''Killing Jesus'' is an American

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

inspired by the 2013 book of the same title by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard. This is National Geographic's third installment of television adaptations of O'Reilly's non-fiction books which included '' Killing Lincoln'' and ''

Killing Kennedy ''Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot'' is a 2012 non-fiction book by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard about the assassination of the 35th President of the United States John F. Kennedy. It is a follow-up to O'Reilly's 2011 book ''Killing Linco ...

''. The cast includes Haaz Sleiman,

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

, Stephen Moyer,

Emmanuelle Chriqui Emmanuelle Sophie Anne Chriqui ( ; born 10 December 1975) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her performance on HBO's '' Entourage'' as Sloan McQuewick, Claire Bonner in '' Snow Day'', Dalia in '' You Don't Mess with the Zohan'', Lorelei ...

, and

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untouch ...

. It debuted on the National Geographic Channel on March 29, 2015.

Premise

The film chronicles the life of Jesus of Nazareth through the retelling of the political, social, and historical conflicts during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

that ultimately led to his crucifixion.

Cast

* Haaz Sleiman as

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

* Alexis Rodney as

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

* Joe Doyle as

Judas Iscariot Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betraye ...

* Aneurin Barnard as

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguati ...

Abhin Galeya Abhin Shah or Abhin Galeya is a British actor. He is best known for his roles as PC Arun Ghir in the ITV series ''The Bill'' from 2008 to 2009 and Ash in the 2012 film '' Cleanskin''. Early life and education Galeya grew up in Edgware. He tra ...

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in '' Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' A Knight's Tale ''(2001), '' Th ...

Caiaphas Joseph ben Caiaphas (; c. 14 BC – c. 46 AD), known simply as Caiaphas (; grc-x-koine, Καϊάφας, Kaïáphas ) in the New Testament, was the Jewish high priest who, according to the gospels, organized a plot to kill Jesus. He famous ...

* John Lynch as

Nicodemus Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John: * He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings (). * The second time Nicodemu ...

Annas Annas (also Ananus or Ananias;Goodman, Martin, "Rome & Jerusalem", Penguin Books, p.12 (2007) , ; grc-x-koine, Ἅννας, ; 23/22 BC – death date unknown, probably around AD 40) was appointed by the Roman legate Quirinius as the first High ...

* Stephen Moyer as

Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...

Tamsin Egerton Tamsin Olivia Egerton (born Tamsin Olivia Egerton-Dick; 26 November 1988) is a British actress known for her roles as Chelsea Parker in the 2007 film '' St Trinian's'', Holly Goodfellow in the 2005 film ''Keeping Mum'', and Guinevere in the 2011 ...

as Claudia *

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renova ...

Eoin Macken Eoin Christopher Macken (born 21 February 1983) is an Irish actor, director, and model. Macken has modelled for Abercrombie and Fitch, Ralph Lauren, and GQ, and has appeared in films such as ''Resident Evil'', ''Close, Killing Jesus'', and '' ...

as Herod Antipas *

as Herodias * Stephanie Leonidas as Salome *

Vernon Dobtcheff Vernon Dobtcheff (born 14 August 1934) is a British actor, best known for his roles on television and film, he has acted in numerous stage productions. Biography Dobtcheff was born in Nîmes, France, of Russian descent. He attended Ascham Pre ...

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

Klára Issová Klára Issová (born 26 April 1979), sometimes known as Klára Issa, is a Czech film, stage and television actress. In 1997, she won the Czech Lion Award for Best Supporting Actress in ''Nejasná zpráva o konci světa''. She is the cousin of a ...

as Mary Magdalene * Mehdi Pyro as

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

Development

In March 2014, it was announced ''Killing Jesus'' was being adapted into a four-hour miniseries, and Walon Green has been tapped to write and executive produce the project. Also returning as executive producers are Ridley Scott, David W. Zucker, and Mary Lisio, who previously produced ''Killing Kennedy''. In August 2014,

Christopher Menaul Christopher Menaul (born 25 July 1944) is a British film, television director and television writer. Since the late 1970s, Menaul has amassed credits in episodic television and by directing television films. Filmography Film *'' Feast of July' ...

was attached to direct the miniseries.

Reception

The review aggregation website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

gave the series a 43% approval rating based on 7 reviews, with an average rating of 5.70/10.

Viewership

On its premiere airing, the film was watched by 3.7 million viewers, averaging a 1.0 rating among adults in the 25-54 demographic. The viewership surpassed the record previously held by ''

''.

Accolades

References

External links

* {{National Geographic films 2015 television films 2015 films American biographical films Films about Christianity Films based on non-fiction books Films set in Israel Films set in Jerusalem Films set in the Roman Empire 2015 drama films National Geographic (American TV channel) original programming Biographical films about Jesus Film portrayals of Jesus' death and resurrection Portrayals of the Virgin Mary in film Films based on works by Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) Films based on works by Martin Dugard (author) Cultural depictions of John the Baptist Cultural depictions of Pontius Pilate Portrayals of Mary Magdalene in film Films directed by Christopher Menaul 2010s American films American drama television films