01x02 - Elizabeth Tabish

[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.

I'm so sorry.
I-I don't actually know your name.

I'm Jesus.

[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]

{\an8}[suspenseful music playing]

Below me is some of the oldest
canyon lands on the planet.

It's harsh, dry, unforgiving--
It's a tough place.

Every great adventure challenges us

and reveals who we really are.

This journey is gonna do both.

I'm on my way to pick up Elizabeth Tabish,

who plays Mary Magdalene
in the hit TV show The Chosen.

[Elizabeth] Right now,
I'm in the middle of nowhere.

[suspenseful music playing]

I'm supposed to meet Bear out here,

uh, in Moab, in Utah.

It's beautiful.

I don't really know
what we're doing today.

I warned everyone
that I don't do any off-roading.

I don't even really like to drive.

[Bear] Elizabeth Tabish plays
Mary Magdalene,

a disciple of Jesus in the global
hit TV series The Chosen.

You're not a traitor.

You have no power here, teacher.

Redeemed of seven demons by Jesus,

Mary Magdalene went on a journey

of self-discovery and absolution,

and Elizabeth has had
an equally interesting life.

[dramatic music playing]

[Elizabeth] I think that if
Mary Magdalene were in this situation,

she'd, like, dive right in.

She's gone through so much
wacky, dark, crazy stuff

that I think this would
probably be nothing for her.

The thing I'm most nervous about is…

injuring myself.

I have kind of a-- a… bad neck.

Sometimes I throw my neck out,
like, once or twice a year.

From, like, sleeping on
the wrong pillow or something.

So I'm kind of nervous
that I'm gonna trigger that.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] For the last 30 years,

I've led an adventurous life,

climbing mountains,

trekking over glaciers,

through rain forests, and across deserts.

And I've learned when you put yourself
in challenging situations,

your true character always gets revealed.

Now I'm taking Elizabeth
to the canyon lands of Utah

to test her mettle
and discover who she really is.

Bear, I want you to know that
I'm really excited about doing this.

I'm, um…

I wanna be challenged,
so please challenge me,

but if my neck goes out, I will--
I will scream for help, so…

that should be pretty clear.

[dramatic music playing]

Oh, this is crazy! [laughs]

What is happening?

[helicopter blades whirring]

Hello! How are you?

[Bear] How are you doing? You all right?

Good, yeah.

And maybe put those away.

Have you been in a helicopter before?

You're gonna love it.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] It's the start of our adventure.

We have just one day to cross the canyons

to reach our extraction point.

Welcome to Chosen in the Wild!

Oh my goodness! Oh!

-[laughing]
-Look down!

[screaming, laughter]

[Elizabeth gasps]

It's unreal.

We've only just started out, but already

it's time for Elizabeth's first challenge.

The helicopter's not gonna
be able to land, okay?

So we're gonna rappel out.

I'll go first. Watch what I do.

Never take your hand off this rope, okay?

-Okay.
-Whatever happens,

never take your hand off it.

You'll be fine. Just watch what I do.
Nice and simple. Take your time.

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, so you're gonna rappel…

[shrieks]

[dramatic music playing]

Whoo!

-Good job, Liz! Well done.
-[laughing]

I love it! Are you all right?

-I think so.
-Not too traumatized?

Yeah, a little bit. [laughter]

[Bear] The best thing is, Liz just had

a huge smile on her face
from the minute the chopper came in.

A smile carries people a long way in life,

in adventure, and on these journeys,

so, uh, I'm excited for this.

I think I might be dissociating. [laughs]

I've never been in a helicopter before.

I've never rappelled before.

Like, before you jump off,

um, knowing if you're, like,
holding the right thing. [laughs]

Or if you're gonna be plummeting
to your death.

Um, so, yeah, there's-there's…
It's nerve-racking.

I'm scared now.
I think I'm just straight-up scared.

[laughs]

Okay, helicopter's gone.

And you can see, look,
we're right high up here,

all these massive sandstone cliffs.

So our journey takes us
about three miles that way.

It doesn't sound a lot,
but it's gonna be a lot of…

a lot of crossing these ravines.

And then eventually we'll get,
God willing,

extracted by helicopter at the end.

-You feeling all right?
-I will be.

