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Yohos share their ‘Chosen’ experience with First Friday Club of Greater Akron

News of the Diocese

December 15, 2022

Yohos share their ‘Chosen’ experience with First Friday Club of Greater Akron

“We need bigger buckets for all of God’s blessings,” said Deacon Will Yoho while sharing the experiences he and his wife Liz had as extras on the set of the biblical drama series “The Chosen.”

The couple spoke at the December meeting of the First Friday Club of Greater Akron in the costumes Liz Yoho made for the show.

The show began its third season last month. It can be viewed on The Chosen app or on streaming services like Amazon.

The Yohos’ experiences are featured as the cover story in the November/December issue of Northeast Ohio Catholic magazine.

Married for 35 years, the Cuyahoga Falls couple has seven children – five adopted – and six grandchildren. They are parishioners at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Cuyahoga Falls, where Deacon Yoho ministers. Both love “The Chosen” and when they learned of an opportunity to participate as extras in the filming of scenes for the feeding of the multitudes, the deacon suggested they should do it.

Liz Yoho started figuring a way to make it happen. She surprised her husband with a pair of sandals last Christmas. He was puzzled until she directed him to look underneath, where he saw a pattern for the costumes she would sew for them.

“Best Christmas ever,” he told her excitedly. He started growing his beard – of which his wife isn’t fond -- on Christmas.

“You had to donate to the show (which is completely crowd-funded), make your own plane reservations to Texas, book a hotel room, make your own costumes and follow the rules,” she said. Show officials were adamant that everything be as authentic as possible to represent Jesus’ time on earth. That meant no glasses, dyed hair, jewelry, nail polish, watches, buckles, etc.,” Liz Yoho said. “I wouldn’t be allowed on set today,” she noted, since she was wearing jewelry, her glasses and nail polish.

Yohos share their ‘Chosen’ experience with First Friday Club of Greater Akron

To help prepare for the experience, she joined a Facebook group for paid extras on the show, where they picked up some valuable tips and made new friends.

Since COVID-19 was still an issue, the extras were required to have a negative COVID test before they could head to the filming area. The days were long and hot, beginning about 5:30 a.m. The group traveled to the local high school in Midlothian, Texas near where the filming took place and took COVID tests before boarding buses to take them to the filming location.

“We were treated like movie stars,” Deacon Yoho said, noting the director greeted all of the approximately 9,000 extras who came for the two-day filming.

Since they were required to stay in the vicinity during filming, arrangements were made for cooling tents, water, games entertainment, etc.

“We met people from all over the world and talked about so many things. Everyone loved Jesus and wanted to know if my beard was real,” the deacon quipped. “It was like a slice of heaven to be surrounded by 5,000 brothers and sisters of Christ who were on fire with his love.”

The Yohos were impressed with Jonathan Roumie, a devout Catholic who plays the role of Jesus. “He is very respectful of the role,” Liz Yoho said.

They also credited Dallas Jenkins, the director, for his vision and adherence to biblical and period authenticity.

“It was a spiritual experience. It was so cool to live it,” Deacon Yoho said.

Liz Yoho noted how the series fills in the story, explaining that Matthew the tax collector had Asperger Syndrome, which is a neurological condition on the autism spectrum. People with this condition may be socially awkward and very detail oriented. “It was perfect for Matthew,” the deacon said.

In another instance, Liz Yoho said the Bible mentions that Peter is married but never talks about his wife. In “The Chosen,” her character is named Eden and they fill in the gaps in her story.

When it came time to leave, Deacon Yoho said everyone wanted to talk about their experiences. “We didn’t want to leave our ‘Chosen’ bubble.”

He said there were testimonials from many people whose lives were changed or impacted by the show and its characters. The deacon said he’s heard of people hosting parties to watch the show. Some friends of ours have Muslim neighbors who come over to watch it with them.”

The Yohos said they would do it all again if they had the opportunity.

“It was such a blessing. We’re blessed to have been ‘chosen’ for the experience,” he added.

As for his beard, its days are numbered. He promised his wife it would be gone by midnight on New Year’s Eve.

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