Nick Shakoour, who portrays Zebedee in The Chosen, the hit show about the Gospel, opened up to Christian Headlines about how his role in the show led to his conversion to Christianity, saying that the many Christians he met behind the scenes influenced him and helped lead him toward God. He said that, before the show, he never had a personal encounter with God despite growing up as a Christian, but the show changed that.
As background, Dallas Jenkins, the creator and director of “The Chosen,” is an evangelical Christian. Despite, or perhaps because of, his faith and the message of the show, he decided not to limit the show’s cast to Christians but rather hire the best possible person for each role or crew position.
So, Shakoour was on the show and able to experience a powerful faith moment. Speaking to Christian Headlines about it, Mr. Shakoour said that he grew up Christian, but never really felt attached or committed to the faith. But then, with his role on the show, he met numerous “behind-the-scenes people who are Believers.” That was important, as he also met “their friends” and started “running in their circles,” which led to him “starting to seek out God through them.”
That then led to a momentous personal faith moment in September of 2023, Mr. Shakoour said. “And it all accumulated to last September, where I was invited to a church conference where the next thing I knew a bunch of people surrounded me … and laid their hands over me and started praying.” He continued, “And I was able to experience what it was like to experience the Holy Spirit going from outside to in and it set my body into flames.”
That experience was internally shocking, he said, quite literally shaking him as he felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. As he put it, “It felt like my organs were all being burned away and I was being vibrated and microwaved at the same time.” He continued, “That’s the best way I can describe it.”
And that event dramatically changed his life. He says he felt brand new in every way and has dramatically changed his life, even down to his eating habits. “I literally felt like I was given a brand new body – brand new everything.” He continued, “… But since that’s happened, I don’t have the sensation of hunger, and I don’t get thirsty. So now I’ve got to go out of my way to remind myself to drink water and eat – and I [formerly] was someone that would [eat] six meals a day … for the workouts. And it’s like God came and went, ‘No, you don’t need all those six meals.”
Explaining just how dramatic of an impact that has had on his life, Mr. Shakoour said that the show role was a blessing because of how it let to his finding faith, saying, “My mind is blown by what’s happened. So the show’s been a blessing and I’ve loved acting in it. But it’s definitely been the conduit that I can’t help but talk about.”
Watch him here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video