Adventurer Bear Grylls already was a fan of The Chosen when he was offered a role on a brand-new unscripted series with the studio behind the hit show. He didn't have to be persuaded to say "yes."
"I'm proud to be here," he said Friday during the unveiling of the new unscripted series, The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls, which features the Man vs. Wild star taking the cast and crew of The Chosen into the wild. It will feature Paras Patel (Matthew), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Luke Dimyan (Judas), and Chosen director Dallas Jenkins.
Being in the wild gets "people outside of their comfort zone," Grylls said Friday at ChosenCon in Orlando.
"I always feel the real star of it all, to be honest, is the wild," he told fans. "The wild does my job for me. It opens people up. There's a vulnerability and a connection with people when you adventure with them for a day or so that you're never going to get on a stage, or on a red carpet, or on a chat show where it's a performance.
"You face a few fears together. You come through difficult times. You talk about the struggles. ... What was it like at the beginning? Did you ever think this sort of thing would be happening? You know, how's your family been on that journey? All the stuff that all of us really want to know, with the characters and the stars that we know and love," he said. "... You're going to love these episodes and the insights to these beautiful human beings who are part of the cast. …We're going to have fun."
A Christian, Grylls previously released a devotional, Soul Fuel, and a biography, Mud, Sweat, and Tears, where he discussed his faith.
"I think the only thing I was ever any good at in my life when I was a little kid was jumping off stuff and climbing up stuff -- always getting muddy," he said, laughing. "... I'm so grateful to the Almighty to have a job that I love. It's never felt like a job. It led me to the highest mountain in the world, to Everest, eventually through the military, through the British Special Forces, and then eventually on to Man V. Wild and the Running Wild-type shows where we take these superstars away."
The Chosen is a "worldwide phenomenon for good," he said.
"He loves Jesus, and he loves The Chosen," Chosen director Dallas Jenkins said.
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Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.