Stepping into an already established role is never easy, but Reza Diako, who took over the role of Philip in The Chosen starting from Season 4, found the process to be uniquely challenging—and a little surreal. In a recent interview with Collider, Diako opened up about his experience auditioning for the show, revealing that he wasn’t initially aware that he was being considered to take over the role of Philip. “I knew it was for The Chosen, but I had no idea it was gonna be Philip,” Diako shared. “I read some lines, and it eventually wasn’t revealed to me that I was playing Philip, which was really strange because I thought the character I was reading for was very close to Philip.”
This situation led to what Diako described as a “weird, meta mind game” between him and the show’s creative team. As he tried to interpret the character during his audition, he was consciously avoiding mimicking Philip, only to discover later that the role he was auditioning for was, in fact, Philip. “I’m just trying to make it different from Philip,” Diako explained, “but then it turned out they were looking for Philip. So, it kind of became this weird, meta mind game that everyone was playing on each other.”
The ‘Harry Potter’ Precedent
Taking on a role previously portrayed by another actor presents its own set of challenges, something Diako was keenly aware of. He likened the experience to the recasting of Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films after Richard Harris‘s death and the subsequent change from Johnny Depp to Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald in the Fantastic Beasts series. “Two of the major people that I was looking back at were the Dumbledore change in Harry Potter and then the Grindelwald change, as well,” Diako said. “It was funny to see, ‘Oh, even the top actors struggle with that continuity a little bit.’”
Despite the pressure, Diako embraced the challenge with a combination of admiration for his predecessor, Yoshi Barrigas, and his own artistic instincts. “I was a fan of the show before, and I’d seen Yoshi’s performance, and I wanted to do it justice and continue on from it,” he said. Diako also highlighted the importance of balancing his own interpretation with the established character, stating, “It was a combination of working what I would say artistically by bringing yourself and looking at your similarities and differences.”
Stay tuned to Collider for more on The Chosen.
The Chosen
The Chosen is a historical drama based on the life of Jesus and those who knew him. Set against the backdrop of Roman oppression in first-century Palestine, the series shares an authentic look at Jesus’ revolutionary life and teachings.
- Release Date
- April 21, 2019
- Creator
- Dallas Jenkins
- Cast
- Jordan Walker Ross , Elizabeth Tabish , Shahar Isaac , Paras Patel
- Main Genre
- Drama
- Seasons
- 4
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