Hi everyone! I’ve learned that my pitch deck should include my idea of who should be cast in primary roles. Does anyone come to mind when I ask; who would you cast as Jesus? He needs to be a beautiful specimen of strong and robust manhood, and look like a first-century man born in Palestine — not like a hipster youth pastor. Any ideas? Thanks!
Screenwriting : Who would you cast? by Cheryl Boyles
Other topics in Screenwriting:
Check out Trending Discussions
Register / Log In
2 people like this
Riz Ahmed maybe? He’s such a terrific actor.
2 people like this
Hmm maybe Mena Massoud?
In order to understand what Jesus looked like, you need to decipher the Gospel. So, after several years of studying, I came to the conclusion that the story of Jesus in metaphorical form tells about the First Jewish War, during which the Second Temple was destroyed.
The image of Jesus is most likely based on a military commander named Simon bar Giora. Who was betrayed by his supporters during the siege of Jerusalem and executed by the Romans. It is not known for certain what his appearance was, but you are right, he hardly looked like a hippie.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_bar_Giora
2 people like this
Great suggestions, thank you, but they are both a bit small of stature. More often than not Jesus is cast as a mild mannered mystic, kind of wimpy, and that won’t do for my story. I’m not adapting from the gospels, though my source on the life and teachings of Jesus affirms many facts from the Bible. I will tell you a lot of people from my story are named Simon. No wonder Jesus’ nicknamed Peter!
4 people like this
Cheryl Boyles Mehdi Dehbi comes to mind, who played Al-Masih in the series, "Messiah". He was truly brilliant in that.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7671598/?ref_=nm_knf_c_3
3 people like this
Cheryl Boyles I understand what you're saying about making him appear wimpy but something to consider is that it also suggests that the level of torment he went through could have easily been tolerated by an extremely strong man. To suggest that his ability to tolerate that much torture is based on his physical strength could possibly take away from his motive for doing so. The point of being tortured for a regular-sized person (whatever that means) is that love was his driving force, not strength. In one of my works, I created a character who has extraordinary strength - but she is small (5'4") which implies that her strength is otherworldly and motivated by love for others. Just something to think about.
3 people like this
Cheryl Boyles I really like Geoff Hall 's suggestion. He was amazing in that show.
3 people like this
Mehdi Debbi was amazing in the role. While I completely agree that Jesus possessed untold internal strength, I am convinced he was very physically powerful as well, and not only because I personally see him that way. Greater love has no man than he should lay down his life for a friend. Jesus had, and was, that divine love, while he possessed absolute power to lay down his life and take it back up again. Though much weakened in body, he commended his own spirit to the Father when it was time.
2 people like this
Cheryl Boyles Beautifully said! After all, he was a carpenter so that makes sense!
2 people like this
Leonardo Ramirez Thank you!
1 person likes this
What is the secret to hyperlinking names in these threads?
2 people like this
Cheryl Boyles Type in the "@" symbol and the names of those who have commented on the thread should pop up. Not all do sometimes.
2 people like this
Leonardo Ramirez I would not have figured that out in a million years! Thanks!
2 people like this
Cheryl Boyles Anytime. Also glad we connected! I can't wait to see your project!
2 people like this
Leonardo Ramirez Looking forward to yours as well! Keep in touch!
2 people like this
Zach Galifianakis. He's got that beard thing goin' on.
2 people like this
He does rock the beard, but he’s very Caucasian and about 20 years too old. Thanks for the suggestion, E Langley. Does anyone know of any up and coming actors in the 20-40 age range, darker skin (not white), beautiful face, great physique? Any actors in your Stage 32 network? Jesus is a tall order, I know ;)
2 people like this
Not meant to be taken seriously.
But just think, he could develop an episode of BETWEEN TWO FERNS with himself as both interviewer and Jesus.
2 people like this
Galifianakis is an ingenious call. Not sure I can beat that. In any event it would be a remarkable feat if someone could cast Christ as something other than the suspiciously über-Teutonic blonde hunk we usually see in the US
1 person likes this
Ori Pfeffer if he was 10 years younger
1 person likes this
Hello everyone! Nice to see some action on this thread! So the actor I eventually settled on for pitch deck purposes is Avan Jogia. What do you guys think? Do you see that special something about his eyes? I would love to screen test him!
2 people like this
Ooh, that's a really good pick. I don't personally know anything about his acting chops but his look is, well, divine.
1 person likes this
I don’t know much about his talent either, Nikolas John, but I’m delighted you see what I see about his look. Thanks!