01x04 - Noah James

[bunniefuu]

-[dramatic music playing]
-[eagle squawks]

I'm Bear Grylls.

-Expeditions and adventure are my life.
-Let's go!

And my faith in Christ
has been a guiding light

throughout it all.

My job has led me to take
some of the world's greatest icons

on adventures into the wild,

from presidents to Hollywood sensations.

The TV phenomenon The Chosen

is in many ways a story

of the greatest adventure of all time.

…on Earth, as it is in heaven.

[Bear] What better way to get to know
the incredible people

behind this Bible story
than bring them out here

into this great wilderness
for an expedition of their own?

Welcome to The Chosen in the Wild.

[dramatic music playing]

[helicopter blades whirring]

{\an8}[dramatic music playing]

Below me is the mighty Colorado River.

And it may look calm,
but it's the power of the water

that has carved these huge canyons.

I'm on my way to pick up Noah James,

who plays Andrew
in the hit TV show, The Chosen.

All great adventures require
a leap of faith,

and this journey is going to be
full of them.

Noah, I hope you're primed and ready.

[dramatic music swells]

[playful music playing]

I am currently in the Colorado River

to begin an adventure with Bear Grylls,
which is a crazy thing to say.

I used to watch Bear as a kid.

I think at one point he wrapped… [laughs]

…a cloth around

elephant droppings,

or some sort of camel testicle
was involved at some point,

and drank the juices out of it
to survive in the desert.

I was like, "This dude is real."

I don't quite understand
how someone is like that.

Me?

I like to make sure I have
my oat milk latte in the morning.

[Bear] Noah James is one of the stars

of the global TV sensation The Chosen.

Seek first the kingdom of God
and his righteousness.

[Bear] With the slogan "Binge Jesus,"

The Chosen is a historical drama

about the life of Jesus Christ,

and it has reached a modern audience
like nothing else of its kind.

The very fact that he's the Messiah
means there's going to be trouble.

You get it?

Maybe even a w*r.

Noah plays Andrew,
one of the 12 disciples.

Alongside his brother Simon Peter,

he was a fisherman
and an apostle of John the Baptist

before he joined Jesus on his mission

to spread the word of God.

I'm noticing…

fishing line?

[Noah] My character Andrew
begins his journey with Jesus

on a boat in a lot of ways,

so it does make sense
that I would begin here,

even if I feel
slightly uncomfortable in the water.

Look at this. Doesn't this seem…

natural, like I know what I'm doing?

[whispers] I don't.

With The Chosen, there is a script.

Tells me what to do.

They make it look good.

This is a little more real.

[helicopter blades whirring]

Head to the beach.

I need to get Noah to move to a beach
so we can get the chopper in.

[dramatic music playing]

Whoo!

-Hey!
-Hey, Noah.

-Are you all right?
-Yeah, you?

[Noah laughs]

[Bear] Cover your eyes.

Stand on the skid.

Whoo!

Whoa! [laughs] Okay!

Whoa! [laughs]

Welcome to Chosen In The Wild.

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, so the helicopter can't land.

We can use this rope,
a technique the Navy SEALs use.

-You've gotta keep good grip of it.
-Yeah.

-Never let go.
-Okay.

All right? Just watch me first.

[Noah] We're in it now, baby!

Oh, man!

What is happening?

-All right…
-What? [laughs]

Oh…

[Noah] What? Why?

-[Bear] Why? [laughs]
-Why?

-Well, see you later.
-Okay. [laughs]

-That's the chopper outta here.
-[Noah sighs]

And, look, you see the Colorado beyond.

That's where I picked you up--
around that bend.

[Noah] Did you? I blacked out, I think.

[laughs] Not quite sure I'm here even now.

So, was that your first time in a chopper?

Yes. First time hanging
outside of a chopper.

Yeah. Actually, technically you haven't
yet been in a chopper…

-Somewhat in the chopper.
-[chuckles]

[Noah] It felt like
a typhoon of rocks and sand.

Uh, I will have to shampoo my curls

an extra three times tonight
to get that out.

Um, it was just wild.

