Saturday, April 24, 2010

Tomas Ambt Kofod


I met the man on the right. This is the best picture I could find on the internet. Isn't that sad? His name is Tomas Ambt Kofod. He portrayed Jesus in The Testaments: Of One Fold and One Shepherd, and Finding Faith in Christ. He's a Danish convert to the church. He came to visit Nauvoo for fun and then got stuck here when the volcanoes erupted and there were no flights home.

So he threw a spontaneous fireside in Nauvoo last Monday night. We went for family home evening. He told us about all the tiny little miracles that made it so he could have this part in the movie. If any one of the million miracles hadn't worked out, he wouldn't have been able to do it. He was a foreign exchange student and went to Bingham High School where my dad went. They graduated just a couple years apart from each other. And he's also really into musicals and sang "Bring Him Home" for us. It was perfect, because me and Tashi are obsessed with Les Mis right now. His two kids are adopted, which made Mia excited.

He was very spiritual and really sparkled. His point was that he didn't get the part because he was perfect. And just thinking about his own sins while portraying the atonement scene was enough to overwhelm him and bring him pain. It reminds him to repent. The fireside went later than planned and we had early morning seminary in the morning. Our seminary teacher, Jennifer was there and invited him to come to our seminary.

He came. At 6 in the morning. He didn't really talk any more about his experiences with the movie and just gave us a pep talk. He said he wishes sin was like a cold shower so we it wasn't tempting and we would never want to do it again. Sin is only appealing because it gratifies us. He talked a lot about repentance and staying away from sin. And how perfection is a process. His sense of humor was awesome. He really made us laugh.

Before I met him I heard that he was Danish and I also heard a cool story which is my favorite. He was offered to have a part in a play with nudity and was able to work it out with his director so that he wasn't nude onstage. And he also got offered a part in Rent, which has homosexuality in it. And he turned it down. He didn't want to turn down two jobs and it was really hard. But when Neil A. Andersen interviewed him, Tomas was honestly able to say to his face that he had never been nude onstage or portrayed homosexuality. He was blessed with portraying the part of the Savior right after for turning those bad parts down. I think that's an awesome blessing. It was cool to have that story confirmed and actually meet him in person. And it motivates me. Come to Nauvoo so you can meet cool church people! Haha jk

4 comments:

Emily H said...

Sounds like a great person. How neat. Thanks for sharing.

Lara said...

Thanks for writing this.. I actually found this through google search. :) I was looking up more about Tomas because I have always thought he was the perfect portrayal of Jesus. I don't think I've ever seen someone so perfectly cast (or at least as close to the way I envision Christ), and wanted to read about him. I thought that he must be a great person in real life to have such a light in his eyes and give such a feeling to me of peace and comfort! He really played the part so well. I am so glad to know that he is a true follower. What an honor it must've been to play the part of the most important person who has ever set foot on the earth!

Anéa said...

Tomas Ambt Kofod is a remarkable person. He has a big heart. He's also one of Denmark's most beloved musical actors. He played Raoula nd understudied the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera, and he was also awesome as Valjean in Les Miserables. Right now he's in Annie.

Tomas Ambt Kofod was a vital part of a so-called mockumentary made when Phantom played at Det Ny Teatet in Copenhagen. It's in four parts on YouTube, part two and three features a lot of Tomas!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnHM-8I-gUE

Jorj Horton said...

Tomas is an awesome man! His wife is lovely too! I know this because my parents were the ones who hosted him as an exchange student at Bingham High and introduced him to the church. Sadly I haven't seen him since I was attending college and got to visit him on the set of The Testament while they were filming. I also have not had the opportunity to meet his two beautiful children. I just missed them visiting when they were recently in the states. He tries to stop by and see my mother every time he can.