Actor And Producer Of 'The Chosen' Join LeAnne Taylor To Discuss New Season

Season four of the Christian drama series "The Chosen" is in theaters now before it will go to streaming.

Actor Jordan Walker Ross who plays Little James and Producer Chad Gundersen join LeAnne Taylor to share more about the show.

LEANNE: Jordan your character is just precious people may not know, but in real life, you have cerebral palsy and scoliosis. And that has actually been shown in your character. Tell us about that.

JORDAN: Yeah, I mean, whenever I booked the role, it wasn't originally written as a character with any sort of disability. But once I got the part, and it became apparent that my limp was, you know, noticeable on camera, Dallas, and our writers kind of determined that it was an opportunity to add layers to the character and it needed to be addressed anyway, you know, the fact that one of the 12 apostles that was following Jesus wasn't healed, at least in the context of the chosen. So yeah, that Dallas brought it to me and said, hey, we'd love to make this part of your character, which was terrifying to me at first, because I had always, that had been the thing, I felt like I needed to hide and cover up as an actor, because it was detrimental to my career up to that point. But I'm so glad that they added that to the character because it helped me kind of shed some of those insecurities that I had in myself. And for the first time ever I was able to just focus on the character and not limping. So yeah, it's just been the biggest blessing that I could have imagined. I

LEANNE: Last season there was a scene where the disciples are going out to preach and to heal, and you pull Jesus aside to talk to him about your own personal healing. Watching your expressions in that scene is so amazing, Jordan, what did that scene mean to you?

JORDAN: It was incredibly cathartic. You know, those were questions in our questions that I have, and still do struggle with at times. You know, getting to act that out was the closest to real life I've ever experienced, you know, working in a scene for a show, because I related to everything little James was saying, so close to home. But the big impact for me was after the scene was released, just the flood of comments and messages and emails and letters that I've gotten from fans of the show who are also members of the disabled community. And in the same way, that scene kind of, is Jesus explaining to little James that he does belong in this group and that he does have a place. Having that flood of messages and support from people who are in this amazing community showed me that I also do have a place and I do belong. And it's it was just, you know, that scene in particular the whole show, but that scene in particular truly did change my life.

LEANNE: Chad, Season Four is in theaters, I just thought myself, you guys are revealing these as opposed to streaming them. They're in the theaters, at least for now. What's the thought process behind that?

CHAD: Well, what TV show goes into movie theaters?

LEANNE: Right?

CHAD: I mean, but it just continues to go with the trend of one of the sayings that we have on our show is "get used to different" and that's just something that we've continued to do and with the show, and what God's done with the show and the amazing people behind the show. But you know, from Dallas, all the way down is amazing and what we've just really found with our audience is what better place to experience something like this than with the crowd. Starting all the way back in COVID is when we first did our first theatrical and we just realized that what a great way to bring the community back together to give people hope. And so this season will be the first season season four will be the first season that we put every episode in theaters and it's been a ride. It's a very unique process because Again, you just don't put TV shows in theaters. And so, you know, the first three episodes, were the first couple of weeks of February. The second three episodes will be in the second two weeks of February. And then we'll wrap things up with episodes seven and eight, at the beginning of March. So we're excited for everybody to experience it. And the reception already has been just really, really unbelievable.

LEANNE: It's gonna be remarkable. I was so honored to get to watch it yesterday. It is, you know, it's kind of like binging shows. And I think now, even though it's it sounds long, three hours and 27 minutes or whatever, there is a quick break in there so that people can get up, stretch their legs, run to the restroom, and get back. We have kind of become that part of our culture. I want to watch something. I'm into it. I'm going to stay with it till the very end. And so I do highly recommend season four in theaters now with more to follow. And I look forward to eventually streaming on our platforms. Thank you, guys, so much for taking the time to be with us, Jordan, it's really an honor. Please extend our appreciation to the cast and crew for doing a show like this. That's just remarkable and Chad for your involvement and continuing to produce faith-based movies and programming that we can all enjoy.