[Bear] So, where we're going's
probably about three or four miles

as the crow flies,

but as you can see,
it's all these series of, like, ravines.

Take it step by step, we'll be fine.

Let's do it.
After that, I'm ready for whatever.

-Okay.
-Maybe.

[Bear] The chopper has dropped us off
on the east bank of the Colorado River,

in an area that locals refer to
as Middle Earth.

Our extraction point is
on the other side of a huge canyon.

To get there before sunset,

we must maneuver
all the way down to the canyon floor

through a maze of steep ravines

before heading back up on the other side.

Our only resources are
a limited amount of rope,

some water, and Noah's empty fishing net.

This should be fun.
It is hot, though, today.

Uh, no wind, in the desert.

This is gonna be
a challenging journey, I can feel it.

[suspenseful music playing]

Do you do a lot of adventure stuff
in your regular life, in your normal life?

[Noah] Not really, no.

I'm like, uh, you know…
I don't even really go camping.

-Yeah.
-I'm a city dude.

-So where were you brought up?
-In Arizona.

-Yeah.
-Which is not too dissimilar.

I mean, it doesn't look
as gorgeous as this,

but, um, yeah, part of the desert.

And then as soon as
I turned 18, really, I just… I left,

went to New York, then LA.

So that's definitely more my…

-Yeah.
-…my speed.

What was your upbringing like?
What were you like?

I was like the kid that at three years old

would go up to, like,
random people at a park

-and dance Michael Jackson for them.
-Really?

And then I found theater
when I was in high school,

-freshman in high school…
-Yeah.

…and just fell in love with it.

I just knew. By two years in, I was like,
this is what I'm gonna do with my life.

The hard thing is for people figuring out
what they really love and want to do.

-Totally.
-Good for you.

And I always think, like,
if you have that little inkling in you,

some voice that's saying,
"I really wish that I would

give myself the opportunity
to do that thing," or…

You're always interested in it.
It's like, you have to.

You have to pursue that.

That's how you find, you know,

an answer to what
we're doing here sometimes.

[Bear] Creativity is like that,
I think, isn't it?

If you know what you really love,
you can't help yourself.

One hundred percent. Yeah.

I mean, that's why even now, it's funny--

When I'm in between seasons,

I'll just be in my office
till 4:00 in the morning making music.

[dance music playing]

And you can do the Michael Jackson dance.

Probably not as good
as when I was three years old.

I probably have lessened
my skills with that.

Well, I can promise you one thing:
It's gonna be better than mine.

-Oh, well… maybe.
-Yeah.

"Three left feet."
That's what my wife said.

Not just two, three.

[Noah chuckles]

[suspenseful music playing]

Okay, Noah,
just take our time down this stuff.

Just get the feel of the rock.
Find your balance on it.

[Noah] Yeah.

Yeah, 'cause you get to the edge there,

you can see that's gonna be a big drop.

Yeah. Don't want that.

But it's pretty cool, isn't it?

All of this is formed by…
by wind and rain.

This is water carved, really,
over millions of years.

-Pretty cool.
-Oh, yeah.

A lot of this is lichen.
Do you know lichen?

Uh, like in the sea?

All of the green bits.

It's real survival food, this stuff.

They reckon that the Israelites
originally, like manna bread,

was actually lichen.

-Mmm.
-You could eat this.

This is survival stuff.

Yeah, looks great. [chuckles]

[gentle music playing]

Prickly pear.

This, we can eat.

I mean, lichen, you could survive off,

but it's not gonna fire you
for very long, that stuff.

-But prickly pear is good.
-Really?

Yeah. This is one of the desert good guys.

I'm from Arizona.
I've never done this in my life. [laughs]

Well, you want to…

They guard themselves pretty well
with all of these spikes,

but if you cook it up,

burn some spikes off,
and you get the flesh on the inside.

That's good food. Yeah.

-Oh.
-We'll take that.

Maybe just rub some of
the worst of the spikes off.

Here we go. Look, that's, uh…
That's the spikes off.

It's got loads of little hairs.

That's why you don't wanna be
having it raw, really.

The whole point of cooking it
is just to burn--

-See that tiny, little one?
-Oh, yeah.

