Dallas Jenkins
Birthdate: July 25, 1975 (50 Years Old)
Birthplace: BoSt. Charles, Illinois
Dallas Jenkins (birthname: Dallas Lawrence Jenkins) is a Christian-based director/writer/producer best known as the creator of the long-running television saga about the birth of Christianity, The Chosen (2017-2024). Jenkins made his feature debut as director/producer with the drama, Midnight Clear (2006), based on his 2005 short film as well as father and best-selling author Jerry Jenkins’ short story of the same title, co-starring Stephen Baldwin and K Callan, and released by Lionsgate.
Jenkins was director/producer of the romantic family drama, What If… (2010), co-starring Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, and John Ratzenberger, which grossed less than $1 million worldwide. Jenkins was again director/producer of the Christian drama-comedy, The Resurrection of Gavin Stone (2017), with Brett Dalton, Anjelah Johnson-Reyes, Neil Flynn, and D.B. Sweeney, co-produced with Blumhouse Productions but which lost money with a $2.3 million global return (against $2 million costs).
Jenkins returned to the big screen seven years later as director/executive producer of the family comedy based on Barbara Robinson’s 1972 children’s novel, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (2024), starring Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Molly Bell Wright and Lauren Graham, and released wide by Lionsgate.
Jenkins was producer or executive producer on several projects, including producer of Hometown Legend (2002), based on Jerry Jenkins’ novel and co-starring Terry O’Quinn, Lacey Chabert, and Nick Cornish under James Anderson’s direction, and released by Warner Bros.; executive producer on the documentary, Unfiltered: Gen Z Reacts to The Chosen, directed by Jacob Schwarz and featuring Josephine Chiang; and executive producer on director/writer Brock Heasley’s sci-fi thriller, The Shift (2023), co-starring Kristoffer Polaha, Neal McDonough and Elizabeth Tabish, and returning a global gross of $12.2 million.
Personal life
Dallas Jenkins was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles, Illinois, by parents Dianna and Jerry B. Jenkins (novelist, and author). He has two brothers, Chadwick and Michael. Jenkins attended Northwestern Biblical and Liberal Arts College in Roseville, Minnesota. He has been married to his wife Amanda since 1998; the couple has four children, Sam, Maya, Elle, and adopted child Max.
Dallas Jenkins Movies
Director
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Previous (3)
- 2022 |
The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 & 2
The Chosen Season 3: Episode 1 & 2
The Sermon on the Mount: various elements are brought to life with incredible clarity as many of the characters show the depth of meaning of Jesus's message.
- 2021 |
Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers
Christmas with the Chosen: The Messengers
Artists perform new and classic Christmas songs from the set of "The Chosen."
- 2017 |
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
The Resurrection of Gavin Stone
A washed-up former child star, forced to do community service at a local megachurch, pretends to be a Christian to land the part of Jesus in their annual Passion Play, only to discover that the most important role of his life is far from Hollywood.
Facts About Dallas Jenkins
Shingle: Dallas Jenkins was a former executive director of the film production company, Vertical Church Films, based at the Chicago-based Harvest Bible Chapel, and which has produced the features The Ride (2012), The Two Thieves (2014), The Resurrection of Gavin Stone, and The Shepard (2017), which was also the pilot episode of The Chosen.
Revelation: Jenkins has noted that he was mowing his lawn in (he says) 2006 or 2007 in Los Angeles—where he was working in the Hollywood film industry on secular movies—and had “a call from divinity” to make movies with Christian themes. He and his family soon left Los Angeles and moved back to his native Chicagoland to begin making Christian entertainment.
