Photo courtesy of Lori Smith.
Lori Smith on the set of “The Chosen” in June.
Lori Smith said she’s pretty good at ignoring Facebook ads, but about four years ago, one caught her eye.
It was a pilot episode of a show about the life of Jesus Christ, and it was different from anything she had ever seen before.
“It had a way of putting you right there and was so captivating, you just felt connected so deeply. I was so moved by it that I thought, ‘Whatever it is, I want to be a part of it,’” Smith said.
She had no idea that her interaction with that ad would lead to a day in June 2022 when she found herself sitting in a field in Midlothian, Texas, as an extra for “The Chosen,” a show that’s been watched by tens of millions of people in 90 languages, according to its website.
“It’s a multi-season series about the life of Christ but told through the eyes of his apostles and the people Jesus had an impact on,” Smith said.
The upcoming third season shares the story of when Jesus fed a crowd of 5,000 people who had come to hear him teach and were there long enough that they began to get hungry.
The production of “The Chosen” is entirely crowd-funded, and as Smith was one of the original investors from the ad, she was offered the opportunity to be in the crowd.
She jumped at the chance. On the day they filmed, she was among a crowd of people from all 50 U.S. states and 109 countries. A friend had sewn Smith’s costume for her, a green tunic with a blue headpiece.
“I was lucky enough to get up close to the very front to see what was going on,” she said. Because of that, she got to hear director Dallas Jenkins and actor Jonathan Roumie, who plays Jesus, pray before they filmed, then got to be nearby when he and others delivered their lines.
It was a hot day, so Smith and the other extras had been encouraged to bring fans and umbrellas with them to use in between takes.
“They were so good, hydrating everybody — there were so many drinks and tents,” Smith said.
Where a previous group who had filmed Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the winter had jokingly called themselves the frozen chosen, Smith said they joked that “we were the roasted chosen, or feeding the fried thousand.”
It was a special experience for Smith, who had been connected with “The Chosen” since its beginnings.
“It’s up there with getting married and having kids — definitely one of those more meaningful experiences of my life,” she said.
Her church, St. Luke’s Episcopal in Mountain Brook, has a group that has been watching each episode together and discussing the accompanying Bible study produced by the makers of the show.
“‘The Chosen’ connects to people of all ages and walks of life,” Smith said. “You connect with it on such a deep level, and it’s amazing to watch other people’s reactions when they start to see who Jesus is and how he really does love us.”
To learn more about “The Chosen,” visit watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen.