Then that's fine.
Okay, we'll put it in the backpack.

We'll have that later.

[chuckles]

[backpack zipping]

We'll go around here.
Just watch your footing.

We'll maybe get a little… little higher.

Feel your way. Take your time.

[Noah] Okay.

Keep contouring around.

[wind whistling]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] Okay, yeah. Look,
see the cliffs all the way around here?

We're looking for a way down this.

We use this rope,

the extra rope,

try and figure out a way to secure it,

and then we'll go down,
have a look over the edge.

Yeah.

Okay. Uncoil that. You uncoil that.
I'll get the other one out.

-Okay.
-Okay.

Cliff looks, uh, definitely like a cliff.

I don't quite understand
how we're doing this.

But you know what? I'm just gonna…

I'm just gonna keep uncoiling
and just find where I… [chuckles] …land.

[Bear] Have you got that… that net?

Yes. The fishing…

Okay. So we're not gonna be
fishing up here,

but we maybe can use this to…

create a weight

to tie the rope to to go over the edge.

'Cause as you can see,
there are no trees here.

Well, there's that,

but I'm not entirely inspired
by the strength of that.

[Noah] Neither am I.

So we'll use this.

We need some rocks, little rocks.

-Oh, oh, I see what you're saying.
-Here we go. Let's use some of these.

[Noah] We're, like, above a canyon.
I mean, we are high.

Bear has an idea.

He says that this--
this rope, the fishing net

that I was just playing with earlier,

we could actually use that to
counterbalance ourselves down the cliff.

Okay. Rocks into the middle.

[playful music playing]

Okay, put that through there.

[Bear] So we're using Noah's
fishing net that he's got.

Had kind of given him that in case
we get down to the river to try and fish,

but we can repurpose a fishing net

as an anchor for our rope.

What can possibly go wrong?

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, let's put our weight on that.
Give it a pull.

Keep low, 'cause it's gonna be low,
and there's more friction.

-Yeah?
-Yeah. That's not going anywhere.

-Okay.
-I mean, I know it looks precarious,

'cause you've got, like, just a few rocks,

but, yeah, that's what we're gonna use.

Okay, throw that over the edge. Big throw.

[dramatic music playing]

So just trust it, lean back.
You've got a nice, wide stance.

-And then…
-Cool.

-Okay, great.
-Feel good.

Okay. And all I would say is,
anticipate it will be quite a big drop.

-You see it's a long way.
-Yeah.

Might be a little scary
when we first get to the edge.

Okay, so still at this angle
for another 20 meters.

Another 20 yards,
and then it drops off, okay?

So use this chance to practice.
Nice, wide stance.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] Okay,
so this is gonna be the scary point.

Once we get him over the edge here,

that is sheer all the way down.

Yeah, that's officially gonna be time

for a bit of a squirt of courage.

Noah, you've got this, all right?

Okay. Head on down.

[dramatic music swells]

[Bear] Wow. That is longer than it looks.

Just enough rope. Look.

But that will get him down.

The scary bit for Noah
is gonna be going over the edge.

That is kind of a point
where you look down,

and it's, like, total commitment. [laughs]

Okay. Now to give him a holler
and tell him he's good to go.

Okay, Noah!

You're good!

[exhales sharply] What in the world?

Okay.

Okay.

Yep. Let's go. [sighs]

[suspenseful music playing]

[sighs] Oh, okay.

[exhales sharply]

-[Bear] Great job, Noah.
-Oh, wow.

[Bear] You got it!

Ooh.

-Okay.
-Looking good, Noah!

[chuckles]

[exhales sharply]

Oh…

Oh, man. Okay.

I've barely gone anywhere.

[exhales sharply]

[Bear] There he is.

[dramatic music playing]

Oh, yeah, Noah. Come on.

Legendary.

All good. All good.

How long is this mountain?

Great job, Noah.

Smashing it.

-You feeling good?
-Yeah! Yeah.

Whoo!

Oh, good job going over that edge. Wow.

[groans] Oh, I'm surprised
I didn't just vomit all over myself.

-Okay.
-[Bear] Really?

-Yeah.
-You all right?

