The Chosen Makes Jesus ‘Relatable,’ Filmmaker Andrew Erwin Says: ‘I Adore the Show’

By admin On Dec 21, 2022

Filmmaker Andrew Erwin has no role in the Bible-based hit series The Chosen – not as a director, producer or even as an on-screen extra.

Nevertheless, he took time out of his busy schedule to trek to Atlanta in mid-November and watch the box office premiere of The Chosen: Season 3, which opened in the Top 5 nationwide before transitioning to streaming platforms on December 11.

“I’m just a fan,” Erwin told Christian Headlines.

Erwin is known in the film industry as the director of I Can Only Imagine, American Underdog, I Still Believe and other faith-based hits. He was an executive producer of the new documentary Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Underdog.

He calls himself a “late adopter” of The Chosen and is friends with director Dallas Jenkins. The series, Erwin said, is popular because it is unique in exploring Jesus’ humanity.

“There’s a lot of different portrayals of Christ that had been done” that did not do what The Chosen has done, Erwin said.

“[Jesus] was divine, but He was a human, too. … [Jenkins] did emotional archaeology and made Him very relatable in a way that I don’t think a lot of products have. [Jenkins] honored the text, but he filled in the lines between the text, asking those great filmmaker questions of, ‘What must it have felt like?’ And I think it allowed there to be an entry point that feels very modern but very historically accurate. And so I adore the show; I enjoy the characters.”

Erwin said his favorite character is Matthew, whose character was written to be on the Asperger’s/autism spectrum.

“That idea of as a filmmaker being obsessed with the details, being a little OCD – we all have a little bit of that,” Erwin said. “It’s a great show.”

Erwin’s next film, The Jesus Revolution, releases in theaters on February 24. He is a producer.

Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

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