‘The Chosen’ Star Giavani Cairo Wants To ‘Glorify’ Faith

In The Chosen, currently in season five, Giavani Cairo plays the Apostle Thaddeus, one of the quieter members of Jesus’ (Jonathan Roumie) crew.

But Thaddeus has another name — Jude. Under that moniker, he’s know as the patron saint of impossible causes, along with hope, hospitals, those in despair, and police.

Now Cairo is lending his voice to a new audio series focusing on the kind of quiet faith Thaddeus demonstrates.

Talking to Giavani Cairo

In a recent interview (the full video is posted below; quotes here edited for length and clarity), Cairo said about playing Thaddeus:

I feel I feel very honored to to to be a vessel for for his story. So, just to know how much he’s loved, and how much people, you know, pray to him as well. …

At night or, you know, if I just need to talk to God, I always say his prayer as well, the St. Jude one.

It’s definitely helped me in in so many ways with my faith and then just especially in situations that I I can’t explain or I feel like I have no control over. It’s taught me more about surrender.

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Cairo Talks “Quiet Faith” on Devotional App Glorify

Along with his work on The Chosen, Cairo is part of a partnership between the show — now streaming on Prime Video and its own app — and Glorify, a Christian daily devotional app.

The first two installments of the planned three-part joint effort are already on Glorify.

Lara Silver, who plays Eden, wife of Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) voices a seven-part series of reflections called Father Forgive Them.

Cairo’s series launched recently. Called Believing When All Seems Lost, it “channels the wisdom of Jude Thaddeus to nurture trust in God through the hidden seasons of life.”

As third, as yet announced, series premieres in January.

Explains Cairo:

We got to do a recording on Quiet Faith. So that’s we did a a whole recording on that.

And from the perspective of Thaddeus, because Thaddeus is also known as, you know, someone who who, like I said before, you don’t see him as someone who’s going to be loud like a Simon or like a Big James, or vocally opinionated, right?

He’s someone who trusts and surrenders and believes in who he’s following and he has a strong belief in in his God.

So what Glorify had me do is … a series of what it means when you tap into your faith, even if it’s quiet faith that speaks volumes.

You know it was Jesus, too, who said you go … into your room. close the door and get on your knees and pray to your God. …

I was really grateful to be able to record with Glorify … the quiet faith that matters. That is really all that matters is your relationship with God.

Finding Love Through TV and Faith

God and The Chosen also figured into Cairo’s relationship with girlfriend — and now fiancée — sports journalist and podcaster Bella Michaels.

From Movieguide:

“So, she actually was going through a tough time in her life and her mom showed her the show,” Cairo told Movieguide®. “This is before we even knew each other, and it really spoke to her in such a way that it changed the way she looked on life and changed the way she lives her life from a faith element.

“And, she is also a journalist, a very excellent journalist, and she reached out to production and did an interview with Dallas [Jenkins].”

“I ended up seeing that interview, and we started talking from there, and it kind of just went from there, you know.

“A couple years go by, and now we’re engaged and just could not be happier,” he continued. “It’s just crazy how God works in that way to create that full circle moment.”

In our conversation, Cairo said:

We’re great at communicating. We have tons of conversations with each other, and we do a very good job at keeping Christ at the center, and also seeing each other’s point of views and talking about a range of different topics. So I’m I’m really blessed for that.

Cairo Finds His Way Back to Faith

Like many young people today, Cairo’s relationship with faith has had its stops and starts.

Per OSV News:

Cairo was raised Catholic in Michigan, but fell away from his faith.

“Growing up, faith seemed to be something you just did,” Cairo told OSV News. “You do first communion and confirmation, and then you go to church on the weekends. But I never felt like I had a relationship with Christ.”

Cairo says working on The Chosen has helped bring him back to faith (whether that’s the practice of his Catholic faith, I’m not sure).

But, in January, Cairo attended the annual Catholic SEEK/FOCUS youth conference in Salt Lake City.

He recalls:

I was blown away by it, because I didn’t know what to expect. I honestly before going was not sure.

I didn’t realize the majority of the people attending were college students from across the country. I had no clue, because, to my recollection, that wasn’t what I was experiencing as a kid

I was like middle tier. I was hanging right in the middle there. But it really touched my heart because I wish I would have — I wish I felt that that strongly about my relationship with Christ when I was younger, you know?

But everything happens for a reason. So I’m glad it happened the way it did.

… Just to see those kids, you know, 19, 20, 21 year old, loving and talking passionately about about God and their faith, and they know it, and they know Scripture, they know the stories, they know their values.

While there, he also appeared on EWTN’s Life on the Rock.

Cairo and Roumie on The Chosen and Behind the Camera

Cairo also has a close relationship with devout Catholic Roumie, whom he says gave him a “green St. Jude kind of medallion.”

He’s helped me so much, not only in terms of my career but also just in terms of the way I live my life, because he’s such a role model, the way he lives and the way he he treats people.

I’ve been on many sets before, and this is just from a professional aspect and a human aspect, when you’re number one on the call sheet, you have a lot of weight on your shoulders.

And especially on a show like this … not once does that let it get to his head. The way I see, he leads by example truly as an artist.

He’s so giving and respectful, and he’s always there for you.

Have a listen to the whole thing: