Joey Vahedi Feels Really 'Lucky' to Play Thomas on 'The Chosen': 'I'm Living the Dream I've Always Wanted'

Joey Vahedi, who plays Thomas in The Chosen, a drama about the life of Jesus Christ and the calling of his initial disciples, is still astounded at how many people tune into TV series, which premiered in 2017, over the years.

The show, which just wrapped Season 5, has only skyrocketed since its premiere. "The thing that's so cool about The Chosen is it's a fan-created show. Season 1 was completely crowdfunded. We raised $14 million completely from donations, and we had no big studio backing us, no huge investors or anything like that," he explains. "And now, here we are seven years later, and it's being distributed globally, it's being translated into 600 different languages, it's on every platform that you can think of. It's pretty wild to see what it is now — and it is because of the fans. They are the backbone of the show — so much so, there are extras in a lot of the episodes we film. In Season 3, we had 12,000 extras over a period of four days, which is wild! Most people would CGI that."

While fans are eagerly awaiting for a new batch of episodes, they can catch up, as Season 4 is available to stream on The CW. Since its premiere, the drama focuses on Jesus Christ, played by Jonathan Roumie, as he spreads his gospel and runs into trouble along the way. Fans have watched miracles — Jesus turning water to wine, walking on water, etc. — and gory scenes — the beheading of John the Baptizer — in the time it has aired.

"In Season 4, there's a lot of trauma that happens, particularly to Thomas, and I would say to a lot of the disciples that really put in a lot of life-threatening situations. Season 5 picks up with the fallout of a lot of that kind of stuff," he shares. "Jesus' message is starting to get a lot more radical, and he's no longer really explaining things to the disciples. He's kind of telling them there's no more time, and because of that, the disciples start to butt heads more. They're very scared and shaken, and it all comes to a head, especially with the Pharisees and the Romans now really after him."

However, the new season will be a "bit lighter," the star says. "Season 3 it starts to get a bit rocky, but Season 4 to me is kind of like Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where things just got pretty dark. It's definitely was heavier, and it really now starts to shift to what is going on with Jesus in relation to his followers who have really given up their entire lives and have no idea what is happening."

Since the show hits on such tough topics, Vahedi tries to not overthink about work when he gets home and unwinds. "I make myself a nice meal and maybe pop on a cartoon or something like that. Sometimes people will use reality TV for that kind of thing, but for me, I watch sports and cartoons," he admits. "I will say the cast and crew are freaking wonderful — to the point where it never feels like you're at work. It always feels like you're joking around and having fun. Sometimes we'll be joking around until a second before they call 'Action' because we're not paying attention! It's such a fun vibe, and everyone is so lovely."

As the show has gotten more and more popular, Vahedi is still in shock over how many people reach out to him on social media or send him letters. "People will tell me how much Thomas' journey has touched them, or how they were dealing with a lot of grief, and because of what I saw, I can relate to this person,'" he shares. "We've touched on some pretty specific and tough things. Season 3 deals with a miscarriage, while Season 4 deals with heavy grief and loss. I think a lot of people see themselves in these characters. They don't see them anymore as these untouchable figures that are above them. The writers have done that so beautifully, and they've given them this humanity to where you can relate to somebody's pain. You see yourself and go, 'That's me.' I feel like that's some of the reason why the show has been so successful."

Thinking ahead, Vahedi is "open" to auditioning for other things. "In an ideal world, I would love to do comedy, like a dark comedy. I have a pretty dark sense of humor," he confesses. "Maybe something with improv. I would love to work on a show like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. I just want to come to work every day and laugh. I also want to try and work in as many different mediums and genres as I can. I'd love to voice a cartoon or an anime. I'd love to be in a video game, I'd love to work on a TV show or movie. It would be cool to dip my toes into as much different stuff as I can."

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