-Good job. Okay, heading that way.
-Okay.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] Elizabeth said that
she wants to be challenged today,

and the route I've chosen

through the beautiful
but brutal Fruit Bowl of Utah

is going to do exactly that.

To help us reach our extraction point,

I've placed some traversing lines
and rope crossings,

because this is not
a journey for the fainthearted.

[dramatic music playing]

So the other thing we need to do is
make sure we navigate right.

Okay.

So we're gonna be heading north,

which is basically this way.

Do you know how to work out
your direction?

I really, truly don't. [laughs]

Okay, really simple way of doing it, okay?

So watch. Point the hour hand at the sun.

We've got a bit of cloud cover,
but you can see it's up there.

-Mm-hmm.
-So point the hour hand at the sun.

Halfway between that
and 12 o'clock is south.

-Oh, is south?
-Is south, yeah.

-So then this is north?
-Yeah, exactly.

-Okay, right.
-Yeah, good.

All right. Hmm.

[suspenseful music playing]

[wind gusting]

[Bear] We are quite close
to the edges here,

and as you can see,
there are some huge… drops.

-Mm-hmm.
-But we're working our way this way.

In fact, look, you can see
it gets a little narrower up here,

so we're gonna just put a short rope
on this, which means we're roped together.

So if you slip, I've got you. If I slip…

-I'm sorry.
-… you've got me.

-Okay?
-Okay.

-Have you ever done things like this?
-Never.

Tell me about your upbringing.
Where were you brought up?

I was born in Salt Lake.
I moved to Oklahoma, small town,

uh, for most of my childhood,
until when I was 26.

Pretty sheltered.

It was like, I didn't drive on highways.

I was like, a small-town gal.

-Yeah.
-Was into the arts

and didn't really explore
that much in nature.

So when you say you're into the arts,
what does that mean?

I was in theater.
I was a theater nerd. [laughs]

And can you remember as a kid
the first acting thing you did?

-I was so quiet all the time…
-Really?

… and my brother was very gregarious

and attention on him,
and so I was just very quiet.

And then in kindergarten,
we had a little musical thing,

and I was just…

I was singin' and dancin' and…

and my family did not recognize me.
[laughs]

Yeah. So you kind of came alive in that?

Yeah, on stage, I think I did, yeah.

And I think as a kid, it's nice being shy.

-Exactly. Yeah.
-It's okay to be shy, yeah.

-Yeah.
-Yeah.

Okay, we're going this way.

Watch your step.
I'll let you go out first.

Okay.

And you can route-find for us,
so just take your time.

Okay.

There you go. Have a look down there, Liz.

-I don't want to!
-Look at that! That is epic!

-I don't want to! I'm avoiding.
-That is overhanging.

[whimpering]

-[Bear chuckles]
-[Liz] These are…

what nightmares are made of.

Okay.

[Bear] The desert is hot and unforgiving.

So when it offers up refreshment,
you can't turn it down.

-Oh, look, some water, Liz.
-[giggles nervously]

-Are we drinking it?
-Well, there's not a lot of this up here.

Look, you see all these
little kind of depressions?

-Yeah.
-So when it rains,

it's gonna collect.

Problem is, this is really stagnant.

And you're gonna get lizards
drinking from it, and peeing in it.

So stagnant water like that is bad.

But… water is also life. We do need it.

We've got one of these.

Just for survival.

-Straw filter.
-Okay.

So it sucks the water up.

Cleans it through charcoal.

-Oh, wow. Nice.
-Naturally, brilliantly.

Gets rid of all the bacteria
and the parasites.

And then what comes out of here is good.

-Shall we try it?
-Yeah.

[playful music playing]

Oh, you suck it up? Okay. Ah!

[slurping]

[slurping]

Oh, it's just immediate.

Okay.

Even though you need
a lot of fluids out here,

if you drink bad water, you'll then end up
with diarrhea and vomiting,

and now you're
more dehydrated than before.

So I'm just using a really simple
bit of survival gear.

It saves people's lives.
Uh, I always try and carry one.

Look at that. I mean,
it's basically clean from all that dirt.

Okay.

You've just had the… the Bear sanitation.

[giggles] Here we go!

[playful music playing]

[slurping]

Pretty good.

Tastes like… water.

Bear in mind, we probably need,
when it's hot out here,

three, maybe four liters a day.

