What would it be like to see Jesus, to witness the original Palm Sunday?
Three diocesan women — May Respicio of the Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington, Laura Voyatzis of St. James Church in Falls Church and Judy Best of the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria — had the opportunity to do just that as extras on the set of “The Chosen: The Last Supper” in April 2024.
The first two episodes of the series’ fifth season premiered in U.S. movie theaters March 28, and over the weekend grossed approximately $12 million, landing in the top three titles at the domestic box office. Part 2 of the season premiered April 4, and Part 3 will premiere April 11.
Over the last seven years, “The Chosen” has helped Christians across the world visualize the Gospels in a new light, through Jonathan Roumie’s warm, personable portrayal of Jesus Christ and the series’ in-depth depiction of Jesus’ three-year ministry. “The Chosen: The Last Supper” follows Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the subsequent events leading to the Last Supper and his crucifixion.
The three diocesan extras described their experiences on set at a private viewing of Part 1 of “The Chosen: The Last Supper” at Regal Ballston Quarter in Arlington March 28.
“Every day we were probably on the set 12 to 14 hours a day,” said Respicio. “I was definitely excited to follow ‘Jesus’ in the morning, to be there.”
Respicio, Voyatzis and Best all acted during Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. “Laura and I were standing where they stopped the donkey every single time for seven hours of filming,” Best said. “We had a lot of time up close with a donkey and Jonathan sitting on it.”
The episodes each begin with a segment from the Last Supper before a flashback to earlier events during Passion week. In a dark room at a U-shaped table lit only by 12 candles, Jesus emotionally tells the Twelve Apostles to prepare themselves for a time when he will no longer be with them: “The hour is at hand.”
Jesus’ anticipated suffering lies in tension with the disciples’ confusion throughout the first two episodes. In episode 2, Jesus tells his apostles at the Last Supper that they will flee from him when the moment of his suffering comes. The apostles express confusion and emphatically deny that they would abandon him. Peter (Shahar Isaac) declares he would rather die than abandon Jesus, and Jesus responds, “The cock will not crow before you deny me three times.” (Jn 13:38)
Episode 1 begins with Jesus — riding on a donkey — and his disciples entering Jerusalem to ecstatic jubilation, celebration and worship. Even Judas (Luke Dimyan) stirs up the crowds with resounding “Hosannas.” Crowds lay their cloaks before the procession and wave long palm fronds in the air.
The party doesn’t last for long. As Jesus preaches to a crowd outside the Temple in Jerusalem, he suddenly is emotionally overcome by the suffering that awaits him. He gives a tearful warning to the crowd and glorifies God the Father. Thunder roars above, during which the crowd plainly hears the word “glorify.” The disciples are confused by Jesus’ sudden breakdown, and John (George Xanthis) and Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish) debate the meaning of his warnings.
The episodes also delve into the political dynamics between local authorities Herod, Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate during the festival week before Passover. Caiaphas, intimidated by the crowds that flock to Jesus, requests help from Herod to remove Jesus from Jerusalem during the festival week. Death is not off the table.
Moments of levity punctuate the simmering tensions. Peter attempts to overcome his fear of public speaking by preaching to crowds throughout Jerusalem. As he preaches one of Christ’s parables, Peter trips over his words, becoming increasingly flustered as Andrew mouths speaking prompts to him from the back of the crowd. Later, Jesus wanders about Jerusalem at night, stumbles upon a wedding and joins in the dancing before blessing the newlyweds.
Tensions between Jesus and the Pharisees come to a head after Jesus’ dramatic cleansing of the Temple in episode 2. Jesus witnesses the frantic, greedy exchange between money changers, livestock vendors and festivalgoers on the Temple grounds in episode 1. In the subsequent episode, he enters the Temple courtyard with a leather whip. He confronts a corrupt money changer, overturns the money changing table and uses the whip to flip tables and topple tents, scattering money, scales and vendors. He opens animal stalls, encouraging the goats and lambs to go free. A tent catches fire, adding to the chaos.
Unlike his characterization of Jesus in past episodes, Roumie’s portrayal of Jesus cleansing the Temple displays the fervent, righteous anger of Christ out of love for the Father. As vendors scatter, their tables overturned, cries can be heard of, “Please, my family,” yet, Jesus remains focused in his efforts to restore the sanctity of the Temple’s grounds to honor his Father. Jesus cracks his whip and makes eye contact with Caiaphas and the Pharisees across the courtyard, concluding Part 1.
Respicio, Voyatzis and Best recognized several of their crowd scenes. All three were among those celebrating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. They also milled about the set of the Temple during a nighttime scene where Jesus observes the Temple’s corrupt marketplace.
“Palm Sunday will never be the same for me again,” Respicio said. “In another scene at the marketplace, we were instructed to closely follow Jesus and the Twelve Apostles, which was challenging as we weaved in and out of a bustling crowd.”
Voyatzis had an active role during the Palm Sunday scene. “I was able to be one of the people who laid clothing on the dirt road in front of Jesus as he approached and also was able to follow Jesus and the apostles into the city,” Voyatzis said.
The women said their roles as extras were all volunteer, and they paid for their travel expenses. Each day they woke up at 5 a.m. to get to the set. “Season 5 was filmed in Goshen, Utah, and Midlothian, Texas. We were on the set for three days in Goshen,” Respicio said. “For the crowd scenes in season 5, there were 600 extras on the set everyday.”
Respicio said she made her own costumes, with a little help from her family. “My sister helped me sew the Roman dress, and my cousin helped me assemble the details for the Nabatean and Samaritan woman costumes,” she said. The project was time consuming, “but I received a lot of compliments on all three outfits.”
In between scenes, extras would congregate under a huge tent, nicknamed by the filmers as “The Tent of Meeting,” a reference to the Old Testament.
The women had the opportunity to meet Dallas Jenkins, director of the series. While they didn’t get to personally speak with many actors, they said that the actors’ faith was palpable both on and off camera.
“I saw Jonathan Roumie praying and emotional right before he physically entered ‘Jerusalem.’ The cast was also very emotional when we were singing and chanting ‘Hosanna,’ ” Voyatzis said.
For the three extras, participating in “The Chosen” has helped them visualize sacred Scripture in a real way.
“I can’t tell you how this experience impacted my understanding of the Gospels,” Best said. “I can tell you that participating in the growth of this series has reinforced the need to keep my faith in the center of my life.”
“I went back to the ‘first century’ and got a glimpse of what it would feel like to walk with Jesus and his disciples,” Respicio said. “However, nothing compares to encountering Jesus in the holy Eucharist where he is wholly present in body, blood, soul and divinity.”
