Director of The Chosen Speaks on Matthew West’s Podcast
We’ve mentioned before how popular the hit series The Chosen is, but we received some special insight from the writer and creator of the multi-season show, Dallas Jenkins! He had the opportunity to speak with Matthew West on The Matthew West Podcast, and we’re sharing some of our favorite highlights below!
When Matthew West asked about growing up with a father and storyteller like Jerry Jenkins, best known for cowriting the Left Behind book series, here is what Dallas said:
It was in high school…when my dad sat me down and kind of started introducing me to films. And then I saw this movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the Jack Nicholson movie back in the 70s, and that changed everything. …There’s this amazing scene where Jack Nicholson… he’s denied the opportunity to watch The World Series at this mental institution because it goes off the schedule. And so, he’s so upset about it that he goes to the t.v. and starts broadcasting his own made up version of the game, and all the other inmates start walking over and cheering and celebrating what he’s doing. And I was just soaring! I was completely taken away. And I thought, ‘Whatever that is… I want to do that!’ Not only was I motivated just by the desire to just come up with something that impactful, but I remember thinking that young, ‘There’s so little in the Christian space that is this good.’ …If I could somehow rouse an audience with the same reaction this is doing for me, but from a faith perspective and actually have good news beyond just emotional victory, that could really be impactful.
It’s crazy to think that Dallas Jenkins, who is wildly successful and respected, discovered his passion for storytelling and Christian film in high school! If you’ve listened to The Matthew West Podcast before, you’ll remember that he always asks about his guest’s “blue couch moment,” or the moment when they really began to follow Jesus. Here was Dallas Jenkins’ response:
I was at a youth conference and there was this speaker, his name was Bob Laurent… He just really challenged us to just get serious and asked a question that I think is, whenever this question is asked, it just pierces people: ‘What is that thing that’s holding you back from a full embrace, a full surrender?’ I remember thinking that I wasn’t truly surrendered and I was still kind of controlling my life. And a kid, who I thought was kind of the cool, hipster kid… he kneeled down in front of me [in response]. And I was like, ‘That kid? The skeptical kid? The one who’s, like, too cool?’ And I just, like, dropped. It was just a complete moment that I was not in control of my knees, and I just dropped down, sobbing.
It’s always so fascinating to hear about those moments from artists or from big names in the Christian industry because it helps us understand how they came to be where they are now. We don’t want to give too much more away because it’s an incredible interview!
Use the Spotify link below to listen to the rest of Dallas Jenkins’ story and how he came to write The Chosen on The Matthew West Podcast!
Let us know your favorite moments from the podcast below!
