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Working on a faith-based project didn’t initially sound appealing to Yoshi Barrigas—the actor portraying the disciple Philip in “The Chosen”—but a chance, or perhaps divine, encounter with pop star Justin Bieber helped change his perspective.
Sitting in a black, folding director’s chair in Midlothian, Texas, just a stone’s throw away from the elaborate set at the center of the forthcoming season of the beloved Bible-based series, Barrigas recalled his “serendipitous” meeting with Bieber as the two men were—unbeknownst to one another—hiking along the same mountainside in Los Angeles.
“Well, do you want the long story or the short story?” Barrigas cheekily replied after CBN’s Faithwire asked how he landed his role in “The Chosen,” the crowdfunded series launched in December 2017 by director Dallas Jenkins, the son of “Left Behind” novelist Jerry B. Jenkins.
The relaxed actor meandered through his memories, reflecting on the unexpected experiences that ultimately led him to where he is now, discussing the season-three debut of “The Chosen” as he and his fellow cast mates wrapped filming at Camp Hoblitzelle, a sprawling midwestern space owned by The Salvation Army.
Barrigas’ days are now spent on a first-century set—an impressive plot of land spanning nearly two football fields side-by-side. In a dizzying seven months, the space that was once a cowboy’s playground was transformed into a dazzling depiction of the biblical age.
But Barrigas’ presence there might not have happened without Bieber.
It all unfolded on a hike in Los Angeles, where Barrigas had found a spot to read. As he pored over the book in his hands, he heard clamoring nearby—a group of girls “chirping” with excitement, he said.
Unable to see through the trees what was transpiring, the actor turned his focus back to his book. That is, until he heard a voice across the way: “Hey, what’re you reading over there?”
“I look over, and it was Justin Bieber,” Barrigas said of the disembodied voice reaching out to him. “I told him what I was reading, and we started conversing from afar.”
Moments later, the “Never Say Never” singer sat down with Barrigas, and the two men then talked through life’s ups and downs, as well as the struggles they were each in the midst of processing.
For the rest of this article, visit our content partners at faithwire.com. {eoa}
Reprinted with permission from Faithwirecom. Copyright © 2022 The Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. All rights reserved.
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