She was depressed, living with Mom, and thought about giving up on acting when she read the script for Mary Magdalene’s part on The Chosen.
“I had been depressed I think for a number of years without really admitting it,” Elizabeth Tabish told ASSIST News. “I had chronic back pain and had a hard time getting out of bed emotionally, physically, and slept way too much. And I was barely making ends meet.”
To survive financially, she did commercials, which she felt was “a mockery” of her pitiable state. “I would show up, have this happy, healthy family and kids and a dog and drive a nice car and smile all day and then come home and go back to bed. I was self-medicating, drinking a lot and couldn’t quite find purpose or meaning.
“I felt like I was just in this loop of despair. I couldn’t see a future, what it was going to be. I couldn’t envision it. I was a little lost.”
The income from commercials wouldn’t pay the rent. “I moved in with my mom, because I couldn’t pay for my apartment anymore. I thought I needed to get a big girl job, so I told my agent to stop submitting me.”
Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, her agent disregarded her instructions and submitted her for the part of Mary Magdalene. “He submitted me for this anyway. And when I read it, I connected to the character in such an intense way. I thought if I don’t book this, it’s a sign I should not be acting.”
Following the audition, she was elated to get a call back and meet Dallas Jenkins, the creator, director and co-writer of The Chosen. “I felt like it was something that was written for me in a way that gave me a new start and a new beginning, which is literally what happens to Mary Magdalene. It’s just this fresh start.
“My life before and after booking The Chosen is like a completely different life…like before and after Jesus.”
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SOURCE: Assist News Service, Mark Ellis
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