August 27, 2021

Dear Actor Who Plays Judas in The Chosen,

Thank you for your incredible acting, and the gift you bring to so many people watching you bring to life the best story ever told.

I do not know if you are Catholic, or if you believe in Saints, but I feel compelled to write and warn you about the spiritual warfare you will experience as you move forward with this role. Judas is the only one of the disciples who is not a saint. While other actors on set, and those in production, will experience their own kinds of temptation, attack, and difficulty, they are not method acting in the role of the disciple who betrayed God.

Method acting is a great gift for viewers, but comes with its own set of difficulties, for you are compelled to not only portray the character, but enter into their inmost thoughts and feelings, in order to bring them into a true life-like aspect on camera. This has been difficult for actors in the past, as I am sure you know.

When temptations arise, other actors can invoke their patrons and namesakes, - Peter, John, even Christ himself - but you cannot pray to yours. Instead, it comes to my mind that your two greatest intercessors in Heaven are St. Jude, the patron saint of the impossible, who shared a name with your character, and St. Matthias, who replaced Judas as one of the Twelve in Acts. When you experience mental or physical distress invoke their aid, that they may keep you from ever betraying your Lord, even in the smallest misstep, and they will be swift to your rescue.

Again, thank you for your willingness and dedication to this role. Your acting is incredible, and I appreciate how Judas was brought into the story. He is wide-eyed, eager to see what will happen next, and potentially too easily misled, with too little of a solid foundation in morality. I am eager to see Season 3, and how his character progresses.

God bless you,

Elizabeth