Actor Nick Shakoour, who plays Zebedee on the hit show “The Chosen,” recently detailed an encounter with the Holy Spirit at the end of season three that took him from believing in God to understanding that Jesus is real.
Shakoour, who plays an older fisherman who is the father of two of Jesus’ disciples, John and James, shared his experience with The Christian Post during a set visit. He said, “I did not think I had a shot in a million years to play a 50-year-old fisherman in Capernaum. From there, it just was a journey of ‘I don’t know what this is going to be about.’ But I knew it felt good coming here.” He continued, “At the time, I called it the vibe. In hindsight, it was the Holy Spirit definitely guiding us throughout this whole process because there’s no way that all of this would have happened if it wasn’t for God.”
“The Chosen,” created by Dallas Jenkins, has grown into a global phenomenon, streamed by more than 500 million people worldwide. Season four of the series is currently underway, and a recent partnership with Lionsgate is expanding the show’s reach. Shakoour shared that before “The Chosen,” he’d never felt led to act in a faith-based production.
He shared, “How many faith-based projects are out there? There’s a lot, and I’ve never been interested in being a part of any of them or let alone acting in them or watching them. This has just been mind-blowing. Zebedee has become my favorite on-camera character to play. It’s so fun getting to be him.” Taking on the role of Zebedee has changed how Shakoour sees his faith in Jesus, with him declaring, “I don’t even just believe in Him anymore. I know Him!”
Shakoour explained, “I was invited to a church conference when I was here last September during season three, a few days before I flew back to California. I had people lay their hands over me, and it was at a point in time when I realized I wasn’t exactly happy even though I was on a successful show and something was missing. I called out to God that day in a desperate way wanting to meet Him.”
Shakoour described a supernatural encounter with the Holy Spirit that changed him, saying, “I ended up at this conference, and the next thing I knew, my organs felt like they were being burned away. [It felt like] I was being vibrated and microwaved at the same time. And from the outside in, He just overtook me, and I fully came to understand who He is.”
He continued, “Since then, it’s been one encounter after the next, one relationship after the next. The reason I say I don’t believe in Him anymore is because I know Him now.” The Hollywood actor believes “The Chosen” was what God used to bring him to that closeness in relationship with Him.
“I don’t have to try and believe in Him anymore like I used to. I used to always believe in God and Jesus, but it’s been amazing,” Shakoour said. “This show has been a conduit, I believe, to get me here for this specific encounter I had, which I never thought.”