-[Noah] Good. [groans]
-[chuckles]

-[Noah] Dude…
-Dude.

No joke.

-Like, the mountain just wouldn't end!
-[chuckles] No joke.

[Bear chuckles]

Whoo! Oh, man.

We probably had about
ten foot of rope left at the bottom,

which gives you an idea of how long it is.

But it's scary going over.

Good job, good job.
You know, you can't kind of

prepare for that, really.

-Wow.
-[Bear chuckles]

Just going over the edge,

I was like, I can't really see the bottom.

-Like, I can't like, you know…
-Yeah.

And so I just kept going. I'm like…

I'm just still here!

I'm still goin' down!

There's a power to being all in,
always moving forward,

feeling that fear,
but finding a way through it.

And that's what Noah did. Proud of him.

You know, he's uh, he's done well on that.

-Well done. Well done, you.
-Wow.

-Thanks.
-Smashed it.

You know, that is not a rookie cliff.

That is full on.

I do a lot of this stuff,

but I went over that and saw it
and went, "Ooh."

I'm still, uh, catching my breath.
I feel like…

Whew!

It was honestly, uh, really scary.

That was, like, no joke.

And the feeling of being on
the side of the cliff…

[exhales sharply]

I don't know. That one's gonna
stay with me for a long time.

[gentle music playing]

Oh, look at this. Oh, the smell as well.

Oh, that is nice.

Bit of shade.

-Shall we take two minutes here?
-Yeah.

[groans]

We could also cook up,
uh, while we're here,

-cook up that prickly pear.
-Yeah.

-Shall we do that?
-Oh, yeah. Please.

-Okay.
-[bag unzips]

Little military fold-up cooker

and what they call hexi blocks,
which are little burners inside.

Put it like that. Put that in there,

and then we'll just use
a bit of all of this dry grass

to get it going,

and then you can start it.

-Have you ever used this?
-No.

So, fire striker.

Hold it like that and drive…

those into that.

Yeah, almost.

-[Noah] Ah!
-Got it.

-Great job.
-Whoa.

Okay, prickly pear.

We'll just put that on there,
and it'll burn all the hairs off.

Let that do its thing.

Awesome.
So, what faith were you brought up?

In, uh, Judaism.

My parents on both sides of my family.

My dad is from Israel. So…

-Well, that's appropriate. You're telling…
-Right.

…part of telling the story
of the greatest Jewish man

in the history of the world.

Yeah. It's-It's funny,
because before I started,

you know,
my family I think a little bit was like,

"You're going to be playing
one of the saints."

You know, it's a strange thing
to wrap our heads around

just as Jews,

but… [clears throat] …almost all
of the characters in the show are Jewish.

Yeah.

You know, like the first season,
we're having Shabbat dinner.

Like, I do this with
my grandparents every Friday.

To be able to bring that part
of our culture to the show

has been so fun.

And the cool thing about The Chosen is,
we come from all different walks of life.

-Yeah, I've noticed that. It's brilliant.
-Backgrounds…

What happens is, when you get
in a scene and there are 12 of us,

you have a really interesting…

-Yeah.
-…tapestry start to come together,

because we're not all coming
at it from the same point of view.

[Bear] And the way you play Andrew,

he definitely struggles
at times with anxiety.

[Andrew] They'll hunt him down,
put him away.

It could completely ruin
all the plans for the sermon.

Erase all the momentum we've gained!
That's what I'm afraid.

[Bear] You've brought
a great humanity to it.

They were just regular people,

found themselves in the middle
of the greatest…

-Yeah.
-…events in humankind.

I think that's what the show does
better than anything

is saying these…

"Look at these human beings."

They are struggling to make it work.

And that's what the show tries to… to do.

-It shows how real life would've been.
-Yeah.

Has your view of Jesus changed

from what you knew growing up to now?

Oh, yeah. I mean, completely.

There was a lot of distance,
I feel like, from myself

to even the idea of J-Jesus.

What-What is that?

And then being on the show, you go,
what does it really mean

when someone says something like,
"Pray for your enemies,

those who persecute you"?

If you just take that one thing, right,

what does that really mean
to live life like that?

I think people take it for granted,
truthfully.

