New auditioned for the role of Jesus Christ for an American network in 2012, but did not get the part. New suspects he was turned down because of his sexuality, but cautioned, "There could be a million reasons why you might not get a job and gay people have to be careful about blaming [homophobia], because they're reinforcing their own closet door." In 2012, New and Playwright Freddie Machin adapted Machin's play Chicken for the cinema. Television Director Joe Stephenson and his production company, B Good Picture Company, picked up the script for filming in September 2012. New was cast alongside actor Scott Chambers and Actress Yasmin Paige in the drama, which focuses on two brothers squatting on a piece of land who come into conflict with the new landowner. Scheduling conflicts forced New to drop out of the project as an actor. The film was released in 2015, and played several festivals before finding an international distributor.