and creator Dallas Jenkins — as they navigate forests, deserts, rivers and canyons while engaging in candid conversations with Grylls about faith, identity, purpose and personal struggles.

Grylls, who previously spoke to CP about how he believes faith and adventure have always been intertwined, said the slower pace of the wilderness created room for conversations that would never happen in a traditional interview.

“The great thing about ‘Chosen in the Wild’ is there’s time to go a little deeper,” he said. “There’s space for it to breathe. You travel with someone and cross a river and climb a cliff and sit around a campfire. There’s time to talk about the real stuff.”

Roumie, who in the episode shares about his background and professional difficulties before booking “The Chosen,” approached those conversations with honesty and humility, according to Grylls.

“I just felt he was really honest and spoke really humbly about it all,” Grylls said. “I feel I made a good friend there. He was a wonderful guy.”

Grylls also reflected on another standout episode featuring “The Chosen” creator Dallas Jenkins, who openly admits throughout the series that he’s far more comfortable indoors than trekking across rugged terrain.

During their episode, Grylls encourages Jenkins by telling him that “life begins outside our comfort zones,” advice the British adventurer said is just as applicable to his own life.

“I’ve got so many things I feel awkward and difficult with,” he told CP. “I find interviews quite scary, to be honest. But again, I treat it all as training time.”

Rather than avoiding discomfort, Grylls said he’s learned to embrace it, adding: “Seek out the uncomfortable. Treat it as training.”

“Stagnant water in a jungle just goes bad fast,” he said. “Flowing water has energy and life and oxygen. I think if we sit doing nothing, we corrode. Nothing sits still in nature. It’s either going forward or back, decaying.”

“It’s not a comfort zone,” he added. “It’s a comfort pit. You’ve got to get out of it.”

Speaking with reporters, Grylls also shared how the wilderness has a way of bringing down people’s defenses. The adventurer has dangled from helicopters over Arctic ice fields, crossed shark-infested waters and scaled the world’s highest peaks, among other feats.

“The outdoors is always the star of the show,” he said. “It does my job for me.”

“Everyone always arrives smart and all made up and together,” he said. “At the end, everything’s ripped and covered in mud, and everyone’s a little beaten up and has a few scars. It’s like, ‘Welcome to life.'”

“They have a light in their eyes that’s great to see,” Grylls added. “The wild is the ultimate place to be connected to people and have honest conversations, to share vulnerability. The wild never judges. You can’t hide.”

Grylls, who has hosted several survival shows, including “Man vs. Wild,” “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” and “Bear Grylls: Escape from Hell,” said “The Chosen in the Wild” featured some of the deepest conversations he’s experienced. The host said he was particularly moved by how cast members have personally been transformed by the series, something they’ve frequently shared with CP over the years.

“I almost wasn’t prepared for realizing how much this role and this TV show has changed and transformed their lives,” he told reporters, adding that he hopes viewers come away with a deeper connection with the people behind the hit series.

“I didn’t realize quite how invested so many people are around the world in this cast and these characters,” he said.

“I look at ‘Chosen in the Wild’ as one of the series I’m most proud of making,” Grylls added. “It’s got these three tenets of life: adventure, faith and the outdoors and friendships. It’s such a beautiful combination, and I really hope fans around the world love it as much as I have.”

“The Chosen in the Wild” marks another expansion of “The Chosen universe,” which has grown from a crowdfunded television project into a global faith-based entertainment franchise. 

The original drama, centered on the life and ministry of Jesus through the perspectives of those who followed Him, has attracted a large international audience and spawned theatrical releases, documentaries, books and other related projects. 

Grylls previously told CP the spinoff series reflects how “The Chosen” has helped audiences witness Jesus’ disciples, life, ministry and heart for others through a new lens.

“What we’ve tried to do with ‘The Chosen in the Wild’ is get to know the real people and show their real journey,” Grylls said.

“Isn’t that the same with ‘The Chosen’? It shows the real reality of what Jesus was like in their relationships and their journey. … It’s the element of faith I’ve always responded best to and not the fluff of it all, the rules and the regulations and the do’s and the don’ts, but actually, as ‘The Chosen’ shows, as Jesus shows, ‘Keep your eyes on Me, you’ll be OK. Then you won’t sink in the water.’ I felt that in my own life many times, through many adventures. It feels like a really special pairing to bring the best of ‘Running Wild’ to ‘The Chosen’ and to allow fans to see their favorite actors in a way that they never do normally.”