-Yeah.
-So whenever we see

things like this along the way,
we'll drink from it.

-Okay, keep going.
-Oh, more.

You take some, and I'll take the rest.

I usually do not drink water

that is sitting in a pool in the desert.

It tastes like water.
A little spicy, but… [laughs]

Um, but, yeah.
I didn't know that was a thing.

What a great tool.

It just seems so wrong. [chuckles]

[slurping]

Okay, great.

Whenever we spot 'em,

little water holes,

-we use the survival straw.
-Awesome.

Wild. Okay.

[poignant music playing]

Okay, Liz, let's tuck in here,
out of the wind, just for two minutes.

Get our packs off.

[wind whistling]

We've got a bit of altitude here,
about 5,000 feet,

and when it's hot and windy and dry…

-Can you feel how dry it is?
-Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So that means you dehydrate really fast.

So even though you might not feel
super hot, 'cause of the wind,

you're dehydrating even faster.

So you've got to keep
the discipline of drinking.

You're pretty fearless with stuff.

-I used to be…
-Where does that come from?

I used to be, like, an adrenaline junkie.

-Mm.
-With, like, roller coasters,

with things that I know I'm safe in.

I like heights.

I like the thrill of, like,
looking over a building.

You know, like, I like that. I just, uh…

Uh, I got in two car accidents

like, eight, nine--
eight years ago, I think.

Got whiplash and everything.

I've had neck and back issues since then.

And I throw my neck out very easily.

The pain that comes from that is…

really, like, insidious,
because it's like, a constant,

-chronic, low-level pain.
-Okay.

It's made me very hesitant,
very, like, careful to like,

don't do anything that might
reinjure yourself.

I don't readily jump
into things like this.

Yeah. But your nature is, you love it.

-I like the adrenaline.
-Life has made you a little…

-Yeah.
-… a little more cautious with it.

That's the internal damage
from a car crash, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah.

-It sort of knocks your confidence a bit.
-Oh, yeah.

Living with any level of pain
is really hard, isn't it?

It is, and you don't realize what it…

what it does to you until you're in it.

I was numbing it with drinking a lot and…

Yeah.

[sighs] And, like, there were days
where I just didn't get out of bed,

and there's a depression
that comes with it

if you… if you don't take care of it.

And at that time, I was very broke,

and I'm like, I can't pay for insurance.

-Yeah.
-It can get you down.

But this was all pre-The Chosen.

So take me back to when
you'd made that decision

that you were gonna
actually try and pursue this.

My undergrad was in screen studies,

my Masters was in theater,

and the head of the department
took me into his office.

He was like, "You need to go to LA.
You need to pursue this."

-So he really believed in you?
-He believed in me,

and he saw that I loved it so much.

And then, uh, I moved to Austin
and did a lot of, like, commercial work,

and I was making a living
off of doing what I,

you know, thought I loved, and, um…
and then I couldn't pay my bills anymore.

It was just too much of a struggle.

And there was a point where
I thought, like,

I need to let my… this dream die.

Really? So you reached that point?

Yeah. Had you had your car crash
by this stage?

-Yeah.
-So you were in pain?

-Yeah. I was in pain. I was…
-Broke.

-…living with my mom.
-Yeah.

Driving a beat up-car, um…

and auditioning for, like, commercials

for companies, corporations

that were paying anything.

And it just felt sort of like,
I felt used up in a lot of ways.

And then I told my agent
to stop submitting me, and…

You said, stop. Look…

-Yeah.
-He said, I'll keep you

on the roster in case something pops up.

[laughs] And The Chosen popped up.

So did your agent then
put you forward for that?

Yes. And it was such a shock,

because I hadn't auditioned
for an actual role in, like, so long.

{\an8}Hello, Mary.

{\an8}Hello. [sobs]

{\an8}It's so good to see you.

Yes.

Oh, I don't want to be rude,
but would it be okay…

Oh, of course. I'm sorry, um…
please come in.

Francis, this is the man who, um…

helped me.

I'm sorry, I don't actually
know your name.

I'm Jesus, of Nazareth.

Did you think you'd get it?

Were you excited by it,
or was it just like…

It was strange, because I…

I thought if I don't get this,
this is the sign. You need to quit.

But there were so many
similarities between

Lilith and what I was going through.

