Actor Reza Diako was a big fan of the popular Christian series “The Chosen” for the first three seasons. But when season four began shooting, he didn’t need to wait for it to air.
Why? Because he’d been cast on the show.
Diako is the “new” disciple Philip, getting the part when the original actor in the role departed. As it turns out, he’d been hoping for years to be part of the production.
“I was drawn to the show for its kind of uniqueness,” Diako told The Epoch Times. “I was looking for a chance to get in and suddenly realized in season four they were casting. I didn’t know it was going to be for Philip. I did some readings and met director Dallas Jenkins and tried to bring something different than as a fan of the show.”
Talk about prayers being answered in a big way.
Joining the Team
The stars definitely aligned when Diako was cast as Philip, since he finds similarities between his own experiences and Philip’s. “[He] was one of the characters I resonated most with from watching,” he said, describing Philip as a “nomad” who “went to the wilderness and is a little bit comfortable in unknown territories. It resonates with the fact that I’ve been to 10 schools, four countries, four different universities, different structures, different programs.”
Diako’s unique background included time in a Christian school, a Jewish school, and a school in Iran. Diako also had an absentee father. “So there were a lot of parallels that were kind of interesting to be able to draw from, both personally and just thematically,” he said.
Director Dallas Jenkins made Diako feel like part of the team immediately. He asked him not to copy the actor who previously played Philip, telling him, “Don’t worry about replicating; make it your own.”
A Learning Experience
Once Diako got the role, it was time to combine his acting skills with some research, especially since he was replacing another actor. “I was utilizing my craft from drama school to kind of obsessively watch videos of the way that the previous Philip was portrayed. Not with the intention of copying, of course.” He says his portrayal is more of a “co-creation,” as he strove for continuity. He studied the previous actor’s mannerisms and style, saying, “I usually try to find differences between me and the character and quickly close the gap.”Meanwhile, there was more preparation for the role, as he wanted to know more about the real Philip. He read the entire Bible and researched the disciple.
Since the show is shot in Utah and Texas, Diako got a quick introduction to heat in the middle of nowhere. “I’m Philip. I need to be used to the wilderness,” he said. “So I didn’t do the sunscreens and the umbrellas and everything. Very soon I was nearly panting.”
Diako’s Passions
Diako, who splits his time between London and New York, is single. “I’m very much open to finding the right person, which is difficult in the modern day,” he said.He’s very passionate about mental health, as he has degrees in psychology. “I want to be an advocate and to hopefully set up a support system or a therapy center for young people where they feel it’s much more accessible to get help,” he said, expressing a desire to “tackle that at an individual level.”
He’s also playing a supporting role in a film called “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” It’s based on a true story of a professor who goes to Iran during the revolution and hopes that things are going to get better, even creating a book club that includes classic Western literature.
Meanwhile, he’s looking forward to more work on “The Chosen,” which will eventually run seven seasons. While the series tells a serious story, the production also deals with unexpected events that aren’t in the script, which lightens up the mood for the entire crew.
“There’s a lot of unpredictability,” he explained. “In the middle of a scene [where] Jesus is about to cry or say something profound, a donkey in the corner is urinating, or a cat starts walking through the scene. And it’s three in the morning. So that’s really funny.”
When told that many fans prefer to binge-watch an entire season, Diako isn’t surprised, saying: “Yeah, that’s one of their slogans: ‘I binge Jesus.’ So you’re doing the right thing.”