Well, we're kind of used to it.
It's almost a platitude.

Yeah, exactly, exactly.

But that's the danger,
is that you really want to get in there.

And that's what I feel like
with The Chosen.

We've been able to--
You know, like the Sermon on the Mount.

Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap
nor gather into barns.

Yet your heavenly father feeds them.

Are you not of more value than they?

[Noah] You're standing there,
listening to it and really hearing it.

You're really hearing
what he's asking of you,

what he's saying.

And it is no small feat
to live life like that.

And when I see it out in the world
and I see people living like that,

I notice that,

because there's millions of people
not doing that.

[gentle music playing]

[Bear] Those values I understand.

But also, he was…

He said so much more of like, you know,
his claims about who he was.

He wasn't just saying,
"Love your neighbor."

-Right, right.
-"Love your enemy."

He was also saying, "Keep your eyes on me

because I am the son of God,
I am the Messiah.

-Right.
-Do you think that's possible?

Do you think he actually could be God?

Oh, man. What a great question.

I will say that, like, for me,

I am living in this question.

-Mmm.
-God, Jesus,

Old Testament, New Testament.

I think in search of the question,

that's the answer--

is the questioning, the looking.

So I don't know.

I think that's a beautiful answer,
to be honest,

because I'm always suspicious
when faith is like, too perfect.

-Yeah.
-I don't believe it. I think…

I love that thing of faith and doubt.

-Yeah.
-Two sides, but same coin.

Well, because if you don't traverse that

and if you're not willing to flip the coin
and see what's on the other side,

it's not really faith
at that point, is it?

-It becomes religion and doctrine.
-Exactly.

-Shall we try the prickly pear?
-I think it's time.

Well, I wouldn't hold your breath
with excitement.

Cheers.

We'll break bread. Here we go.
We'll break prickly pear.

Exactly. Mmm.

[suspenseful music playing]

Well, it'll keep you alive.

It'll give you a little bit of energy.
It'll give you some fluids.

But it tastes like [bleep]

I mean, yeah, it's not…
You're not gonna buy it at Whole Foods

and bring it home to the family.

-Cheers.
-Mmm.

Mmm.

So from here,
we've still got a bit of down to do,

but it's about a mile round here.

[suspenseful music playing]

-[Bear] Really watch yourself on this.
-Okay.

We're not slipping at this stage.

-Good, solid footing.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Watch out not treading on the loose stuff.

Mm-hmm. All right.

[Bear] Great, great.

Okay, so this is then heading left,

and we really wanna be heading right.

Easy to get what you call "track happy."

You know, you get on a nice track,
easy going,

but actually, then it leads the wrong way.

So, we're not gonna get track happy.

We're gonna head up this
and stay on our direction that way.

Okay, okay.

-Goodbye, track.
-Yeah.

[Bear] Just mindful of your step
up this stuff.

[groans] Thanks.

-Get the quads working.
-Yeah.

This is why I incline-walk at the gym.

[Bear] More prickly pears.

Gold dust for the survivors.

There's so much of it
survives in the desert.

Even this.

Mormon tea. Put that in your tea.

-Really? [laughs]
-Mm-hmm.

Gives a little kick. Antibacterial.

Ooh!

A locust. Oh, there he is, look.

Oh. Oh, that's…

[Noah] That is just a bug.

There we go.

Forget the Mormon tea. We've got better.

-Do we?
-We've got a locust.

Where's John the Baptist
when you need him?

[Bear] In the Gospel of Matthew,
we're told that John the Baptist

lived on a diet of honey and locusts.

-Oh!
-Yeah, yeah.

All we need is a bit of honey,
and we'd be away.

-Yeah.
-That is alive. [laughs]

See if there's any more.

[playful music playing]

Well, it's not a massive meal,
but it's one snack each.

So all you do is this, okay?

Let's do the head first.
Head, twist, pull.

Oh, I'm so sorry! Okay, whoa…

Oh, I'm so sorry, fellow being.

Oh, I think I decapitated it!
No, it's still alive.

-Okay, it's dead now.
-Okay, then the legs.

Oh…

And then, in it goes.