And I had never related
to a character like that before.

Uh, I understood her.

I knew her, and…

I was her in a lot of ways
when I went into that audition.

In what ways?

This point of despair. This point of like,
I don't know what's next.

I don't know what, um,
tomorrow looks like.

And, um…

And so that's how I felt.

And so going into the audition,
I was feeling that.

I think it just, like, merged with the…

with the story, and…

And then I booked it. And, you know,
filming it was cathartic.

Maybe that was really meant to be.

Do you think somebody had
their hand on your life?

Sometimes we have to go through
those really low times, don't we?

I don't think I would've been able
to play this character

-if I hadn't gone through…
-Yeah.

…certain things that, um…
that helped me understand her.

-If I didn't go through that…
-Yeah.

-…valley, you know?
-Yeah.

Well, the summits in our life are great,

but really,
it's the valleys that build us,

and the valleys that
give us strength eventually.

But look what it built you into.

And then you inspire
hundreds of millions of people

who are also going through
some dark valleys.

So many people have reached out,
saying, "That's me."

And it's made me realize
what I was going through

is not specific to me

in that like, pain and hurt and all the…

the heavy stuff is a human experience.

And so it's given me a perspective of…

-Mm-hmm.
-…we have to experience pain.

-Unfortunately, we have to.
-Yeah.

But that's not the point of it--
to get you down.

And it's not what then defines us.
And it's not always the end, you know?

Always gonna be peaks and troughs,
aren't there?

Yeah, yeah.

For you, this was never just, then,
just another acting job.

Oh, no! [laughs] No.

And I'm just like,
it means so much to me, and…

-Um… ah, that's wind! [laughs]
-That's the wind.

-I said it was gonna be windy.
-[laughs]

That's just raw power, thermic wind.

You know what it's called?
Do you want a little techno…

-Tell me, yeah. I love it.
-…techno geek-out?

It's called the Venturi effect.
So you get the very strong winds,

hits the rock face, gets compressed,
squeezed over the top,

and as you know, when you squeeze
and compress air, it speeds up.

Right here on the top.

-Whoo!
-Pretty cool.

All of us, we have to live in the moment.

-Yeah.
-The day-by-day.

-Be grateful for that.
-Hard to do, but yeah.

Hard to do.
But if you've been led into this,

you're not then gonna be
led nowhere, you know?

It's all for a purpose.

Beautiful, yeah. Thanks.

Okay. That way.

[dramatic music playing]

It's such a crazy landscape, isn't it?

It's… stunning.

It looks like a painting.
It's hard to believe that it's real.

[dramatic music playing]

-Oh, lizard.
-Oh, yeah.

Oh, look. Another water.

-What's that in it?
-What is that?

Tarantula?

[suspenseful music playing]

-Stop it.
-Is it dead?

Yeah, it's dead. Look.

Ew! No!

Tarantula with a juniper berry
on top of it.

-It's its little hat.
-Look.

Oh. Oh!

That's definitely
a dead tarantula in there.

That's why you've gotta be careful
drinking the water,

'cause you've got lots of
dead things in it.

But actually, that's pretty fresh.
Smell that.

-Don't you dare.
-Smell it.

I mean, you wouldn't want
to eat that raw because…

Tarantulas have all these
little hairs on it.

They're called urticating hairs.

So if you ate that,
gets stuck in your throat,

it can make your throat inflamed,
and then people suffocate.

Don't eat tarantulas.

Look, you can see them.
You see those tiny little hairs?

And they look harmless,
but actually they really irritate.

I always remember urticating
'cause they 'urt.

But if we…

cook it, burn the hairs off,

and it doesn't smell,
it's not, like, rotting,

-that could be a little snack.
-Are we going to eat a tarantula, Bear?

-Maybe later. We'll put it in your pack.
-Okay.

If we get a fire going, and we can
burn off the urticatings, we'll eat it.

What have I agreed to? [laughs]

Dead tarantula in my backpack.
No big deal. Okay. [laughs]

[suspenseful music playing]

[Bear] With our protein snack
safely stored away,

we're now on the lookout for the point
where we can cross a ravine

to save ourselves miles of trekking.

Here we go, Liz.

This is it.

Oh, no!

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] This gully goes
all the way down there.

We don't want to end up heading
two miles down that to get across.

We're gonna use this.

-[Liz] Okay.
-It's gonna be fine.

[Liz] Okay.

[Bear] It's exactly what hunters
would use to get across valleys.

They'd leave lines like this in,

shuttle gear, people,

supplies back and forward.

We're gonna do exactly the same.

We're gonna clip on,

-and we'll be hanging under it.
-Uh-huh.

There's definitely gonna
be some big slack in the middle.

-Okay.
-Gravity will work on the way out there.

And then from about halfway,
we'll need to pull.

-Okay.
-Okay? Things to be mindful of:

Keep your hands around here.
I don't want your hands in the pulley.

If it goes over your hand,
it'll take your fingers off.

So keeping your hands here.
Watch out for that.

And then maybe the best bit of advice
is don't look down,

because it is a long… it is a long way.

I mean, I know you like roller coasters,
but there will never be a roller coaster

with this sort of height.

-[ominous music playing]
-[wind gusting]

So maybe I go first, and then we can

make sure the ropes are not gonna break.

Sure. [laughs nervously]

So this is our shortcut.

It's pretty committing, pretty scary.

It's probably about 400 foot
sheer down there,

so this is definitely time
for a little bit of, uh,

courage from above, courage from within,

and then courage to get on and do it.

But, uh, I think she's got this.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Liz] I'm gonna cry. [laughs nervously]

But that's okay.

This is horrifying. [laughs]

It's a lot. [laughs]

It's really scary.

The drop is ridiculous.

I-- I can't even… I'm scared. [laughs]

[dramatic music playing]

Okay, so you're gonna be
kneeling down like this,

clipped in here,

and then shuffling to the edge

and just trusting it.

Okay, Liz, you've got this, all right?
It's gonna be fine.

So I'm gonna do the scary bit now
so you'll see it.

It's this drop here. Oh!
That's the scary bit.

But now you're on it,
we're gonna enjoy it.

Okay.

[dramatic music playing]

Oh, boy.

-[gasps]
-Do not look down!

I'm going to pass out! [laughs nervously]

You've gotta climb a little bit
over this ledge,

and then we're across.

So that last bit's a little bit awkward,
but again, keep looking at me,

-and I'll help you over the edge.
-Okay.

I do this a lot,
but my heart just literally

went, oomph, straight into my throat,

dropping over that lip.

But I think it helps
when you're doing scary things,

first, to focus on what you're doing

rather than the outside fears
and environment.

[ominous music playing]

[wind whistling]

It's so windy.

[sighs] Okay.

Ah! [laughs nervously]

Okay.

Okay, you've got this, Liz. You've got it.

-Yeah?
-Summon that strength. Come on.

Okay.

[gasps, screams]

I'm okay. [gasps]

Yeah.

[gasps]

[shrieks, nervous laughter]

[dramatic music playing]

This is amazing!

I looked down! [laughs]

Amazing! Wow!

[laughs]

That's it. Swing yourself under.

[gasps] Oh, wow.

That was amazing! [laughs]

-That was incredible!
-Good job.

Oh, my goodness.

[laughing]

I did it!

He told me not to look down.

I looked down.
I don't regret it. It's so beautiful.

-[wind whistling]
-[Liz gasps, laughs]

-Well done.
-My legs aren't working!

-Are they not working?
-I'm shaking.

[laughs] Well done. Respect.

The going off that lip,
that's the scary bit, isn't it?

But also kind of the best. [laughs]

You're definitely a crazy one.

That puts you in the 0.1%, I think.

I liked it. [laughs]

-"I liked it"!
-[laughter]

I loved it so much. The adrenaline of it
and the beauty of it all,

and…

and that…

was a part of me
that was who I used to be--

kind of fearless and, um,

bold and…

Yeah. I mean, life kind of

hits you a couple times, and…

and it's easy to, to want to
run away from challenges.

Um, but this… [laughs]

…this has renewed such a spirit
of, like, take those chances.

You have one life to live.

Take the chances. Do what scares you.

That's a fearless Liz.

That's a pre-car accident one.
Come on. Come on.

-Proud of you. Proud of you.
-Thank you.

Thank you for, um, letting me do this.

This is amazing!

I am shaking, though. [laughs]

[Liz] There is a, a sense of, you know,
if God has us, what can hurt us?

