Dallas Jenkins is a self-described “rugged indoorsman.”
He made that clear while he stood in a field beside the Au Sable River, waiting to meet survivalist and adventurer Bear Grylls. Even a mouse scampering across a dirt path could bring Jenkins down, he joked.
Once Grylls outlined the plan for their outdoor adventure for an episode in the upcoming spinoff series, “The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls” — including crossing rivers and ravines — Jenkins told Grylls he generally prefers the comforts of the indoors.
Before taking off, Grylls encouraged Jenkins by telling him that “life begins outside our comfort zones,” and that sometimes, “we have to kick each other out of it.”
Grylls has often applied that advice to his own life, he told reporters, embracing uncertainty and “seek(ing) out the uncomfortable.”
“Stagnant water in a jungle just goes bad fast,” Grylls said. “Flowing water has energy and life and oxygen. I think if we sit doing nothing, we corrode. Nothing sits still in nature. It’s either going forward or back, decaying.”
“It’s not a comfort zone,” he continued. “It’s a comfort pit. You’ve got to get out of it.”
He led Jenkins through a series of challenges, including crossing a ravine on a Tyrolean traverse, eating pickled herring and plunging off a cliff into freezing water.
The challenges gradually broke down Jenkins’ guard. Between each obstacle, as he caught his breath and paused to recover, he spoke openly with Grylls about surrendering to God, finding success with “The Chosen” after failure and why he prioritizes his family and his faith in Jesus Christ.
“The thing I’ve learned more about (God) than anything else in the last six or seven years is that he is an intimate God,” Jenkins told Grylls. “We know that Jesus is perfect and can do miracles but he still laughed with his friends, he got angry, he got sad, in the Garden of Gethsemane he was scared, he was desperate on the cross.”
In the first season of “The Chosen in the Wild,” Grylls takes six talents from the “The Chosen,” including Dallas Jenkins, Paras Patel and Elizabeth Tabish — into the wilderness, where each one faces challenges that require them to draw on the courage found in their faith.
Each member of the cast is taken to a unique destination, which included the Colorado River, Castle Valley, Canyonlands, the Great Basin Desert and the Adirondack Mountains — it was there that Grylls joined Jonathan Roumie, who portrays Jesus in the biblical drama.
Sitting around a campfire and sipping on tea made from foraged hemlock, Grylls said he could sense the profound responsibility Roumie carries in bringing Jesus to life on screen. He asked Roumie what he brought to the role — and what the role had taught him in return.
Roumie reflected on the opportunity to “portray (Jesus’) humanity in a way that has never been shown before, going to weddings, enjoying himself, having some wine and laughing and dancing.”
He added that he has come to better understand “the infinite amount of love and tenderness he has despite all of my flaws, and that no matter how terribly I screw up, knowing that I can still approach him with an honest heart, trying to do better.”
Grylls has spent nearly three decades as a professional adventurer, and is known for hosting several extreme adventure series such as “Man vs. Wild,” “Running Wild with Bear Grylls” and “The Island with Bear Grylls,” said his moment with Roumie was among the most meaningful in his career.
“Out of all the ‘Running Wild’ seasons we’ve done ... in terms of my heart, that one was really beautiful,” Grylls said. “I just kind of sensed here’s a guy really carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. It must be a really brutal thing to have to carry and to play that.”
“I just felt he was really honest and spoke really humbly about it all,” Grylls said. “I feel I made a good friend there. He was a wonderful guy.”
‘One of the series I’m most proud of’
Grylls has summited Mount Everest, consumed a yak’s eyeball, escaped from deadly quicksand and crossed the North Atlantic on a rigid inflatable boat, and despite his many adventures, he ranks “The Chosen in the Wild” among his favorites.
“I look at ‘The Chosen in the Wild’ as one of the series I’m most proud of making, really, because it’s got these three tenets of life, which is adventure, faith and the outdoors,” he told the Deseret News.
“It’s such a beautiful combination and I love it,” he continued. “I’ve never done a spinoff like this before, but I kind of feel it’s hit a really unique spot, and I really hope fans around the world love it as much as I have.”
The outdoors serves as an equalizer for Grylls’ guests. Across the season, each guest from “The Chosen” confronts physical challenges in the wilderness alongside Grylls — but the most revealing moments often come afterward, in quiet conversation while they catch their breath.
Grylls credits the outdoors with creating the conditions for these moments, gradually peeling back the barriers people carry with them.
“The outdoors is always the star of the show,” Grylls said. “It does my job for me. It opens people up and challenges us.”
Grylls added that he’s found the wild to be the ultimate place to find connection with people and open vulnerable conversations. “I always feel the wild never judges,” he said. “It’s a safe space to be yourself and to open up and share difficult things.”
When does ‘The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls’ come out?
All six episodes of “The Chosen in the Wild with Bear Grylls” premiere exclusively on Prime Video on Sunday, Aug. 9.