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How My $140 Million Hit Show About Jesus Sprang From Failure
Dallas Jenkins, 49, is the creator, producer, director and writer of ‘The Chosen.’ Here is his personal story about his darkest day, and how it reignited his career and lit up the world
One day when Dallas Jenkins was mowing his lawn, he got a message that changed his life (as well as the film business), and brightened the lives of millions of moviegoers.
Michelle Kondrich
The Chosen, the story of Jesus told in a TV series on Amazon Prime Video that also grossed over $140 million in movie theaters, is by all objective measures a significant success. It’s been watched by more than 200 million people and has appeared in the top five in both streaming and theatrical box office lists.
We’re currently filming Season 6 while enjoying the positive global response to Season 5. On the ratings site Rotten Tomatoes, The Chosen debuted with a perfect 100 percent score from critics, and audiences rated Season 5 a near-perfect 97 percent. Obviously, my career is in a place far beyond anything I ever imagined.
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But it was born from failure.
And it was also birthed from plans God had for me that were quite different from my own. So it’s very easy for me to admit that this current success has very little to do with my strategies or skills.
Let me take you back to 2008. I was an independent filmmaker who’d been trying desperately not to be a “Christian filmmaker.” Faith-based films were pretty awful, and I didn’t want to be associated with that genre. I just wanted to make normal films and be taken seriously. Being affirmed by Hollywood and fans was my drug of choice.
Dallas Jenkins directs Jonathan Roumie as Jesus in “The Chosen.”
Courtesy 5&2 Studios
But one day, as I was mowing my lawn — I’m a good Midwesterner — I was praying about my career. I felt God put it on my heart pretty clearly to stop being embarrassed by the topic of faith and to start making films about Him. I thought, “But these films are so bad.” And I felt God say, “So make good ones.” To be clear, this wasn’t an audible voice, just a strong impression that God was telling me that He and those who followed Him deserved good movies, too.
So, much to the chagrin of my wife’s and my pride, I shifted gears and started to focus on films about God and his people. I had varying degrees of success, and I felt much more like I was in God’s will. But my drug of choice remained the same: I wanted legitimacy and success, fueled by affirmation.
Fast-forward to 2017, when I finally got the opportunity I’d sought. A couple of the biggest producers and studios in Hollywood wanted to work with me to make faith-based films. They poured some money into The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, a project I really loved that also had an explicit Gospel message. God’s calling coming to fruition, right?
Jenkins has made a deal with Amazon MGM Studios for “The Chosen” and a new biblical series, “Joseph of Egypt.”
Courtesy 5&2 Studios
The movie turned out well, it tested very high and everyone was excited — until it completely bombed. On a Friday afternoon, when the box office numbers came in, I went from being a director with a very bright future to a director with no future.
This didn’t make sense, because I knew God had called me to stories about Him. So why put me through all that only to allow such a failure?
The answer became clear that night, when God once again put something very clearly on my wife’s heart and mine: “It’s not your job to feed the 5,000, only to provide the loaves and fish.” (In the Bible’s Matthew 14, the disciples present Jesus with five loaves and two fishes, and he feeds a crowd of 5,000.)
And in that moment, my life changed. I no longer cared about affirmation or legitimacy or results or success (or lack thereof). I just wanted Him to be happy with my 5 and 2. And if that meant never making another movie or TV show, I was genuinely OK with that.
I ended up doing a short film for my church about the birth of Christ from the perspective of the shepherds. It felt like a big step down from my Hollywood aspirations, but that was OK. When that short film went viral and launched a crowdfunding campaign that raised $10 million for a first season of a show about Jesus, suddenly I had a new opportunity.
I believe I had a new choice, too. To do this my way, pursuing once again success and results. Or God’s way, which was just to focus on my loaves and fish and not care about the result.
So in 2017, I gathered my two cowriters to work on ideas for the show, and I wrote one word in big letters on a big sheet of white paper: AUTHENTIC.
We weren’t going to chase stardom or ideas that we thought would result in more “success.” Our job was to be faithful to the character and intentions of Jesus and the Gospels and make the most authentic show we could. Nothing else mattered.
We’ve stuck to that. And as the show has grown and gotten me the legitimacy and affirmation — and, yes, results — I used to dream about, the cool thing is, I simply haven’t cared about that. I’ve cared far more about the fact that because of the show, millions of people are reading their Bibles more than ever, and other millions who aren’t believers are appreciating the show as art and the conversations it stimulates.
Jonathan Roumie as Jesus in “The Chosen” Season 5. The biblical epic premiered in December 2017.
Courtesy 5&2 Studios
I remained focused on authentically portraying Jesus regardless of the response. And of course, the response includes criticism. There are a lot of strong opinions about Jesus and the Bible, and every day you can find articles or YouTube videos saying either that I’m a heretic and dangerous or the greatest filmmaker ever.
Neither is true, but the fact that I’m not looking to avoid criticism or gain praise has allowed me to stay focused on my best five loaves and two fish I can provide.
I’m not good enough to be responsible for the success The Chosen is having. But I’m surrendered enough to keep listening to the One the show is about.
AARP essays share a point of view in the author’s voice, drawn from expertise or experience, and do not necessarily reflect the views of AARP.
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