Imagine being a struggling actress, tired of being turned down at auditions, so strapped for cash you have to move in with your mother. You finally decide it’s time to stop chasing the dream.
“I was trying to quit acting. I was in Austin, working mostly in commercials, and really not able to make it. I just couldn’t afford rent anymore. I moved in with my mom. My car was all beat up,” Elizabeth Tabish told American Essence. Being constantly passed over for roles was also taking its emotional toll on her, and she decided to move on. “This wasn’t healthy for me to keep putting myself out there and getting rejected.”
A month after she told her agent to stop sending her to auditions, she was cast in the incredibly popular Christian series “The Chosen,” playing a major character: Mary Magdalene.
It almost seems like divine intervention; for Tabish, it was the breakthrough role of her career.
Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene in “The Chosen,” the hit series about the life of Jesus. The fifth season debuts on March 27, 2025. The Chosen/Press Center
Journey to Freedom
Her latest project is a starring role in another true story. “Between Borders” chronicles the lives of the Petrosyan family, Armenians who had to flee their home and communism in the 1980s to avoid persecution. Their dangerous journey to freedom presents life-threatening trials along the way as they temporarily end up in Russia. Their attempt to receive asylum in the United States spotlights how difficult and incredibly emotional the process can be. Tabish plays Violetta Petrosyan, a wife and mother who would do anything to protect her family.
In "Between Borders," the Petrosyan family must make the difficult choice to flee Azerbaijan as tensions against Armenians rise. The Chosen/Press Center
The role is personal for Tabish, whose maternal roots are Armenian. “I grew up listening to my grandmother and great-grandmother speak to each other in Armenian, and make all the good food,” she said. The script for “Between Borders” really spoke to her. “I recognized so many characteristics and so much strength and heart and personality that reminded me so much of my grandmother.”
The actress met the real Violetta Petrosyan and said the woman’s incredible spirit influenced her performance in certain parts of the film. During the powerful asylum hearing scene, Petrosyan was on the set and in Tabish’s line of sight. Tabish said, “While I’m talking about how Jesus transforms my life, she was in that courtroom scene, so I was looking at her and telling her story back to her. It ended up being really emotional and meaningful for me to get to do this alongside her.”
Petrosyan has seen the movie and feels Tabish was the perfect person for the role: “I could have never dreamt of anyone who would portray me better than Elizabeth. From the moment we met in Bucharest, Romania, to the very present hour, I am forever grateful to the Lord for the privilege of sharing our life story.”
Violetta Petrosyan (played by Tabish) experiences discrimination due to her Armenian heritage. Between Borders
The film is filled with heartbreaking emotion. That’s evident in a scene in which Tabish’s character applies for a job in Russia. As an Armenian outsider, she’s made to repeat demeaning statements by the interviewer in order to secure the position.
“When I first read the script, it was one of the scenes that really popped out to me as the type of bullying that is insidious,” Tabish recalled. “It’s the type of cruelty that doesn’t leave visible marks. This forced humiliation and undermining of confidence, or deserving to be in that space, just broke my heart.”
The time that the Petrosyans spent in Russia gives us a close look at communism and how it dehumanizes those deemed to be outsiders. Before they leave Armenia, Violetta is a school principal and her husband is a rocket scientist. But their resumes mean nothing when they arrive in the Soviet Union; they’re forced to take any jobs they can find.
“To see them both really have to humble themselves in order to survive, in order to take care of their girls, is really a powerful story,” Tabish said. “They’re willing to say whatever needs to be said and avoid eye contact with officials, not make waves, so that they can keep surviving. It’s a really courageous thing to witness.”
JSquared Photography
Transformation
The film shows the Petrosyans’ initial belief in communism and their transformation as they realize it has put their lives in danger. “I think that it’s sort of a religion for them. At first, you see this reliance on communism as a family in the very beginning, with this expectation that their country and the Soviet Union will take care of them and protect them. And we see that fail just tragically for the Armenians.” One heartbreaking scene in which the father tries to recover a toy for his daughter and is threatened by Russian officials drives the point home.Thanks to some kind missionaries from the United States, the family turns to Christianity, as communism has destroyed the life they once knew. “In some ways, because it failed them, it opened up this opportunity for them to find Jesus and to find God—to find a strength that doesn’t go away depending on politics.”
Did her role in “The Chosen” translate to her part in this movie? It would seem that Violetta Petrosyan and Mary Magdalene have nothing in common, but Tabish believes a spiritual thread connects the two. “There are some similarities between Mary Magdalene and Violetta in that they have these new lives when they meet Jesus, and their lives transformed so dramatically at that point.”
Elizabeth Tabish as Mary Magdalene in “The Chosen.” The Chosen/Press Center
In “Between Borders," Tabish plays the role of refugee Violetta Petrosyan as she testifies in court during her family's quest for asylum in the U.S. Between Borders
No longer at her mother’s house, she now lives in Cleveland with her husband. Tabish has been busy of late, as she was also cast in the holiday movie “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” “Between Borders” will be released in theaters Jan. 26–28, 2025, while season five of “The Chosen” is set to premiere this spring. Since that series will run seven seasons, Tabish will have plenty of steady work. While “The Chosen” has given viewers a different perspective on the Bible, “Between Borders” provides an important history lesson about the quest for freedom.
“America, to so many, has been this place of refuge, this safe space where you can start over, try again, and have opportunities that a lot of other places in this world do not afford. And so, to me, this film is it. Personally, I’m so proud to be Armenian, but I’m also so proud to be American,” Tabish said. “This film reminds me of what America has been for so many people, and I hope it can continue to be that for those who seek refuge and seek peace and freedom from persecution.”