[laughs]

-Your first locust?
-Yes.

I'm gonna be honest with you,

decapitating it was the hardest part.

It tastes okay.

Yeah.

The k*lling it
and then removing its legs--

a little serial k*ller-like, you know?

It was the removing its head

as it squirmed in my fingers.

That was… uncomfortable.

And then eating it…

was actually okay.

-Given us some energy. Job done.
-[scoffs]

I guess so.

I've always been a big fan
of John the Baptist, for what it's worth,

and, uh… and I have consumed
a lot of locusts in my time.

This one could have definitely done
with some honey.

That was missing.
Honey makes everything better.

Oh my. Just murdering locusts.

[Bear chuckles]

[suspenseful music playing]

So ultimately, that's where
we need to get to.

Down there.

[Bear] Getting to the canyon floor
from here is impossible by foot.

To ensure that The Chosen don't lose
one of their key cast members,

I've pre-rigged this line

for Noah and myself
to rappel down off the cliff face.

We should come across it
if we keep moving this way.

Okay.

That's quite far. [laughs]

Just watch your footing, Noah, down this.

Mm-hmm.

Use your hands if you need.

One long line tied round that tree.

Okay, we'll follow this to the edge.

[Noah exhales sharply]

[Bear] Okay. That's gonna be our route.

-It'll be good.
-[Noah laughs]

[Noah] Kinda looks freaky.
I won't lie to you.

It's super far down, so…

Yeah, we'll see.

[Bear] It is steep
down to the valley floor.

The best way of getting down and across
is actually to tension up the line.

So as we rappel down it,
it's almost like a diagonal.

So it takes us across,

and then it leads us out to where
eventually we'll get extracted.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] You're gonna rappel on this line,

and this carabiner's attached
to the other line.

So as you go down, it'll take you out.

And it means we cross the ravine.

-Got it, got it.
-Okay?

Trust what you're doing.
Nice, wide stance. Lean back.

Feels a little bit awkward
going over the edge.

Once you're over the edge,
you're good. Okay?

-Okay.
-You're gonna smash it.

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, so this is where he's over the edge,

and then the weight kind
of transfers about now.

And, look, it takes us away,

and we get all the way across this ravine.

Actually pretty cool. Okay.

Ah. Whoa.

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, that worked pretty well
and brings us all the way across this.

It would definitely feel a little
committing for Noah.

Once he drops off it, suddenly he's being
pulled away from the rock face,

but he's just gotta trust it,
trust himself.

He can do this now.

[dramatic music playing]

All right. One more ride.

Never thought I looked good in a helmet.

And I'm right.

[sighs] Remember me.

[chuckles] No, that's not real. Don't…

It's all good. All good. All fine.

Holy moly.

Don't let go.

[Noah] Okay.

[Bear] Great job, Noah. Looking good.

[exhales] Okay. Whoa…

Okay.

[dramatic music playing]

Got it. Ooh.

Yeah, great. And it will now take you
away from the rock face,

so just keep it going, trust it.

Great job.

-Okay.
-Another good core workout, eh?

Yeah, you could say that.

-[Bear laughs]
-Okay. Oh…

It may not be graceful,
but it's getting the job done.

[Bear] Yeah, whatever it takes.

Well done. Beautiful.

[Bear] Well done! [laughs]

Okay.

-Wow.
-Well done.

You learn fast, that's what I notice.
And you don't mind kinda like--

it's a bit… just get in.
Come on, here we go!

-And then you're away.
-Just gotta get the job done sometimes.

You did. [laughs]
Okay, we're gonna keep moving.

Okay.

[sighs]

Bear was able to help me from down here.
I could hear him the whole time.

If I was just left to my own devices,

I would be still up there,
um, cursing and screaming.

[Bear] Last push now.
I'm looking for a clearing, really,

that we can call the helicopter in,

uh, that's wide enough
to get it as low as we can.

I think in truth
it might struggle to land here,

but I've got an idea.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] Okay,
let's get down into the shade.

Looks like a pool of water as well.

[Noah] Wow.

[Bear] This is unreal.

I mean, look at that. That's like…
It's a massive na… nature's amphitheater.