And worst-case scenario,
I fall to my death.

Well, what a wonderful life it was.

With God, everything is possible.
Anything is possible, yeah.

[triumphant music playing]

There's a power when you see emotion
in people's face that you can't hide.

And it's beautiful to see,
because it's her overcoming

just difficult stuff
yet again in her life.

But re-finding that spirit,

that little fire inside
that is so key to life,

because it's where the joy comes from.

And seeing Liz, that smile,

you can't… can't fake that.

It's awesome.

-[gentle music playing]
-[bird calls]

So… [laughs]

I can't believe I did that!

[laughter]

-[Bear] I love it.
-Oh…

Thing is, I think the hard bit
sometimes is when

you're on your own back there.

-It's like…
-Oh, yeah. Yeah.

It's like, okay, we've gotta do this.

Well, the hard part is mental.

It's like the psychological,
like, I can't do this.

-Yeah. [chuckles]
-And trying to overcome that thought.

Yeah. Well, that's the journey
of life for all of us, isn't it?

-Yeah.
-You know?

But I think there's something
about the outdoors

-that's so visceral like that.
-[Liz sighs]

You know, it has all these life lessons,

but they're all right in front of you.

-[chuckles]
-[Liz] Yeah.

[gentle music playing]

Oh, you know this stuff, Liz?

I don't.

This is uh, brigham.

Look, break…

break a bit of this.

Native Americans would use this stuff.
Give you a bit of a kick.

-Oh.
-You can just chew it.

And make tea with it.

It will help with colds.

-It's got antibacterial.
-Let me taste.

I mean, it's got a…
You know, it's not sweet.

-No.
-But it's, uh… but it's good.

Whenever you see that,
it's always a good one.

-What was it called again?
-Brigham.

Brigham.

[gentle music playing]

-Look, there's your painting.
-Oh, it's stunning.

-That's pretty cool, isn't it?
-I want to paint that. [laughs]

Yeah, I do love it.

[dramatic music playing]

Ancient canyon land here. It really is.

And the amazing thing is, all of this
was forged by wind, rain, water.

All of this was carved out by that.

[euphoric music playing]

Should we use a bit of this shade
to just have five minutes?

Quick drink again.

Okay, we'll make a little fire as well,
so we can cook that tarantula up.

-[laughs] A little snack.
-That is the snack.

Let's just make a little…
little fire pit here,

'cause we don't want any fire spreading.

-Everything is so bone dry, isn't it?
-Yeah.

[stones clunking]

Good preparation.

Dry stuff ready to go on top.

And then we'll use a waterproof match.

So look, if you open that up.

These are clever because they work
even when they're wet.

So look.

So most matches,
if you do that, forget it.

That's the end of it, you know?

There you go. So that's your striker.

There you go. That's it. And that
will keep burning. Put it in there.

-Done.
-Hey!

-Great job.
-Nice.

-Put some of this stuff on top.
-Those are great.

Yeah. Well, they, they've saved…
saved me so many times.

[Bear] Okay, so then…

with our friend,

friend the tarantula,

all we want to do is really burn off the…

…the hairs from it.

Aah!

[Liz exclaims]

It looks like a date.

Keep thinking of it like a date.

-Okay, oh…
-There you go.

[exclaims] Okay.

I'm losing that leg.

If you bought dates,
and they tasted like that,

you'd probably want to take them
back to the shop.

[laughter]

[groaning]

-That's fine.
-That tastes…

terrible. [laughs]

-That wasn't so bad.
-That was the worst part of this.

-Really?
-That was the scariest part. No, um…

It's, um…

an acquired taste, I'm sure.

So how did you meet your husband?

Uh, we met on a writing project.

-It was love at first sight.
-So sweet.

We connected in a way that I hadn't…

I hadn't ever really felt seen by someone
the way I felt seen by him.

And, um, the way we communicated

and our interests and everything,

it was just like…
it felt like my soul mate.

Yeah. Amazing.

When you're back filming,
is that a fun time for you

or is it very kind of like,
"This is kind of stressful"?

I am always really excited
to see the scripts,

to see what's going to happen
for my character

and where everything's going.

It has been very stressful before on set.

It's been, um, emotionally challenging.

[Bear] Where does that come from?
What sort of things make it challenging?

It's like a combination of
how important this story is.

