Aussie Actor George Xanthis Surprised by the Success of ‘The Chosen’

The multi-season series about the life of Christ has become the world’s biggest ever crowd funded media project, surprising even the cast and crew.

Australian actor George Xanthis (Open Slather, Syd2030) has been starring as John in ‘The Chosen’, and told 96five’s Ken and Nicky that he was hooked on the project from the very beginning.

“When I read that first script, we all knew what it could be, but we never expected the success.  It sounds disrespectful to say we never thought it would get to this stage, but we are surprised.”

Originally auditioning for the role of Simon, George found himself reading for a number of roles before being hand picked for the part of John by creators Dallas and Amanda Jenkins.

“I’d go in and read and then I’d get told they want to see me for the role of Quintus.  So then I’d go back and read for Quintus before Amanda simply said ‘he is John’ so thank you Amanda!”

With two seasons of ‘The Chosen’ under his belt, the Sydney based actor said that the crowd funded production almost folded when COVID hit early last year.

“We thought the show might be done, everyone was doing it tough but it was miraculous really.  Dallas Jenkins said that the idea of the show isn’t to make money but to get a message out there.

“He decided to make ‘The Chosen’ app free so that people can watch the whole two seasons for free, and that’s only because so many people have donated and paid it forward.”

You can watch ‘The Chosen’ via the app for iPhone or Android, or if you prefer a hardcopy you can purchase Season 1 on DVD from Koorong.

Listen to the full interview with Ken & Nicky in the audio player above.