And probably never sees the sun,
because the sun goes that way.

Rises in the east, all behind this rock.

Sets in the west.
That's why there's water down here.

But we can use it for a couple of minutes,
just have a cool-down.

[Noah] Yeah, please, please.

[exhales sharply]

[Noah] It really did feel like
we found this cathedral in the rock,

this theater.

Honestly looking at it, going,

"I don't know how many people
have looked at this spot."

Truly. Wow.

It was really breathtaking and beautiful,

and we got in the shade,
which was very nice.

Yeah.

-You move really well.
-I do?

-Yeah. You've got good natural…
-Oh, good.

-Are you into your fitness?
-Yeah, yeah.

But, you know,
I do that at the gym in LA! [laughs]

My dad is nearing his 80s now,
and he's in incredible shape.

The last time I went home,
he ran me through a workout,

and I was like, "We gotta stop."

Like, "Dad, you are k*lling me."

I saw an Instagram of you
on the set doing pull-ups.

Here at The Chosen, when we have
a particularly tough scene,

we always think, who am I talking to?

Who's in this scene with me?

How much are my biceps out?

The real important questions here at work.

And then… we got it all set up.

And then we just do this forever,
you know?

I probably couldn't sleep at night
if I don't exercise or work out.

like, I… It's a helpful way for me to

work through
whatever's going on internally.

I already go to bed
at 4:00 in the morning,

-so I need some…
-Really?

-Oh, yeah. I'm, like, a night…
-So you're live wire day and night?

Yeah. Yeah, it's true. It's true.

But then I have my, like,
hibernation periods.

And I need, you know,
two full days of like, staying in bed.

So it's very, you know,
feast or famine energy-wise for me.

It's good to know, though,
you do have the down as well.

-Yeah. Oh, oh… Yes.
-You're human after all.

There are actually some,
look, little fish.

-Yeah.
-But really small.

Where's that fishing net?

No, it's destroyed 400 feet up there.

[Bear] You know, if you're in the desert,
the most important part to cool down?

Wrists, feet,

-back of neck.
-Hmm.

Reach in the side.
Is that a bandana there?

-Yeah, yeah.
-Even that.

[gentle music playing]

-Put that round your neck.
-Ah.

And then you're gonna be nice and cool.

-Is that nice?
-Yeah. Yes, it is.

-Come on, then. Let's just sit down here.
-Yeah.

-Oh, that's good.
-[Noah] Ooh.

Oh!

-[Noah sighs, laughs]
-Yeah.

-So you got married?
-I did.

And I actually got married

right as we were finishing
season three of The Chosen,

and it's been two amazing years.

Yeah, I'm so lucky.
And we were together for…

for seven years before we got married.

-So we've been together for…
-So that's kind of nice

that you've done the journey
before The Chosen, you know?

-Oh, yeah.
-So she's seen the hard yards.

Oh, she's seen them.
She's been a part of them.

You know, you're in LA,
you're… you're a struggling actor.

There's certainly no money.

I mean if anything, people,
you know, look down on you.

You're like, "Oh, I'm an actor,"
and people kind of roll their eyes.

Yeah.

And she was there with me
through all of that.

It was like, what am I waiting for?

You know, seven years is long enough.
And then we got married.

[laughter]

[Bear] Good for you.

So how did you originally get the part?

Dallas made this short film The Shepherd

{\an8}before The Chosen,
a year and a half before The Chosen,

{\an8}and I auditioned for that part,
the shepherd.

Auditioned for it. Never heard.

You know, It was just another one
of the jobs that you don't get.

And a year and a half later, I get
a call to come audition for the show.

{\an8}I do not find Simon reliable.

{\an8}Once when he was delinquent in his taxes,

{\an8}to pursue remedy, I discovered
he spent an inordinate amount

{\an8}on games of chance
at the local establishment.

{\an8}Additionally,
based on his financial status,

{\an8}I question Simon's connections
with the merchant class.

And had no idea there was a connection.

And then Dallas is in the room
when I go in,

stands up from behind the table
and he's like,

"Noah, I'm so glad you're here.
We're so excited to see you."