Um, wanting to get it right,
wanting to do it justice,

to do this character justice.

How did you want to show her,

and how was she shown traditionally,
do you think?

[Liz] I think there's been so much
speculation about who she is.

Was she Jesus's wife?
Was she a prost*tute?

Like, these really extreme labels
have been slapped on her.

And if you just look at what is
spoken about her in the gospels,

uh, her story's all of our story.

And I wanna portray her in-in…
in that way,

where she's intelligent and… and, um…

and can use the sort of pain of her past

to… to show what he can do for people.

And it was interesting in that season two,

when there was sort of hints
of her relapsing a bit,

that makes it so human and powerful
and sort of real-life.

Yeah. There were some people
that were upset over that,

but I liked that they did that.

That seemed true to--
to that type of character.

Um, someone who's struggled with,

uh, trauma and PTSD and, uh, addiction.

-Mmm.
-Uh, relapse is very real.

-And it's an everyday thing, isn't it?
-Human, yeah.

And she's got such a unique
relationship with Jesus,

a sort of connection.

She's been directly healed by him,
you know?

Being possessed by seven demons.

And the way that's depicted in the show,

you don't really get to see
that depiction in other versions

of telling her story.

And I thought that was bold,
but also true to the gospels.

What do you think it was
that drew people to Jesus?

What do you think it was
that drew people to him?

His love. His love.

-He loved everyone.
-Yeah.

And, um…

he changed the perception
of what God is too,

where it's not this vengeful, judgmental,

um, scary sort of parent figure.

Like, Jesus changed all of that.

It shifted it to the heart and to, um,

forgiveness and compassion and, um,

charity and, uh, and love.

It seems to be as well that…

that love has really
affected your-- your life.

-You know, your real life.
-It has, yeah. [laughs]

It has. Um…

[gentle music playing]

Every time I…

Every time I think I can do things alone
or I can do it on my own or whatever,

um, I am constantly reminded
that we need God.

-We need…
-Mmm.

…um, Jesus.

It's real.

I've tried to be skeptical
for a lot of my life.

I've really tried to be, like,
practical and skeptical, and, uh,

the proof just keeps showing up

that he's real.

His love is real.

That's so great.
I love hearing your story that it's…

You know, you play a character,

but through his character,

the real deal has shown up
and changed your life.

-Hasn't he?
-Yeah. Yeah.

I mean, that must make
doing scenes with Jonathan,

with Jesus, that must make that
super kind of emotional for you at times.

It's hard. Those are the hard ones.

[emotive music playing]

-Hello, Mary.
-Hello.

It's good to see you.

Yes.

Yes. [laughs]

Obviously you also are gonna be
the person who's gonna get to see

some of the biggest moments to come.

You know, you've got the crucifixion,
the resurrection.

Does that feel strange
that you're gonna be so at the heart

of those such huge moments?

The crucifixion has been,
I think, depicted a lot,

but I've never really seen
the resurrection

depicted that often, and so I'm excited
to see what they do with that.

But, um, I'm a little nervous.

You know, it's a very…

-I think that's okay.
-…pivotal and…

I think I'm okay with that now.

-It's okay to be nervous.
-Yeah.

You just wanna do it right.

-I am looking forward to it.
-Mmm.

Okay.

Last bit of water.

-Tarantula done.
-[laughs]

[uplifting music playing]

Okay. We want to make sure the fire's out.
Give that a kick.

-I helped. [laughs]
-Yeah, perfect.

Okay, heading over the top.

Refreshed from our snack in the shade,

it's time for us to continue on
our journey through this rugged landscape.

Okay, here we go, Liz.

Here's our last ravine to get across here.

[Liz] Oh! There's more.

-[dramatic music playing]
-[eagle screeches]

This is a long way down here.

But we've got…

a little wire rope ladder crossing.

Okay! [laughs nervously]

All we do…

That clips on.

-So you've got two.
-Okay.

And the key is, you're never unlocked.

-You've always got one.
-Okay.

-Does this need to be…
-So we put it on.

-Oh, okay, okay.
-We put it on.

And then, look, I'll show you.
We get to here.

And clip this one past it, yep?

And then I can release this one.

Yeah? So we're always…

-Connected. Okay.
-…always hooked on.

I think, let me go.
Make sure it's all solid and good.

