Amber Shana Williams has become one of the most quietly compelling presences on The Chosen. As Tamar, her performance is restrained yet deeply emotional, grounded in stillness rather than spectacle. It is a portrayal that resonates because it feels honest. That same grounded energy carries into her newest project, Be Marked by the Extraordinary, a seven day audio devotional series created in partnership with the Glorify app.
The series centers on overlooked figures from the Bible and the kind of faith that grows quietly, without recognition or urgency. It reflects both the spiritual themes viewers have connected with on The Chosen and Amber’s own lived experience navigating faith, career, and calling in an industry often driven by visibility. Her perspective as a bilingual Latina actress adds cultural depth and accessibility to conversations around belief and purpose.
When asked how playing Tamar has shaped her personally, Amber speaks candidly about how it transformed her relationship with waiting. “Playing Tamar over the past six seasons has shifted how I relate to waiting,” she shares. “I used to experience it as suspension, like life was on pause. Through her journey, I realized waiting can be active. It can be a way of trusting God’s plan even when nothing is clear yet.” Tamar’s openness, rather than emotional hardening, taught her that faith does not always look confident or resolved. Sometimes it looks like simply staying present.
That understanding directly influenced the heart of Be Marked by the Extraordinary. Amber explains that she has always been drawn to the quieter figures in Scripture. “The people who don’t dominate the story but still shape and change its trajectory,” she says. “Their stories remind me that being overlooked doesn’t mean you don’t matter.” In a time when so many feel unseen, she believes these narratives are especially relevant, offering reassurance that ordinary lives still carry extraordinary meaning.
Creatively, Amber credits The Chosen with teaching her the value of restraint and stillness. She recalls a lesson shared by creator Dallas Jenkins that has stayed with her. “He talked about how a fire that burns out of control consumes everything too quickly, but a slow, steady burn gives warmth and lasts.” That idea reshaped how she approaches acting and storytelling. She carried the same intention into her work with Glorify, wanting the series to feel intimate and unhurried. “Some of the most meaningful moments of faith live in that quiet space,” she reflects.
In an industry built on constant exposure, Amber has found grounding in practicing what she calls quiet faith. “It reminds me that not everything meaningful needs to be seen or applauded,” she explains. For her, there is integrity in nurturing an inner life that is not shaped by external validation. That inward grounding has become a source of lasting peace and clarity.
Her heritage and identity also inform the stories she feels called to tell. As a Black woman, she has often been aware of standing out in subtle ways. “Not loudly, but quietly,” she notes. That awareness has shaped her understanding of belonging and deepened her connection to stories that honor quiet resilience, inner strength, and lives that are not always centered but still matter deeply.
One of the most powerful moments of the devotional came unexpectedly during recording. While reflecting on suffering, Amber found herself emotionally overwhelmed. “I had an emotional breakdown in the middle of recording because it touched something very personal,” she admits. What remained with her was a reminder that purpose can exist within suffering, even when it is not immediately understood, and that no one is meant to walk through pain alone. God’s presence, she believes, is constant even when the path feels heavy.
Amber often returns to a central question as she moves through her career. “Am I moving from purpose, or from the need to be affirmed?” In an environment that rewards performance, staying rooted in purpose takes intentional effort. Yet it is that effort, she says, that keeps her aligned and emotionally grounded.
Ultimately, her hope for listeners is not transformation through pressure, but through permission. “I hope people walk away feeling less pressure to prove themselves,” she shares. She wants them to trust that their quiet choices matter, that their inner lives hold value, and that even the most ordinary people are capable of leaving an extraordinary mark.
Images Courtesy of Publicist.
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