MovieChat Forums > Mary Magdalene (2018) Discussion > How is an atheist going to play Christ?

How is an atheist going to play Christ?

posted 7 years ago by Innsmouth
7 replies | jump to latest

Have there been any interviews with JP about this, has the director or anyone commented?

And before the inevitable "of course he can play a *fantasy* character*....surely even the most hardened atheists will realize that there are definite sensitivities here, and faith-based films are a different sort of genre.

I do believe JP is a fantastic actor, but I do hope there is more context to this casting choice, and it's not just completely random/not caring from the director.

Arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhBWDzkqEPY

[–] DaleBoy4 7 years ago

If anything, it might work better. An actors job is to humanize the character they play, to make them believable as a three dimensional being. A Christian will view Christ as the son of God, a part of the divine holy trinity, and therefore play him as such. - Where as an atheist will see him as a man, and be able to empathise with him better.

"You see, I'm not a Monster.... I'm just ahead of the curve".

[–] chipbolton-76904 7 years ago

It's called "acting." As when straight actors play gay characters and vice versa. And when women have played roles traditionally played by men.

An actor's lifestyle, beliefs, philosophy of life, religion, personality, etc. do not enter into the casting decision which is made based on the ability of the actor to convincingly play the role.

[–] Innsmouth 7 years ago

There is such a thing as promotion and trying to reach an audience, however. The Passion of the Christ, for instance, the most widely successful Christian movie, was heavily promoted by the faith circle, because Mel Gibson was the most recognized name and outspoken about his faith.

In this project, I'm not sure who will be the link to the faith market. Only Mara and Phoenix are 'big' names, and neither is religious. And if this will be a non-Christian movie, I really don't know how well it will do at the box office.

Arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhBWDzkqEPY

[–] irishaspaddyspig 7 years ago

The christian sites and papers are writing about it.

"a malcontent who knows how to spell"

[–] bastasch8647 7 years ago

This is not uncommon - atheist Max Von Sydow played the saintly Fr. Merrin in The Exorcist, and just a few years earlier he played Jesus in The Greatest Story Ever Told. Joss Whedon, an atheist, injected deep spiritual feeling into Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It just doesn't matter if JC is being played by an atheist.

What does matter, and I'm surprised no one has commented on it, is that the Jewish disciple Peter is being played by a black Nigerian! This is an egregious, "in your face" bit of miscasting that can only be serving a cultural marxist agenda. No way in Hell was Peter, or any of JC's disciples, black. Just no way. The very idea is a slap in the face to educated viewers, as well as to history - and is an obvious, ham-thumbed attempt to enforce seedy Liberal tokenism upon the public. Here's a great idea: let's do a new Roots saga, only this time with a white actor playing Kunta Kinte! Jesus, the stupidity...

[–] cdull (28) 7 years ago

I imagine the same way Pier Paolo Pasolini, an atheist, made one of the best movies about Jesus.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

[deleted]