But remember,
you're your own safety on this.

You've gotta be in control
of your own thing.

Make sure you're always
clipped in with one.

-So it will be a bit wobbly.
-Mm-hmm.

Keep focusing on your feet,

your hands on the rope,

and you've got it.

[dramatic music playing]

-Okay. Okay.
-And then we're good.

It's like… [laughs nervously]

It's so, it's such a tiny little, like,
step bridge,

and it's, like, you can see
it's, like, flying in the wind.

I try not to think too much about it.

[dramatic music playing]

Okay. Oh, that's awkward. [laughs]

[Bear] So just one at a time.
There you go. That's it.

And here comes the wind!
[laughs nervously]

-There's the wind.
-Okay.

Oh!

[dramatic music playing]

You've got it. Great.

Ah! Whoo!

-Okay, great job.
-I did it! [laughs]

Well done.

-Good job.
-Thank you.

[Bear] Good focus.
It gets a bit wobbly in the wind.

Yeah. I was like, you can't go back.

Yeah. It's hard to turn around.

The wind made it…

scary, really scary, but it was fun.

I feel like I might start
getting addicted to all of this.

[laughs] It's so fun. It's like,
once you see that you can do it,

it's exciting, and… yeah, empowering.

What I'm learning is that Liz
actually has two sides.

One is like, "Ooh,"
and then the other half is, "Aah!"

And that side of her
is coming out more and more,

and it's beautiful to see.

Adventure does it. It lights us all up.

I've felt it in my own life so many times.

It's what the outdoors does.

[uplifting music playing]

If you had to kind of give a message
to other people who are watching this

who have been through
tough times like you,

faced a few battles,

going through a few valleys of the shadow,

what would you say to them?

Don't give up. [laughs]
Please don't give up.

Um, there are moments in my life

that I really thought
were sort of like it, and…

if I didn't just…

take that next step

and choose life, um,

I would have missed so much.

I would've missed The Chosen,
I would've missed, um, this experience.

I would've missed meeting my husband.

Like, there are so many…

so many gifts and so many
wonderful experiences

that life has to offer,
that God wants you to have.

Just know that those dark moments--
that's not the end of the story.

-I have snot everywhere. Sorry!
-No, it's beautiful.

It's beautiful. Just those words will be…

you know, bread to many people.

Good for you. You're a wonderful lady.

So we're gonna be
getting out of here from here.

It's a good, high point.
We can get the helicopter in.

Before we go, I'd love to, like,

-say a prayer for you.
-Absolutely.

-Do you mind?
-Of course not.

You've got so much ahead

that's beautiful but also challenging.

-Thank you.
-Lord, I do thank you for this great lady

and her friends and the cast around her

and those connections
and that message of love

and freedom and laughter and friendship

that was always so rooted
in all you lived and stood by.

And we pray for Liz, and everything ahead,

for strength, for blessing.

We pray for new beginnings for all of us.

New beginnings.

Amen.

Thank you.

There's been a few tears,
but I won't deny, I've been pretty close.

-[laughs]
-But I managed to choke it back, Liz.

-Oh, what a man!
-In a true manly fashion.

Okay, shall we pop some smoke? Pull that.

-Oh.
-Pull the pin.

[dramatic music playing]

[Bear] This has been a really
sort of beautiful journey,

and just to spend time with Liz
and hear her amazing story,

you know, some battles,
true battles that she's come through.

And, uh, through it all, though,
she's been quietly courageous.

She has that never-give-up spirit.

And her spirit shines bright.

It shines bright in how she portrays Mary.

She has this beautiful, tender,
vulnerable faith as well

for me, I find really
affirming in my faith,

and, uh, it's been special today for me.

[Liz] I have been very nervous
about doing all of this.

I've been, um, scared… [laughs]
…of it all,

and it was all just mind-blowing
and amazing.

[helicopter whirring]

I-I think I have renewed

my adrenaline-junkie self.

I think I'm definitely gonna
try things that scare me more.

[dramatic music playing]

And appreciate nature,
what God has created,

uh, these beautiful experiences that, um,

you won't find unless you just
get out of that comfort zone.

And I needed that lesson today.

[dramatic music playing]

Well done, Liz!

You've survived Chosen in the Wild!

I survived Chosen in the Wild!