Amber Shana Williams, who plays Tamar in the smash hit TV show “The Chosen,” discusses her notable character’s development throughout the series, now in its fifth season, and what she admires about the gentile, Ethiopian woman who struggles to find her place among Jesus’ Jewish followers.
Williams, a bilingual actress based in both the U.S. and Europe, sat down in March to discuss her character Tamar. Although Tamar doesn’t specifically appear in the Gospel accounts, in “The Chosen” she is among the few women seen alongside Mary Magdalene who join the male disciples in following Jesus (Jonathan Roumie) throughout his ministry journey.
While she doesn’t get as much screentime as some of the other central characters, Tamar’s longstanding presence in the multi-series show has made an impression with fans.
“One of the most iconic lines in the series that people like to shout at me from their windows is, ‘Your faith is beautiful,’” Williams said in the YouTube interview.
Speaking on Tamar’s evolution, the actress contemplated how much her character’s backstory.
“She suffered tremendous loss. Her entire family was massacred,” Williams said. “When she lost them as a woman, once you are without a family, without a man leading some household in the first century, you’re basically worthless.”
Williams added that Tamar’s resilience, particularly her excelling as a businesswoman, is admirable.
The actress also appeared to allude to Tamar’s ethnicity as a non-gentile woman and her striving to claim a place by proving herself useful to the group.
“Out of everyone, she is the most unlike, and so she makes a lot of people uncomfortable who enter a space for the first time with her,” Williams said.
“I know what that’s like,” she added. “I relate to her so much because people read me, and they don’t know me. They have an expectation when they look at me. Sometimes I defy them, and sometimes I fulfill them. I never know.”
The actress, who also touched on the apparent tension between Tamar and Mary Magdalene, revealed that Tamar is “no longer struggling to be purposeful” in season five, having come to a place of self-realization.
“I feel like this is the final reinvention for her because she’s like, ‘Oh, I have found my greatest purpose and there’s no more guessing about it.’ That’s the security that she’s found in this family,” Williams said.
