'The Chosen' Exclusive: Amber Shana Williams Talks Tamar

An inspiring actress is detailing her role in a historical drama that “transcends all backgrounds” to rave reviews.

Amber Shana Williams recently told BOSSIP about her role on The Chosen, the first-ever multi-season TV series about the life of Jesus Christ. The series which became the most successful crowdfunded TV series or film project in history, stars Jonathan Roumie as Jesus as well as Shahar Isaac, Elizabeth Tabish, Paras Patel, Noah James, George H. Xanthis and Amber Shana Williams.

Stevens plays Tamar, a woman only named in the bible as a “friend” who she continues to embody as she gives her a full [complicated] existence.

“For me to prepare for the first season was heavy because I came right into episode six of season one with the heaviest thing where she’s [Tamar] pleading to Jesus to save her friend that she lowered through the roof,” Williams told BOSSIP at the 2024 NABJ Conference. “And at that moment, the to prepare because we didn’t know much about her, I thought who is that who in my life that I want healing for so bad that I would rip the roof off the place and beg for their healing. I found that place for me and then I let that guide me.”

She continued,

“As the seasons have gone on, she’s gotten so intricate and her background is so complex that it just ends up and the writing is so amazing that you can’t help but just fall into that.”

Williams also shared that The Chosen, now in its fourth season, continues to captivate both believers and non-believers alike because it explores characters like Tamar who tell Jesus’ story through their perspective on the series that’s “heavy on the drama” amid triumph.

“This transcends all kind of backgrounds, even genre preferences,” said the actress. “I came into it like, ‘Oh, another Jesus show’ which is sometimes synonymous with what a certain quality, and so just like anyone else, before I came in the show, I saw the first four episodes and I was like, ‘Wow, it’s a historical drama.’ That’s what we’re gonna call it because just saying that it’s a faith-based show is not enough to cover all the facets.”

“It is a story about the life of Jesus Christ, about his life from the eyes of all those around him,” she added. “One thing I love about The Chosen is that they breathe life into these people who who weren’t necessarily given the full breath of history in their existence. That gives people something else to connect to.”

Speaking of The Chosen detailing new characters, it features the fierce women of the Bible who were the backbone of Jesus’ journey and whose sisterhood Tamar was welcomed into.

“It’s a lady show and I love that they didn’t shy away from that,” Williams told BOSSIP. “Because you often see it focused really heavily on the disciples, which are obviously are extremely important but who was there at the end? The ladies. They didn’t run, they didn’t shy away, they stood there back straight and I love that they’ve taken their time over the seasons to build that bond because there is a sisterhood so deep in this and for my character in particular, Tamar, who is without family because she has tragically lost them all– her entire journey.”

“Really, from season one to three Tamar was was finding her place and a family,” she added. “She wanted so much to have one and to belong, that she went really hard on on proving she had purpose when in the end, what we realized in season four is that her purpose was already given to her and it was just to bear witness. So what we get to see with the women over the season is how they really are the backbone of the ministry. I mean the boys are cute, but the woman really are the backbone and they are the reason that it was able to continue to thrive by the sweat of their brow and them supporting it out of their own means.

“I hope that when women watch this, that it helps them heal, not just themselves, but their relationships with other women.”

The Chosen streams for free on The Chosen app as well as Netflix, Hulu, Prime Video, and Peacock.