And I'm like,
"This dude thinks I'm someone else."

Like, I've never met him.
I don't know this… what's going on.

But he had seen the tape.
I get cast as Andrew.

I've been on this show now for years.
Going on what, six years?

[gentle music playing]

I think one of the markers of
if you're going to be successful

or have success in this industry is,
can you stick it out?

Because, I mean, if you give up,
then that's already the answer.

You know, I have these two friends.

I remember I went and had lunch with them.
[exhales]

It was, uh, you know…
It was, like, a really tough moment.

And they saw it, you know, in my eyes.

Like, I didn't even say
I'm thinking about…

throwing in the towel.

-They just, like, saw it.
-Mmm.

And they just grabbed me,
and they were like, "Do not quit."

It's a hard business. But then…

like, I look at something like The Chosen,

and it totally changed my life.

Well, you had to have that quiet strength
to hold on, you know?

And good friends. You come through
those dark valleys,

-you come into the light…
-Yeah, yeah.

-So happy for you.
-Totally.

And to have done it with
your wife together, you know?

-Oh…
-No one deserves it more. I love it.

Oh, thanks, man. It's a gift.

[sniffles] It's all been a gift.

[majestic music playing]

I mean, the world is giant.

-[Bear] Mmm.
-It's so big.

There's opportunity everywhere for

all different kinds
of interesting things in your life,

and you just have to, like,
grab it and hold on

and just go for the journey.

And a lot of times,
you end up in very odd places.

-And that's part of the fun.
-That's true.

-It's part of the adventure.
-Yeah. Yeah.

[Bear] Okay, shall we keep going?

-We've got some journey still do to.
-Okay. [groans]

You know, we could always walk barefoot.
Do you like barefoot?

-Not really.
-Barefoot's super good for you.

-That's separation from the earth.
-Right, right.

I love it. Any chance I get, I'm barefoot.

Come. We'll go for a…
We'll go for a few minutes.

All right, I'm in.
How can I say no to that?

[gentle music playing]

[wind whistling]

[Bear] So, what are
your big dreams and ambitions, still,

for your life beyond The Chosen?

I am learning more and more
and more that it really is about

the experiences and the people you meet.

And the people that
you surround yourself with

and the things you get to do.

So to me, I'm like, "Send me out
into the corners of the Earth."

And that's one of the fun things
about acting is,

you go and find yourself
in these really interesting places

and telling interesting stories.

So to me that's… that's my dream.

Getting to do that
over and over and over again.

-And positive action.
-One hundred percent.

It's gotta be partnered with that,
and you have so much of that spirit,

-and it's carried you far.
-Oh, thank you.

It's something you always can bring
to the table is positivity and energy.

I definitely try to bring that
into my work.

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, there's the chopper.

Give that a pull. Pull, pull, pull.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] I think
one of the things I've learned

spending time with Noah is just the power

of positive action moving forward
towards what you love.

You know, you can sit in one place,
and it keeps you stagnant,

but there's a power to stepping out.

It's like faith, you know. Step forward.

It's a little bit into the unknown,
but there's a power to that.

And I think
it's such a key lesson for life.

Don't stay put,
waiting for everything to come to you.

You've gotta go out, push a little bit.
You've gotta take a few risks.

And I like that.
And Noah lives his life like that.

-Whoo!
-Okay, we're good.

His Jewish background brings
a depth and a power

to his job at The Chosen,

and likewise, there's many in the cast
from many different cultures and faiths,

and it's a reminder
that what binds us together

is always stronger, more powerful
than what separates us.

And I think having that seeking heart
is a beautiful thing.

And Noah has that, uh, in spades.

-[Noah laughs]
-There we go, Noah.

[shouts]

Whoo! Oh, man…

[Noah] Today has been a true journey.

I will never forget this.

It's so special. So special.

Bear, I wanna say thank you, because…

it's not an easy thing, what you do.

-Welcome to The Chosen In The Wild!
-Welcome!

But the total, just, complete

calm and guidance that you bring,

it makes it so much easier,
so much more fulfilling.

I really felt like I was… I don't know.

Like I'm capable of… of doing anything.

So, thank you.

[triumphant music playing]